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.
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀
A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreFan death선풍기 사망설
A South Korean urban legend that running a fan in a sealed room causes fatal suffocationBelief Fading
🇨🇳 ChinaElemental
Mythic beings linked to earth, water, air, and fire in Renaissance occultism.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Tippecanoe
An urban legend linking US presidential deaths to election years ending in zero.Belief · Cursing and harm Fading
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo
A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesKennedy curse
A pattern of tragedies linked to the American Kennedy familyBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇾🇪 YemenDhu'l-Khalasaذُو الْخَلَصَة
A pre-Islamic shrine in Yemen destroyed by early Muslim forces.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism
The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNeotantraनवतन्त्र (navatantra)
A Western movement blending Tantra with modern views on sacred sexualityTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreQareenقرين
A spiritual companion or double assigned to every human in Islamic beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇨🇦 CanadaSpoon bending
A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedical astrology
An ancient practice linking planetary movements to the human body and diseaseTradition · Healing Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreZduhaćздухаћ
A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm 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
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇱 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 · Change and initiation Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBrown Lady of Raynham Hall
A famous English ghost story and photograph from a Norfolk country houseBeing Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSaciSaci-pererê
A one-legged prankster of Brazilian folklore who hides in dust devils and wears a magic red cap.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandPsychological astrology
A system that maps horoscopes to psychological theories and archetypesTradition · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreTennin天人
Heavenly beings in Japanese Buddhism, often depicted as beautiful women with feathered scarves.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPig dragon玉豬龍
A coiled Neolithic jade amulet from Hongshan culture, possibly an early dragon imageCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSoucouyant
A shape-shifting vampire spirit of Caribbean folklore that sheds its skin to fly as a fireballBeing · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNatal astrology
A chart built from birth details to map personality traits and life pathsTradition · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreThelema
A Western esoteric philosophy centered on discovering and following one's True WillTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son
A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAstrometeorology
A historical belief that celestial positions forecast weather and climateBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot
The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLouviers possessions
A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaVedic astrologyJyotiṣa
A traditional Hindu system of astrology rooted in Vedic study and timekeepingTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 ItalyArcheosofica
A school of esoteric Christianity founded in Rome that teaches ascetic disciplines and magical theory.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 FranceChamalières tabletPlomb de Chamalières
A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreLocational astrology
A branch of astrology that maps planetary influences to specific places on Earth.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇮🇪 IrelandEarly Irish astrology
The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCoin-sword辟邪劍 (bì xié jiàn)
A Chinese numismatic talisman made of cash coins strung on a rod to ward off evil spiritsCharm · Protection Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть
A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyIatromathematics
A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition · Healing 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
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam
Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNeopagan witchcraft
Modern pagan traditions that practice magic and draw on historical witch beliefs.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 IrelandLorica
A Hiberno-Scottish monastic prayer for protection against evilText · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda
A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian)
A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreScarab
An ancient Egyptian amulet and seal shaped like a dung beetleCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Elemental: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
- Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Kennedy curse: Walt Cisco, Dallas Morning News, Public domain, source
- Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
- Qareen: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spoon bending: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
- Zduhać: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Medical astrology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astrometeorology: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sex magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Brown Lady of Raynham Hall: Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tennin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Curse of Tippecanoe: Albert Gallatin Hoit, Public domain, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pig dragon: Prof. Gary Lee Todd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Archeosofica: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chamalières tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
- Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
- Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Coin-sword: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Scarab: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
- The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
- Vedic astrology: Freedomji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source