Power and authority
Magic as kingship, priesthood and status: the sorcerer-king, the court astrologer, the rainmaker.
Magic as power and authority is the use of ritual to make or hold rank: kings with sacred duties, court astrologers, rainmakers, chiefs who are said to hold spiritual force, and priests who keep a state religion. It includes the Egyptian pharaoh, the Mongol shamans at the court of the khan, the Chinese Taoist masters, the Zulu and Shona spirit mediums, and the astrologers who advised Mughal and European rulers. This page asks how magic and politics feed each other. Where this happens, magic is less about individual wishes and more about who is allowed to speak for the unseen.
Sacred rulers
In many kingdoms the ruler was believed to hold a power linked to harvest, rain or victory. Pharaohs performed rites to keep order, and the Divine Right of kings in Europe included the royal touch, a rite by which French and English monarchs touched people with scrofula. Chinese emperors held the Mandate of Heaven, which natural omens could confirm or withdraw. The Mongol khans consulted shamans and diviners. Kings also commissioned astrologers to choose coronation dates.
Advisers and rivals
Courts employed diviners, astrologers and mages. John Dee advised Elizabeth I, and Indian and Persian kings kept court astrologers. Such advisers also faced risk: in Rome, astrologers were expelled several times, and accusations of sorcery were used to remove rivals at courts from Byzantium to Ming China. Magic offered influence to people with little formal rank. Sorcery charges were used against queens and ministers in several courts, and the fall of a favourite was often explained by a spell.
Resistance and the state
Spirit mediums have led resistance. In Zimbabwe, the spirit mediums Nehanda and Kaguvi were central to the 1896 uprising against British rule, and Nehanda was hanged in 1898. In Kenya and Tanzania, the Maji Maji rebellion of 1905 drew on a water said to protect against bullets. Colonial states responded with witchcraft ordinances, which often banned healers and protected nobody. In Africa, chiefs are often described as guardians of a land and its rain, and ruling families have held rites for the whole community.
Modern politics
Some leaders consult astrologers or healers, and political use of the occult is reported from India to Latin America. Accusations of witchcraft are used against opponents and in land disputes. Scholars read these links as part of how power is made visible and legitimate. Citizens may wish to ask who benefits when magic is used in public life. Many states now regulate healers and diviners, or use them for public health messages, which shows how much influence they still have.
Power and authority on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense
An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut
A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir
Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreAgimatAnting-anting
A Filipino amulet or charm believed to grant protection, power, and supernatural abilities.Charm · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horseརླུང་རྟ་
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreSpirit
An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo
A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla
A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào)
Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇸 IcelandRauðskinna
A legendary Icelandic grimoire said to grant mastery over dark forces.Text · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanFukusuke福助
A kneeling Japanese doll believed to bring wealth and honorCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesFeri Tradition
An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptBarbarous name
A magical word whose meaning is unknown or ignored, valued for its sound alone.Text · Power and authority Historical
🇧🇷 BrazilPro-VidaPró-Vida, Integração Cósmica
An occultist group founded in Brazil that promises cosmic consciousness and earthly paradise.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMelusineMélusine
A water spirit of French and Luxembourgish lore, known for her serpent form and the castles she built.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNew Thought
A spiritual philosophy linking mental states to physical health and prosperityTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreDerafsh Kavianiدرفش کاویانی
A legendary royal standard of pre-Islamic Iran, later adopted as a symbol of national identity.Charm · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaSnow Lionགངས་སེང་གེ་
A celestial mountain guardian of Tibet embodying fearlessness, bliss, and the DharmaBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTeraphimתרפים
Ancient Hebrew household figures linked to ancestry, property rights and divinationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreBalaur
A many-headed dragon from Romanian folklore that guards treasures and controls the weather.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen
A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar
A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle
A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí)
A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇸 SerbiaCikavacцикавац
A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios
A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaJiugongdao九宫道
A Chinese folk sect centered on Mount Wutai and esoteric cosmologyTradition · Power and authority Revived
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇭🇹 HaitiFèy
A Haitian Vodou folk song used as a political anthem during military ruleTradition · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenKnights of Ålleberg
Swedish ghost story about sleeping warriors in a mountainFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePan Twardowski
A Polish sorcerer who bargained with the Devil and ended up on the MoonFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi
Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī)
A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach
A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares
A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец
A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇩 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
🇵🇱 Poland and 4 moreMoranaМорена
A Slavic goddess of winter and death, whose effigy is drowned to welcome springFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 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 States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum
A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Barbarous name: Aktiophis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fukusuke: Nesnad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
- Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
- Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
- Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Knights of Ålleberg: Photograph: Nasko, Public domain, source
- Pan Twardowski: Pit1233, Public domain, source
- Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source
- Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morana: Marta Malina Moraczewska, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
- Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Snow Lion: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
- Agimat: FroyAgta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source