Phenomena like the Northern Lights and rainbows can seem magical – even to physicists like Partha Chowdhury who study them.
The Maya used mirrors as channels for supernatural communication. In this image, a supernatural creature speaks into a cracked, black mirror.
K2929 from the Justin Kerr Maya archive, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C.
Research shows that religious people who actively participate in religious gatherings tend to have a more positive experience of Christmas, with expectations largely fulfilled.
Scholars have provided different interpretations of who the ‘wise men’ were who visited Jesus soon after his birth.
Christophe Lehenaff/Collection Moment via Getty images
As Christmas approaches, Nativity scenes showing three wise men visiting the newborn Jesus are put up around the world. A scholar of Christian literature offers an explanation on their identity.
‘A Sorcerer Comes to a Peasant Wedding,’ a 19th-century painting by Russian artist Vassily Maximov.
Tretyakov Gallery/Wikimedia Commons
By casting spells and creating online persona to fool their victims, the Ivorian figure of the “brouteur” reveals the connections between the occult and virtual dimensions.
Being aware of the people you’re meditating with is an integral part of the process.
Evgenia Kostiaeva | Shutterstock
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction when it comes to the magicians of the Victorian era.
Most Wiccans in the U.S. practice alone, though they congregate in large gatherings to conduct rituals and learn from one another.
Sarah Swinford/EyeEm via Getty Images
If it rains on St Swithin’s day it is believed that it will rain for the rest of summer.
Mr Albinism Kenya Jairus Ongetta (L) and Miss Albinism Kenya Loise Lihanda pose at the Mr and Miss Albinism East Africa pageant.
YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
Because of their appearance, people with albinism in Tanzania are often socially excluded and frequently (and sometimes violently) discriminated against.
Magic fascinated and troubled early Christians as much as it does some people today.
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Professor of Public Theology in the Department of Beliefs and Practices, Faculty of Theology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam