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.
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreFossegrim
A Scandinavian water spirit known for teaching fiddle music in exchange for offeringsBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreTyrTýr
A Germanic deity of war and oaths, known for sacrificing his hand to a wolfBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 4 moreGolemגּוֹלֶם
An animated clay figure from Jewish folklore created to serve or protectBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceTriple Goddess
A Neopagan deity representing three female life stages and lunar phasesBeing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 ItalyJupiterIuppiter
The Roman sky father and king of the gods, associated with thunder and oathsBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreSaturnSāturnus
Roman god of time and agriculture, linked to the Saturnalia festivalBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη
A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir
The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreZeusΖεύς
Supreme king of the Greek gods and ruler of the sky and thunderBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandTuatha Dé Danann
A supernatural race in Irish mythology, later known as the fairy folk.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos
An antlered Celtic deity associated with nature and fertilityBeing · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir
Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHob
A small household spirit of Northern England and the Anglo-Scottish border.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAegisαἰγίς
A mythical shield or skin of Zeus and Athena, symbolizing divine protectionBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreWyvern
A two-legged winged dragon common in European heraldry and fantasy fictionBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev
A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandSalmon of KnowledgeAn Bradán Feasa
A mythical fish in Irish folklore that holds all the world's wisdom.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇮 FinlandIku-Turso
A primordial giant and sea monster from Finnish mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇴 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
🇯🇵 JapanAllocer
A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇸 SpainBasajaun
A hairy forest lord of Basque myth who protects livestock and teaches human skillsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle
A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇸 SerbiaCikavacцикавац
A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaMoryanaМоря́на
A female sea spirit in Slavic folklore who controls winds and calms stormsBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇪🇸 SpainMinairó
Tiny magical beings from the Pyrenees said to build stone piles and work fields.Being · 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
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец
A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων
A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος
The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyWinged lion
A mythological creature combining a lion's body with bird wings, used in heraldry and art.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı)
Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇱 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach
A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi
Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Golem: user Thander, Public domain, source
- Winged lion: Rjcastillo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
- Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
- Hob: Jo Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fossegrim: Bjørn som tegner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Salmon of Knowledge: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Tuatha Dé Danann: John Duncan, Public domain, source
- Zeus: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wyvern: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iku-Turso: Hugo Simberg, Public domain, source
- Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Basajaun: Airiartmed2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
- Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
- Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
- Aegis: Unknown creator, Public domain, source
- Saturn: Robert Lowe, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jupiter: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Babalon: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
- Triple Goddess: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tyr: Gunnar Creutz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source