Magicians, witches and legendary figures

The wise woman, the sorcerer, the legendary mage: Merlin, Baba Yaga, Circe and their kin.

An open hand with an eye: the hamsa, or hand of Fatima, a protective sign in Jewish, Muslim and wider North African and Middle Eastern custom.

Magical figures are the people, real and legendary, who stand for magic: Merlin, Baba Yaga, Circe, Hermes Trismegistus, Dr John Dee, Madame Blavatsky, the sorcerer in a village story, the Bulgarian seer Baba Vanga, and the performers Houdini and Chung Ling Soo. Some lived, some are composite, and some are pure myth. This page looks at who becomes a magic figure, and why. They are described here as stories and as history, and kept apart.

Who becomes a figure

Figures often sit at the edge of society. In many stories the witch is an older woman living alone, the sorcerer a foreigner or a rival tribe, the wise man a hermit. Real figures include John Dee, adviser to Elizabeth I, and Agrippa, whose De occulta philosophia (1533) shaped European occultism. Others are legend: Merlin appears in Welsh and French tales, and Baba Yaga is a Slavic folk figure who both helps and threatens.

Gender and reputation

The witch figure has been mostly female in Europe, where trials in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries killed tens of thousands of people, most of them women. In other places accusation falls on men, on the old, on the poor or on the outsider. The learned magician, by contrast, was often male, literate and protected by rank, a division that shows how class shaped who was punished. Not every figure carries a stigma: Chinese immortals, Indian rishis and Irish saints are honoured, and the line between holy person and magician depends on who is telling the story.

Colonial and modern use

Missionary and colonial writers often cast African and Indigenous healers as the witch-doctor, a term most communities reject. The word covers healers, diviners and rulers who had very different roles. Today, figures are re-used in fantasy and branding. The Merlin of modern fantasy films is a long way from the Welsh Myrddin, and the name of a real tradition may be turned into a costume. Their stories have also been tools of politics: rulers have claimed legendary magicians as ancestors, and enemies have painted rivals as sorcerers to justify their removal.

Scholars and the real person

Historians separate documented people from legend and warn that many reports of magicians were written by their enemies. Evidence for some famous names, including Hermes Trismegistus, who was long thought to be an Egyptian sage, turned out to be later Greek-language writings. Treating a figure as legend rather than biography is no insult to those who revere them. A figure who may be a real person with a name, a date and a grave belongs in a different category from a legend, even when popular memory blends them, and the entries here try to keep them separate.

Figure on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreSea Swine A mythical sea creature depicted with dragon feet and a navel eye in early mapsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure Legendary 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇫🇮 FinlandAntero Vipunen A buried giant in Finnish mythology who holds the magic words needed to build a boatFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRobert the Devil A medieval legend of a knight born to Satan who seeks redemptionFigure · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreThree-legged crow三足烏 A mythological bird representing the sun in East Asian traditionsFigure · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreMidasΜίδας A Phrygian king from Greek myth who gained a golden touch and donkey earsFigure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenKnights of Ålleberg Swedish ghost story about sleeping warriors in a mountainFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇨🇦 CanadaChasse-galerieLa Chasse-galerie A French-Canadian folktale about lumberjacks who fly a canoe to visit lovers on New Year's EveFigure · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyBorda A blindfolded witch from the Po Valley who drowns children in marshesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇷 IranArzhang Divارژنگ دیو A demon chief in Persian epic who is defeated by the hero RostamFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePan Twardowski A Polish sorcerer who bargained with the Devil and ended up on the MoonFigure · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇩 IndonesiaNini Pelet A West Javanese sorceress legend linked to Mount Ciremai and the origin of the word for love charmsFigure · Love and attraction · Power and authority Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanBanchō Sarayashiki番町皿屋敷 A Japanese ghost story about a servant who dies unjustly and haunts her murderer by counting plates.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreImbuncheifünche A deformed child-monster of Chilote folklore that guards a warlock's cave and serves as an instrument of curse.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenHeiðr A Norse name meaning bright or honour, worn by seeresses and warriorsFigure Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesBlack-eyed children A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaGangcheori강철이 A fire-breathing dragon from Korean folklore that scorches the land in its wakeFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaMago Halmi마고할미 A giant creator goddess in Korean mythology associated with hemp weaving and the separation of heaven and earth.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreColbrand A legendary Danish giant defeated by the English hero Guy of WarwickFigure Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesTsul 'KaluᏧᏓᎦᎳ A Cherokee hunting deity and legendary giant of the Appalachian mountainsFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreStarkadStarkaðr A Norse warrior cursed to commit crimes across three lifetimesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreKuma LisaКума Лиса A trickster fox from Slavic folklore who outwits other animalsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalySatyress A female mythological creature with a human upper body and goat lower half, invented by later artists.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaHenjunaha and LairoulembiHensunaha Lailoulempi A Meitei epic of lovers who die and return from the underworld through devotion.Figure · Love and attraction Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandChildren of LirOidheadh chloinne Lir An Irish myth about four siblings transformed into swans by a jealous stepmotherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandKumi Lizard A legendary reptile from New Zealand folklore, said to be a giant monitor lizard.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇦🇺 AustraliaMungoon-Galimangun.gaali A giant goanna from Australian Aboriginal folklore who lost his venom to a black snakeFigure Legendary

🇮🇩 IndonesiaKeong Emas A Javanese legend about a princess turned into a golden snailFigure · Love and attraction Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesAlfred Bulltop Stormalong A giant sailor from New England tall tales and sea shantiesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreLa Bolefuego A fiery apparition from the Llanos that hunts travelers and avoids prayer.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceHorkosὍρκος A Greek divine personification of the curse that follows a broken oathFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 moreSalige Frau A blissful Alpine spirit who guides farmers and guards mountain gameFigure · Protection · Healing Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaInterconnected-arm gibbon通臂猿 A mythical primate with linked arms that can extend one limb by pulling in the other.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Hickathrift A legendary giant-slayer of East Anglian folklore with prodigious strengthFigure Legendary

🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreBödvar BjarkiBöðvarr Bjarki A Norse hero who fights as a bear and appears in legends of King Hrolf KrakiFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBalakבָּלָק A biblical king who sought a sorcerer's curse against the IsraelitesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPiers Shonks A legendary knight who slew a dragon and cheated the Devil in HertfordshireFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇬🇱 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreGiant Mythic humanoids of immense size and strength found in global folklore and ancient textsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreBabr-e Bayanبَبْرِ بَیان A legendary armor worn by the Iranian hero Rostam, said to be made from a dragon's skin.Figure · Protection · Power and authority Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreSwan maiden A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇦🇹 AustriaHaymon A legendary giant of Tyrol who founded a monastery and defeated local spiritsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Robert the Devil: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Swan maiden: Walter Crane, Public domain, source
Children of Lir: John Duncan, Public domain, source
Satyress: art_traveller, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
Three-legged crow: Jinsha Site Museum. Original author: ancient Shu people., Public domain, source
Antero Vipunen: Schulllz, CC0, source
Sea Swine: Jacob van Maerlant, Public domain, source
Midas: The Midas Painter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Knights of Ålleberg: Photograph: Nasko, Public domain, source
Chasse-galerie: Henri Julien, Public domain, source
Arzhang Div: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Pan Twardowski: Pit1233, Public domain, source
Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
Imbunche: Lufke, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Colbrand: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Starkad: User:Skadinaujo, Public domain, source
Keong Emas: Post of Indonesia, Public domain, source
Horkos: Furienmeister, Public domain, source
Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
Salige Frau: various, Public domain, source
Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
Tom Hickathrift: John D. Batten, Public domain, source
Bödvar Bjarki: Louis Moe, Public domain, source
Balak: Philip De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Piers Shonks: William Blyth Gerish, Public domain, source
Giant: Attributed to Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Haymon: Hafelekar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source