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.
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth
A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreJabir ibn Hayyanجابِر بِن حَيّان
A legendary Islamic alchemist and philosopher whose writings shaped medieval magic and chemistryText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHermetica
A collection of ancient texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, covering magic, alchemy and philosophy.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreShimon bar Yochaiשמעון בר יוחאי
A second-century sage of the Land of Israel and a central figure in Kabbalistic tradition.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreGematriaגימטריה
A numeric writing system that assigns numerical values to words and phrases for interpretation.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇲🇬 Madagascar and 4 moreGeomancy
A cross-cultural system of divination using earth, sand, and landforms to read the future or align spaces.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān)
A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreIfritعفريت
A class of powerful chthonic spirits in Islamic tradition and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePlanets in astrology
Seven celestial bodies used to map human character and destinyBelief · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 morePicatrixغاية الحكيم
A medieval Arabic handbook of talismanic magic and astrologyText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 morePersian mythologyاسطورهشناسی ایرانی
Ancient Iranian myths of cosmic struggle between light and darknessBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀
A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreQareenقرين
A spiritual companion or double assigned to every human in Islamic beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreAstrology in the medieval Islamic worldعلم النجوم (Ilm an-Nujūm)
The study of celestial influences on earthly affairs within the medieval Islamic traditionTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology
A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelJewish astrologyמַזָּלוֹת (mazzālôt)
A belief system within Judaism that celestial bodies influence earthly affairs and human destiny.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptKitab al-Kanuzكتاب الكنوز
A lost Arabic treasure guide linked to Zerzura and the SphinxText · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth
An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreYazata𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀
A Zoroastrian term for divine beings worthy of worship and venerationBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTeraphimתרפים
Ancient Hebrew household figures linked to ancestry, property rights and divinationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTerritorial spirit
A belief that demons or angels rule over specific lands and nations.Belief · Cursing and harm · 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreRighteous Priest
A messianic priestly figure in Jewish eschatology, identified with Shem and Melchizedek.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelShekhinahשְׁכִינָה
The divine presence of God dwelling among people in Jewish and Islamic thoughtBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇱 IsraelMelchom
A demon of hell and former Ammonite idol described in the Dictionnaire InfernalBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף
A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelSeder hishtalshelusסדר השתלשלות
A Kabbalistic cosmology mapping the descent of divine light through spiritual realms to the physical world.Belief · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAlchemy in the medieval Islamic world
The study of matter and spirit by scholars in the early Islamic CaliphateTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAna BeKoachאנא בכח
A medieval Jewish liturgical poem linked to the 42-letter name of GodText · Power and authority · Protection Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreJewish views on astrologyחָכְמַת הַמַּזָּלוֹת
A long-standing debate within Jewish thought about the influence of stars and planetsBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 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.
- Qareen: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
- Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
- Ifrit: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Planets in astrology: Jan van Loon, Public domain, source
- Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
- Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Melchom: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Seder hishtalshelus: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Persian mythology: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Leviathan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
- Shimon bar Yochai: איתי פרץ, Attribution, source
- Jabir ibn Hayyan: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
- Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world: An Islamic artist 739H/1339, probably in Baghdad, Public domain, source
- Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Ana BeKoach: Baruch Zvi Ring (c. 1872 - 1927) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain, source
- Gematria: Bethsheba Ashe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khidr: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source