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.
🇯🇵 JapanTesso鉄鼠
A Japanese yōkai born from a monk’s curse and the destructive power of ratsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí)
A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaMoryanaМоря́на
A female sea spirit in Slavic folklore who controls winds and calms stormsBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaDawon
The lion mount of the goddess Durga in Hindu traditionBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 1 moreAnchanchu
A shapeshifting vampire of the Andes that drains blood and demands offerings from miners.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaSamatonꯁꯃꯗꯣꯟ ꯑꯌꯥꯡꯕ (Shamadon Ayangba)
A winged divine horse from Meitei mythology and ancestor of the Manipuri ponyBeing · Power and authority Living
🇪🇸 SpainMinairó
Tiny magical beings from the Pyrenees said to build stone piles and work fields.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇲🇱 Mali and 4 moreKonrulQonrul
A giant bird of Turkic myth that regenerates and aids heroesBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇲🇽 MexicoWerejaguar
A supernatural figure from Olmec art, blending human and jaguar traits.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇷🇺 RussiaAbzar iyesiAbzar іyesi
A Turkic courtyard spirit that guards farmsteads and livestockBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean dragon용/룡; 미르
A benevolent water spirit and royal symbol in Korean mythology and folkloreBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 morePetwo
A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat
A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptAkhekh
A winged desert creature of Egyptian myth linked to chaos and royal powerBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇹🇭 ThailandSihuhataแมงสี่หูห้าตา
A legendary creature from northern Thai folklore associated with wealth and divine testingBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaEtheric body
A subtle energy layer said to sustain the physical form and connect it to higher states.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelMelchom
A demon of hell and former Ammonite idol described in the Dictionnaire InfernalBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa
A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach
A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇻🇳 VietnamMẫu Thượng Ngàn林宮聖母
A forest goddess in Vietnamese indigenous religion, ruler of the Forest PalaceBeing · Power and authority Living
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец
A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelBabalon
A Thelemic goddess of fertility, ecstasy, and spiritual transformation.Being · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia
A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇱 ChileWarlock of Chiloébrujo chilote
A legendary network of sorcerers from the Chilean archipelago and their mythical powers.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇧🇹 BhutanVajravarahiརྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ། (Dorje Pakmo)
A wrathful female buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, depicted with a sow head and dancing posture.Being · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreVarahiवाराही (Vārāhī)
A Hindu mother goddess with a sow face, worshipped in Tantric rites for protection and powerBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicAnaisa Pye
A Dominican loa of love and wealth, linked to Saint Anne.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇱 ChilePincoya
A Chilotan sea spirit whose dance predicts the catch of fish and seafood.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων
A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत
A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaNine-Eared Hound九耳犬
A legendary dog from Leizhou Peninsula mythology that predicts prey and discovers the Thunder GodBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος
The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı)
Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreBanjhakri and Banjhakrini
Forest shamans of the Kirati people in Nepal and eastern IndiaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ)
A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi
Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyWinged lion
A mythological creature combining a lion's body with bird wings, used in heraldry and art.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreKṣitigarbhaक्षितिगर्भ
A bodhisattva vowed to empty the hells and guard children, shown with a staff and jewel.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKhidrالخضر
A Qur'anic guide and saint believed to hold hidden wisdom and aid those in need.Being · Seeing and foretelling · 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.
- Winged lion: Rjcastillo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tesso: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
- Banjhakri and Banjhakrini: RajashreeTalukdar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pincoya: Paul Lowry, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Vahana: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
- Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
- Samaton: Isabelm-h, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dawon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Werejaguar: Ruben Charles, ( http://www.rubencharles.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
- Sihuhata: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Melchom: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Mẫu Thượng Ngàn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Anchanchu: Arizz4k, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
- Babalon: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Vajravarahi: Foto: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
- Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
- Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Nine-Eared Hound: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
- Korean dragon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kṣitigarbha: སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།, Public domain, source
- Khidr: Unknown author, Public domain, source