Magic in Middle East

The evil-eye bead, the djinn, ruqyah and the talisman, Kabbalah and Jewish amulets, and the ancient Babylonian and Persian arts. 172 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇪🇬 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 morePlanets in astrology Seven celestial bodies used to map human character and destinyBelief · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity 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

🇪🇬 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

🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreAramaic Uruk incantation A Seleucid-era magical tablet written in Aramaic using cuneiform signsText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptEn-Naddahaالنداهة A water spirit of the Nile who lures men to their doom with a hypnotic callBeing · Cursing and harm Fading 🇮🇷 IranPersian mysticism A spiritual tradition in Iran blending ancient beliefs with Sufi practice and poetic thought.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Planets in astrology: Jan van Loon, Public domain, source
Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Abyzou: Paul Perdirizet (1870-4 juin 1938), Public domain, source
Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source

Magic in Middle East

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest