Scholars and sceptics
Anthropologists, historians and investigators who study magic and test its claims.
Scholars and sceptics are the people who study magic from outside the practice: anthropologists, historians, folklorists, psychologists, scholars of religion and investigators who test claims. They have names such as E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Marcel Mauss, Bronislaw Malinowski, Mary Douglas, Keith Thomas and Carlo Ginzburg, and also investigators such as James Randi. This page covers what they have found, how they disagree, and what their work has cost and changed. Their work has changed how the whole subject is understood.
Early theories
Nineteenth-century writers such as James Frazer treated magic as a mistaken early science, a view now widely rejected as arrogant and inaccurate. Later anthropologists, including Evans-Pritchard in his 1937 study of the Azande, showed that magical belief can be a consistent way of reasoning about misfortune. Mauss and Malinowski stressed its social role. Fieldwork, archives, laboratory studies and surveys are their main methods, and each field has its own debates and schools.
The history of witch trials
Historians have revised their view of the witch trials. Keith Thomas and Alan Macfarlane studied English village accusations, Carlo Ginzburg found the benandanti in Friuli, and Ronald Hutton has argued about the numbers and causes, and Silvia Federici links the persecution to the rise of capitalism, a thesis historians dispute. The older figure of nine million victims has been dropped, and estimates now run to tens of thousands of executions.
Testing claims
Sceptics test whether claims hold up. James Randi offered a prize for evidence of paranormal power that was never won, and organisations such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry investigate fraud. Researchers study why people believe: pattern-seeking, uncertainty and the wish to control events. The best sceptics aim to understand people, not to mock them. Sceptics hold that claims should be tested, and they have a long record of exposing cases such as spirit photography and fake healers.
Ethics of study
Scholars were often colonial officials or missionaries, and their reports shaped how Indigenous religions were named. Contemporary researchers work with communities, ask consent and respect closed knowledge. Practitioners sometimes object to being explained, and sceptics sometimes to being called closed-minded. The conversation continues, and this guide aims to stay neutral on whether magic works. Their critics reply that science cannot measure everything that matters to a community, and that explaining a ritual away is not the same as understanding it.
Scholars and sceptics 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreLa Llorona
A vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who mourns drowned children near water.Figure · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇦 CanadaNanabozhoᓇᓇᐳᔓ
A shapeshifting spirit and trickster in Anishinaabe storytelling from North AmericaBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇨🇱 ChileCaleuche
A luminous ghost ship of Chilote mythology that sails the canals and seas of southern Chile.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 2 moreBurmese zodiacဇာတာ ရာသီခွင်
A traditional Burmese system of astronomy and astrology with lunar mansions and weekday signs.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem
A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇴 ColombiaColombian folklore
Beliefs and legends passed down through generations in ColombiaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya calendar
A system of timekeeping used by ancient and modern Maya communities to track days, years, and historical cycles.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn)
A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 IrelandIrish folklorebéaloideas
The oral traditions, myths and customs of IrelandTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreCaribbean folklore
The blended tales and spirits of the Caribbean islandsTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇰🇷 South KoreaJeoseung Saja저승사자
A Korean psychopomp who escorts the dead to the afterlife.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well
A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreSerbian folkloreСрпски фолклор
The folk traditions and epic poetry of the Serbs, blending pre-Christian customs with Orthodox faith.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦
A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts
The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession
A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन
A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter, observed on November 1st.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇱 ChileChilean mythology
The myths and legends of Chile, blending indigenous roots with colonial influences.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent
A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 morePishtacoñañaq; kharisiri
An Andean bogeyman said to steal human fat for oil and medicineBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomEnglish folklore
The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇱🇻 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology
A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 morePolynesian mythology
The oral traditions and legends of the Polynesian peoples across the PacificTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 morePersonifications of death
Figures from many cultures that embody the end of life and guide soulsFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity
A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù)
A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaejongism대종교
A Korean faith system centred on the ancestral king Dangun and national identity.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreAyaz AtaАяз Ата
A Turkic winter spirit who brings snow and gifts during the cold seasonBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker
An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ)
A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman
A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇻🇳 VietnamMẫu Thượng Ngàn林宮聖母
A forest goddess in Vietnamese indigenous religion, ruler of the Forest PalaceBeing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanMagatama勾玉
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye
Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 3 moreMana
A spiritual force of power and authority in Oceanic culturesBelief · 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.
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
- Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
- La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
- Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Polynesian mythology: Makemake at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burmese zodiac: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Totem: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Colombian folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Maya calendar: MBisanz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Personifications of death: No machine-readable author provided. Kirtap assumed (based on copyrigh, CC BY 2.5, source
- Irish folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Daejongism: Berghendorf, CC0, source
- Mẫu Thượng Ngàn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Caribbean folklore: Biblioteca Juvenil Mayaguez ( talk · contribs ), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Jeoseung Saja: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mana: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Serbian folklore: Uroš Predić, Public domain, source