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.
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio
A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 2 more脡liphas L茅vi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text 路 Healing 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚤馃嚮 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology
A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAncient Greek folklore
The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native Faith袪芯写薪芯胁械褉懈械
A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚨馃嚤 Poland and 1 moreMichael SendivogiusMicha艂 S臋dziw贸j
A Polish alchemist who discovered oxygen and wrote on the 'food of life'Text 路 Power and authority 路 Change and initiation Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomHermetic Order of the Golden DawnOrdo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae
A late-19th-century British magical order that shaped modern Western occultismTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley
English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText 路 Power and authority 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic
A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths
Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition 路 Change and initiation 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 3 moreSerbian folklore小褉锌褋泻懈 褎芯谢泻谢芯褉
The folk traditions and epic poetry of the Serbs, blending pre-Christian customs with Orthodox faith.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism
The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 4 moreThelema
A Western esoteric philosophy centered on discovering and following one's True WillTradition 路 Change and initiation 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyArcheosofica
A school of esoteric Christianity founded in Rome that teaches ascetic disciplines and magical theory.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreLocational astrology
A branch of astrology that maps planetary influences to specific places on Earth.Tradition 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreOsirian Egyptian OrderOrdine Osirideo Egizio
An Italian esoteric society tracing its roots to 18th-century Naples and ancient Hermetic traditions.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandTailteann Games脕enach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 4 moreIlluminates of Thanateros
An international group dedicated to practical chaos magic and experimental ritual workTradition 路 Power and authority 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceSacred mysteries渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂慰谓
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomTyphonian Order
A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition 路 Change and initiation 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles
A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyThule SocietyThule-Gesellschaft
A German occult group that sponsored the early Nazi party and promoted racial mysticism.Tradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism
The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 SpainGua帽ame帽e
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreFraternitas Saturni
A German esoteric order focused on Saturn magic and astrological teachingsTradition 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreAlpha et Omega
An occult order formed from the Golden Dawn schism, active in London and Paris before World War IITradition 路 Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
- Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
- Sex magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- 脡liphas L茅vi: Eliphas L茅vi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Archeosofica: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (小芯褞蟹 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻懈褏 袨斜褖懈薪 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻芯泄, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Michael Sendivogius: 艁uszczkiewicz, Public domain, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
- Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
- Serbian folklore: Uro拧 Predi膰, Public domain, source
- Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source