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.
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat
A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomSamlesbury witches
Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459
An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text 路 Change and initiation 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 3 moreEdward Kelley
An English occultist and scryer who worked with John Dee to contact angels and practice alchemy.Figure 路 Power and authority 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitchcraft Acts
A series of British laws that shifted from punishing witchcraft to punishing those who claimed to practice it.Text 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyWitches of Benevento
A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWitch trials in England
A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus
A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi
A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomGeoffrey of MonmouthGruffudd ap Arthur
A medieval cleric whose writings shaped the King Arthur legend and British myth.Text 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins
The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚫 IcelandGaldrab贸k
An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomGrimoire (sample)
A handbook of rites and names.Text 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreSampo
A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Power and authority Historical
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
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreMedical astrology
An ancient practice linking planetary movements to the human body and diseaseTradition 路 Healing Historical
馃嚦馃嚤 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women
A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure 路 Change and initiation Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaBlack magic
Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBrown Lady of Raynham Hall
A famous English ghost story and photograph from a Norfolk country houseBeing Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son
A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceLouviers possessions
A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalySola Busca tarot
The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceChamali猫res tabletPlomb de Chamali猫res
A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text 路 Cursing and harm 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandEarly Irish astrology
The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 1 moreUnclean force薪械褔懈褋褌褜
A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyIatromathematics
A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition 路 Healing Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandLorica
A Hiberno-Scottish monastic prayer for protection against evilText 路 Protection Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMadam Pigott
A White Lady ghost of Shropshire who haunts roads and rides on horsesBeing Historical
馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine and 1 moreStricha小褌褉褨褔邪
A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWirry-cow
A Scottish folk figure representing a frightening object or spiritBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenKvinneby amulet
An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreShamanism in Europe
Scholarly theories on shamanic elements in European folk beliefs and witch trialsTradition 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland and 4 moreBelgian Tarot
A standard tarot deck printed in the Low Countries, mislabeled as Swiss.Tradition 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚘 UkraineGhost of Kyiv袩褉懈胁懈写 袣懈褦胁邪
A wartime legend of a mythical fighter pilot who rallied Ukrainian morale.Figure 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 morePalladium螤伪位位维未喂慰谓 (Palladion)
A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev
A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire
A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 3 moreChort褔褢褉褌
A Slavic demon spirit with horns and hooves, known in folklore as a trickster or minor evil force.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity
A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreDietrich von Bern
A legendary Germanic hero based on the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the GreatFigure 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology
A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 2 moreStrix蟽蟿蟻委尉
A classical bird of ill omen that evolved into a term for witches and vampires across Europe.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomEnfield poltergeist
A disputed 1970s case of alleged supernatural activity in a London homeBelief Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceTitivillus
A medieval demon who collects scribal errors and liturgical mistakes in a sack.Being 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanAllocer
A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing 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.
- Sampo: V盲in枚 Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
- Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Order of the Solar Temple: George Stock derivative work: thumperward ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Brown Lady of Raynham Hall: Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witchcraft Act 1735: Richard van Bleeck, Public domain, source
- Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Chamali猫res tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Belgian Tarot: PATLECOQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dietrich von Bern: Workshop of Diebolt Lauber, Hagenau 1444-1448, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Strix: Prosthetic Head, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Enfield poltergeist: Mx. Granger, CC0, source
- Titivillus: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
- Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Chort: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Trial by combat: J枚rg Breu der J眉ngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
- Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
- Edward Kelley: Thomas Pennant, Public domain, source
- Ghost of Kyiv: 袗薪写褉褨泄 袛邪薪泻芯胁懈褔 / Andriy Dankovych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Geoffrey of Monmouth: Colin Cheesman, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Medical astrology: Unknown author, Public domain, source