Magicians, witches and legendary figures
The wise woman, the sorcerer, the legendary mage: Merlin, Baba Yaga, Circe and their kin.
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.
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreVampire
An undead creature from folklore that feeds on the blood or life force of the livingBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur
A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf
A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreLilithלִילִית
A feminine figure from Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, often depicted as a night demon or spirit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal
A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptDjedi
A fictional magician from the Westcar Papyrus who resurrects animals and foretells a king's lineage.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana
The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaTaotie饕餮
A zoomorphic mask on ancient Chinese bronzes and a mythological creature of gluttonyFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear
A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird
A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac
A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceEpimenides of CreteἘπιμενίδης
A semi-mythical Greek prophet and purifier from KnossosFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomGreen Children of Woolpit
A medieval English legend about two green-skinned siblings who appeared in a Suffolk village.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceTiresiasΤειρεσίας
A blind Greek seer who lived as both man and woman and spoke to the dead.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceNicolas Flamel
A medieval scribe turned legendary alchemist and immortal in fictionFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSibylΣίβυλλα (Sibylla)
Ancient Greek prophetesses who spoke divine counsel at holy shrinesFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaRangdaᬭᬗ᭄ᬤ
A Balinese demon queen who leads witches in an eternal battle against good.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreFaust
A German legend of a scholar who trades his soul for knowledge and pleasureFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人
The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAbe no Seimei安倍 晴明
A historical court official turned legendary Japanese onmyōji and folk heroFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMerlinMyrddin
A legendary prophet and magician from the King Arthur cycleFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreMorgan le FayFée Morgane
An Arthurian enchantress known for her shifting role as healer and adversaryFigure · Healing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 morePrester John
A legendary Christian king and priest said to rule a lost kingdom in the East.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreExcalibur
The mythical sword of King Arthur, symbolizing rightful sovereignty and magical power.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBaba YagaБаба Яга
A Slavic witch who lives in a turning hut and flies in a mortarFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Guolao张果老
A Taoist immortal known for his white donkey and fish drum, said to be a bat spirit.Figure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTamamo-no-Mae玉藻前
A nine-tailed fox spirit from Japanese legend who possessed emperors and concubines across Asia.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot
A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaCao Guojiu曹國舅
A Taoist immortal who abandoned his court career to help the poor and learn magic.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaHe Xiangu何仙姑
A female immortal from Chinese Taoist legend known for divination and lotus magicFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAshiya Dōman蘆屋道満
A legendary Heian onmyōji known for his rivalry with Abe no Seimei and his use of cursesFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomMyrddin Wyllt
A wild prophet of Welsh legend who inspired the wizard MerlinFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause
A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCassandraΚασσάνδρα
A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceOrpheusὈρφεύς
A Thracian bard whose music charms nature and who journeys to the underworldFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇦🇺 AustraliaYowie
A hairy, bipedal creature of Australian folklore and cryptozoologyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια
A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary
🇻🇪 Venezuela and 1 moreEl Silbón
A Venezuelan and Colombian legend of a cursed spirit who carries his father's bones.Figure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreTunda
A shapeshifting entity from the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador that lures people into the forest.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandThe MorríganMórrígan
An Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty who appears as a crow or shape-shifter.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedusaΜέδουσα
A mortal Greek monster whose gaze turns onlookers to stoneFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreMoroi
A Romanian phantom that drains the living, linked to strigoi and unbaptised infants.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBaphomet
A name from medieval trials and a symbol of occult equilibriumFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaNian年兽 (Nián shòu)
A mythical creature linked to Chinese New Year customs and the lion danceFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇱 IsraelWitch of Endorאֵ֥שֶׁת בַּֽעֲלַת־אֹ֖וב בְּעֵ֥ין דֹּֽור
A biblical spirit-diviner summoned by King Saul to consult the prophet Samuel.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaNüwa女媧
A Chinese mother goddess who created humanity and repaired the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreSamoan mythology
The deities and legends of the Samoan Islands, part of Polynesian tradition.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
- Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
- Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
- Lilith: Photographs by Ardon Bar Hama, author of original document is unknown., Public domain, source
- Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
- Prester John: Diogo Homem, Public domain, source
- Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Excalibur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Zhang Guolao: Hong Zicheng, Public domain, source
- Tamamo-no-Mae: ウィキ太郎 Wiki Taro, Public domain, source
- Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cao Guojiu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
- He Xiangu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
- Ashiya Dōman: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Myrddin Wyllt: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
- Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
- Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
- Orpheus: Franz Caucig, Public domain, source
- Yowie: Seo75, CC BY 2.5, source
- Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- El Silbón: María Auxiliadora Ramírez Prato, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Medusa: Caravaggio, Public domain, source
- Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Witch of Endor: Adam Elsheimer / John Kay, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nüwa: 山胖z, CC BY 3.0, source
- Taotie: anonymous, CC0, source
- Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
- Nicolas Flamel: Balthasar Moncornet, Public domain, source
- Sibyl: Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), Public domain, source
- Rangda: Boy Lawson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faust: Earthsphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Merlin: Howard Pyle, Public domain, source
- Morgan le Fay: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source