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. 170 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

🇮🇳 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

🇲🇬 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority 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

🇮🇱 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

🇪🇬 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 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

🇪🇸 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 🇾🇪 YemenDhu'l-Khalasaذُو الْخَلَصَة A pre-Islamic shrine in Yemen destroyed by early Muslim forces.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇮🇷 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

🇮🇱 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 🇮🇷 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

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

🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreJewish views on astrologyחָכְמַת הַמַּזָּלוֹת A long-standing debate within Jewish thought about the influence of stars and planetsBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreLots of the ApostlesSortes Apostolorum A Christian divination text based on casting lots to seek guidance from the apostles.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKhidrالخضر A Qur'anic guide and saint believed to hold hidden wisdom and aid those in need.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority 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
Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Myomancy: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, 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
Khidr: Unknown author, Public domain, 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