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
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu
A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCorpus Hermeticum
A collection of Greek writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus that shaped Western esoteric thoughtText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreTetragrammatonיהוה
The four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written as YHWH.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου
A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient letter values.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luriaיִצְחָק בן שלמה אשכנזי לוּרְיָא
A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל
A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreIbn Arabiمحيي الدين أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن عربي الحاتمي الطائي
A medieval Andalusian mystic and philosopher whose teachings shaped Sufi metaphysics across the Islamic world.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreApollonius of TyanaἈπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς
A first-century philosopher and miracle worker whose life became a legend of divine power.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLag BaOmerלַ״ג בָּעוֹמֶר
A Jewish holiday marking the end of a mourning period with bonfires and outdoor playTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 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
🇪🇬 EgyptAbraxasἈβράξας
A Gnostic archon and the name on ancient protective gemstonesBeing · Protection Historical
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 morePicatrixغاية الحكيم
A medieval Arabic handbook of talismanic magic and astrologyText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMyomancy
A divination practice that reads omens in the actions of rats and miceOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל
A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreSibylline Oracles
A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreMezuzahמְזוּזָה
A scroll of Torah verses placed in a case on Jewish doorpostsCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 morePersian mythologyاسطورهشناسی ایرانی
Ancient Iranian myths of cosmic struggle between light and darknessBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambresיניס וימבריס
Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān)
A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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
🇮🇷 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
🇮🇱 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman
An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreRachel's TombQever Raḥel; Qabr Rāḥīl
A shared holy site near Bethlehem revered by Jews, Christians, and MuslimsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀
A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇾🇪 YemenDhu'l-Khalasaذُو الْخَلَصَة
A pre-Islamic shrine in Yemen destroyed by early Muslim forces.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian)
A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · 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
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇷 IranʿIlm al-Ḥurūfعِلْم الْحُرُوف
A system of Arabic numerology that assigns numerical values to letters to reveal hidden meanings in the Quran.Belief · Seeing and foretelling 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 4 moreAngelמלאך
A supernatural messenger or intermediary spirit found in many religious traditions.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇱 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
🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreAl BastyAlbastı
A female spirit of guilt and childbirth found in Turkic and Caucasian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAbyzou
A female demon of envy who targets newborns and pregnant women in late antique magic.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
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
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
- Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Tetragrammaton: Lakisletter.gif : derivative work: Filii Henoch ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marsilio Ficino: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
- Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
- Apollonius of Tyana: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lag BaOmer: Yoninah, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Abraxas: Louis Breton, M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
- Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Angel: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
- Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abyzou: Paul Perdirizet (1870-4 juin 1938), Public domain, source
- Myomancy: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
- Mezuzah: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
- Persian mythology: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, 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
- Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Gematria: Bethsheba Ashe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rachel's Tomb: Lane-Poole, Stanley, Public domain, source