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

🇮🇳 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

🇮🇶 IraqBabylonian astrology The first organized system of celestial divination in the ancient Near EastTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreAncient Mesopotamian religion The polytheistic beliefs and practices of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia from 6000 BC to 500 ADTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 moreAna BeKoachאנא בכח A medieval Jewish liturgical poem linked to the 42-letter name of GodText · Power and authority · Protection Living

🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة A collective Sufi ritual of remembrance and chanting to experience Divine PresenceRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇮🇱 IsraelShekhinahשְׁכִינָה The divine presence of God dwelling among people in Jewish and Islamic thoughtBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMawlidمولد An annual festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet MuhammadTradition · Power and authority Living 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreBay'ahبيعة An oath of loyalty and obedience given to a political or spiritual leader in Islamic traditionRite · Binding and oaths · Power and authority Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreUmayyad tradition of cursing Ali A state policy to denounce Ali during communal prayers under the Umayyad CaliphateRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical

🇹🇷 TurkeyHittite sun disk An ancient Anatolian bronze symbol used in Hattian and Hittite religious ceremoniesCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical

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
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali: Anwar Rizvi, CC BY 2.0, source
Hittite sun disk: Noumenon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Ana BeKoach: Baruch Zvi Ring (c. 1872 - 1927) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain, source
Dhikr: Eugène Baugnies, Public domain, source
Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

Magic in Middle East

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest