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 1 moreSphinx A mythical hybrid with a human head and lion body, serving as guardian or riddler in Egyptian and Greek traditions.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreDivدیو Monstrous creatures of Persian and West Asian lore, later adapted into Islamic and regional mythologiesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇿 AzerbaijanBastyBasdı A group of evil spirits and goblins from Turkic folklore in Anatolia.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 4 moreDragon A serpentine mythical creature found in global folklore and art, representing power, chaos, or imperial authority.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇬 EgyptSerpopard A mythical hybrid creature with a serpent-like neck and feline body from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary 🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreBahamutبهموت A cosmic fish or bull that supports the earth in medieval Islamic cosmographyBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreHeadless men A legendary race of people described as lacking heads or having facial features on their chest.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇷 IranAzhdahaاژدها A winged serpent from Iranian myth and literature, often linked to the dragon archetype.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreHybrid beasts in folklore Creatures made of animal and human parts found in myths and ancient artBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSolomon's shamirשָׁמִיר A legendary worm or stone used to carve stone without iron toolsBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreLotan𐎍𐎚𐎐 (LTN) A coiled sea serpent defeated by a storm god in Ugaritic mythBeing Legendary 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreRahabרַהַב A Hebrew mythic sea monster and symbol of chaos, later used as a poetic name for Egypt.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇸🇾 SyriaAscusἌσκος A Greek giant flayed by Hermes after chaining DionysusBeing Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreTanninתַּנִּין A sea monster of chaos in Canaanite and Hebrew myth, later a symbol for Egypt and Babylon.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇱 IsraelAdne Sadehאַדְנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה A wild humanoid from Jewish folklore tethered to the earth by its navelBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreHumbaba A Mesopotamian giant who guarded the cedar forest and faced the hero GilgameshBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇾 CyprusPyraustaπυραλλίς A Cypriot mythic insect said to live within fire itselfBeing Legendary

🇮🇷 IranAkvan Divاکوان دیو A shape-shifting demon from Persian mythology that disguises itself as a wild horse.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇾 SyriaEchidnaΈχιδνα A half-woman, half-snake monster in Greek myth who mothered many famous beastsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Sphinx: Ipipipourax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Dragon: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Serpopard: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Headless men: Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), Public domain, source
Azhdaha: Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian), 1805-1875, Dugald Stewart Walker (18, Public domain, source
Solomon's shamir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberhard_Werner_Happel, Public domain, source
Echidna: Daderot, Public domain, source
Tannin: Zakariya al-Qazwini, Public domain, source
Hybrid beasts in folklore: Peter Schmelzle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Leviathan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source

Magic in Middle East

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

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