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.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home
A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarry Price
A British psychic researcher and conjurer who investigated paranormal claims and exposed fraudulent mediums.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool
A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇱🇻 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
🇪🇸 SpainFolklore of Spain
The oral traditions, legends, and folktales of the Iberian PeninsulaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology
The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBeltane Fire Festival
A modern Edinburgh performance celebrating the start of summer with fire and danceRite · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 ItalyThe MagicianLe Bateleur
A tarot trump symbolizing power and the link between spirit and matterText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreTarottarocchi
A set of cards for games and divination, with roots in fifteenth-century ItalyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇳🇴 NorwaySteilneset Memorial
A 2011 monument in Norway marking the 1621 Vardø witch trials and their victims.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandIrish folklorebéaloideas
The oral traditions, myths and customs of IrelandTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePietro d'Abano
A medieval physician and astrologer accused of heresy and magic.Text · Healing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCount of St. GermainComte de Saint Germain
An 18th-century European adventurer known for alchemy, music, and claims of immortality.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇸 SpainMaslama al-Majritiأبو القاسم مسلمة بن أحمد المجريطي
A tenth-century scholar of alchemy and astronomy in Islamic Spain.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreBrocken spectreBrockengespenst
A giant shadow cast by an observer onto clouds, often surrounded by a rainbow halo.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreWelsh mythologyY Chwedlau
The ancient legends of Wales and the Celtic Britons, preserved in medieval manuscripts.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNorse mythology
The mythic tales of the North Germanic peoples and their ancient gods.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms surrounded by folklore about dancing spirits and witches.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreEdward Kelley
An English occultist and scryer who worked with John Dee to contact angels and practice alchemy.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot
The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreThirteen Treasures of the Island of BritainTri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain
A collection of magical objects from late-medieval Welsh legendText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇸 SpainAnjanaanˈhana / an.xa.nɜ
Cantabrian fairies who protect forests and bring gifts to children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreBevis of HamptonПовесть о Бове-королевиче
A medieval chivalric romance about a hero's exile and return across Europe and the Near EastText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 FranceYan-gant-y-tan
A Breton demon who carries five candles and is said to bring bad luck.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomPearlin Jean
A Scottish ghost said to haunt the ruins of Allanbank estate in BerwickshireBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreSárkány
A winged reptilian beast from Hungarian folklore, linked to weather and literary heroes.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern
An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu
A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis
A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreWeiße Frauen
Elven spirits of sunlight and water in Germanic folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyLichtenberg's Avertissement
A satirical poster exposing stage magic as deceptionText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreBesomвеник
A twig broom used for sweeping, folk magic, and fire responseCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė
A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 3 moreThe Swan Queen
A Lithuanian fairy tale about a bird maiden who becomes human and returns to the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEnochian chess
A four-player chess variant used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for divination and playTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreUr (rune)
A runic character representing the aurochs or cold rain in Germanic alphabetsText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος
An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements
Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyDe Umbris Idearum
A 1582 treatise by Giordano Bruno on memory, magic and philosophyText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie
A foundational treatise on ritual magic by Éliphas Lévi, structured around the tarot.Text · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGiants (esotericism)
Spiritual beings linked to lost continents and root races in occult literatureBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић
A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica
A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici
A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise
A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Harry Price: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Folklore of Spain: Mikipons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
- Beltane Fire Festival: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Magician: Pamela Colman Smith, Public domain, source
- Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
- Steilneset Memorial: Stylegar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Irish folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bevis of Hampton: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yan-gant-y-tan: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sárkány: Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, source
- Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Giants (esotericism): Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Airship of Clonmacnoise: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jack O'The Lantern: Bodrugan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
- Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pietro d'Abano: Marco Chemello (Wikimedia Italia), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lichtenberg's Avertissement: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Public domain, source
- Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ur (rune): RexCrudelissimus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Brocken spectre: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weiße Frauen: Wojciech Gerson, Public domain, source
- Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Norse mythology: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Besom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cox_(artist), Public domain, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Edward Kelley: Thomas Pennant, Public domain, source