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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.
Broken mirrors can be associated with bad luck, but for the ancient Maya, a cracked mirror was often desirable.
A group of witches offering wax effigies to the Devil in a 17th-century woodcut.
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Only five witches were executed in Wales, while thousands were sentenced to death in Scotland and England.
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Research suggests magicians lack magical thinking.
Mystic Meg in a promotional image.
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Critics of superstition have often painted openness to magical interpretations as weakness or moral failing.
White sage is being commonly used for purification rituals.
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Native Americans are struggling to find sage for their spiritual practices as the plant is being overharvested for sale to the wider public.
People enjoying Christmas decorations in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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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.
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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
The idea of a ‘witch’ was usually female in Western Europe, but not so in Orthodox Russia – partly because of the period’s rigid social hierarchies.
In Côte d'Ivoire, brouteurs are known for chasing a life of fame and fortune.
Alexander Newell
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.
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People don’t just go on retreat to discover themselves. They also go hoping to find magical connections with others.
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Two Christmas traditions – those around the birth of Jesus and Santa who brings gifts to all – contain strong elements of magic.
When Spain first imported chocolate, the medical community was concerned about the drink and its potential side effects.
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From devil to potion to miracle drug, chocolate’s arrival in Europe was a wild ride.
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What’s behind Gen Z’s appetite for tarot and spells? 16th century debates about witchcraft help explain why the occult has become viral on TikTok.
Perfumes, potions and witches have been entwined for centuries.
Frederick Stuart Church/Smithsonian American Art Museum/Wikimedia Commons
Scent and magic have been entwined in our imaginations for centuries – right up to today’s witch-inspired perfumes.
Hugh Jackman in The Prestige.
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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.
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Interest in Wicca and witchcraft appears to be increasing, but what exactly is Wicca in the first place?
St Swithin is associated with a prediction of 40 days of summer rain.
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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.
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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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Although many modern people tend to see ‘magic’ and ‘religion’ as separate, magic was actually integral to the development of Christianity.