Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
Aleister Crowley in Golden Dawn garb
Classic magic words
Woodcut illustration from an edition of Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia (1582)
Portrait of Francis Barrett, author of the book The Magus (1801)
Magic is an ancient practice rooted in rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural world. It is a categorical yet often ambiguous term which has been used to refer to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, frequently considered separate from both religion and science.
The Magician, an illustration from the Rider–Waite tarot deck first published in 1910
One of the earliest surviving accounts of the Persian mágoi was provided by the Greek historian Herodotus.
Bronze protection plaque from the Neo-Assyrian era showing the demon Lamashtu
Mandaic-language incantation bowl
