Necromancy & Death Magic
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Anubis: the Egyptian psychopomp
On one side of the scale rests the heart of the deceased; on the other, the feather of Ma'at.
2026-08-29Day of the Dead: meaning, history and practices
The Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is a Mexican syncretic tradition celebrated on November 1–2 that honors deceased ancestors through offerings, altars,
2026-08-29Death rituals around the world: a comparative guide
In the highlands of Madagascar, the family tomb opens every five to seven years, and the dead come out to dance.
2026-08-29Deity in the Bible: chthonic vs heavenly beings
A Roman priest once told a Greek colleague that his gods had no myths, only rituals.
2026-08-29Dullahan: the headless horseman of Irish myth
The Dullahan is a headless death spirit from Irish folklore who rides a black horse while carrying his own severed head.
2026-08-29Exploring Cultural Traditions on Death
A Tibetan rogyapa breaks the skull of a corpse with a stone, then slices the flesh from the bones.
2026-08-29Grim Reaper vs Satan: what's the difference?
A medieval woodcut shows Death as a grinning skeleton carrying a scythe.
2026-08-29How do Hindu death rituals differ from other traditions?
A priest pours water from a copper vessel into the dying man's mouth.
2026-08-29How Does the Book of the Dead Compare to the Bible?
A scribe named Ani kneels before a balance.
2026-08-29How to practice necromancy?
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) A Roman magistrate once ordered a necromancer to raise the ghost of a murdered man in open court.
2026-08-29How to start a ritual
A Roman priest once remarked that his gods cared less about belief than about procedure.
2026-08-29Islamic beliefs about the afterlife compared to ancient Egyptian views
A dying man in Cairo hears the shahada whispered into his ear.
2026-08-29Necromancy in the Bible: forbidden practices
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) The woman at Endor did not call herself a necromancer.
2026-08-29Necromancy: meaning, history, symbols and practices
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) The witch of Endor is the first necromancer we know by name.
2026-08-29Satan vs Baphomet: what are the differences?
The goat-headed idol and the horned devil are not the same being, and conflating them obscures two very different histories.
2026-08-29The Black Mass: history and misconceptions
A Parisian police raid in 1897 uncovered a room with a naked woman on an altar, a defaced crucifix, and a priest who had been paid to say Mass backward.
2026-08-29The Book of the Dead: Egyptian funerary text
A scribe named Ani was buried around 1250 BCE with a papyrus scroll tucked beside his mummy.
2026-08-29The Grim Reaper: origins and symbolism
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) A 1538 woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger shows a skeleton in a tattered shroud, scythe raised, tugg
2026-08-29The hourglass: symbol of death and time
A 14th-century fresco in the Campo Santo of Pisa shows three living kings meeting three dead kings.
2026-08-29The libation to the dead: offering rituals
A Greek mourner once knelt at a grave outside the city walls.
2026-08-29The relationship between psychopomps and birds in various cultures.
The raven lands on the battlefield at dusk.
2026-08-29The Relationship Between Religion and Death Rituals
Religion and death rituals are inseparable: how each tradition handles the corpse, and what its funerary practices reveal about its own deepest beliefs.
2026-08-29The seance: history and how it works
Seven people sat around a mahogany table, their hands resting on its polished surface.
2026-08-29The Symbolism of Day of the Dead Celebrations
A woman sweeps a path of marigold petals from her front door to the altar.
2026-08-29What are death rituals around the world?
In northern Ghana, the dead are buried twice.
2026-08-29What is a Black Mass and how does it differ from a traditional Mass?
A priest in a black chasuble stands before an altar where a woman lies nude, her body serving as the table.
2026-08-29What is Ars Moriendi and its significance?
The dying person lay surrounded by family, neighbors, and a priest who held a crucifix within the line of sight.
2026-08-29What is necromancy and how does it work?
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) A lead tablet, scratched with the name of a woman dead three years, lies beside a human skull.
2026-08-29What is the Baphomet pose?
We have watched people at public rituals struggle to hold the Baphomet pose for more than thirty seconds.
2026-08-29What is the difference between Wicca, Pagan, and Witch?
A woman once walked into our library and asked, “Which one am I?” She had read three books: one on Wicca, one on general paganism, one on witchcraft.
2026-08-29What is the meaning of necromancy?
A funeral procession crosses a field in northern Greece, 330 BCE.
2026-08-29What was the afterlife like in ancient Egypt?
The ancient Egyptian afterlife was a perilous journey through the Duat, the underworld, toward the Field of Reeds, a perfected mirror of the Nile valley.
2026-08-29How to perform necromancy: a practical guide
A woman in eighteenth-century Cornwall knelt beside a fresh grave, a clay pipe in one hand and a candle in the other.
2026-08-23What is the Ma'nene ritual in Tana Toraja?
A family in Tana Toraja gathers at a stone tomb cut into a cliff.
2026-08-23Ancestor veneration: how to honor the dead
A man in Ghana props a chair against a wall at dusk.
2026-08-20How does the Witches' Sabbath differ from the Christian Sabbath?
A Scottish woman named Agnes Sampson stood before King James VI in 1590 and confessed to attending a witches’ sabbath on All Hallows’ Eve.
2026-08-20How to become a devotee of Santa Muerte
To become a devotee of Santa Muerte, you need only an image of the skeletal saint, a glass of water, and a sincere prayer.
2026-08-20How to practice the Witches' Sabbath as a modern witch
A medieval court record from 1453 describes a woman who admitted to flying on a stick to a gathering where she kissed a goat's hindquarters.
2026-08-20Santa Muerte: history, devotion and practices
A woman in Mexico City lights a cigarette and places it between the skeletal fingers of a statue robed in gold.
2026-08-20Santa Muerte vs Santeria: key differences and similarities
A woman in Mexico City lights a candle to a skeleton saint.
2026-08-20The Witches' Sabbath: myth and history
She has walked backward around the stones three times.
2026-08-20Where can I find Giovanni Battista della Porta's works?
Giovanni Battista della Porta’s works are available through the Internet Archive, Google Books, and the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli, with the 1658 Engli
2026-08-20What is Santa Muerte and how to become a devotee
A woman in Mexico City lights a seventh candle on a Monday night.
2026-08-17The Tibetan Book of the Dead: guide for the dying
A lama sits beside a dying woman in a village in eastern Tibet.
2026-08-17What is the meaning of a necromancer?
A priestess in the cave at Avernus poured honey and milk into a pit.
2026-08-17How do Catholic rituals for death differ?
A priest in a black chasuble stands at the foot of a bed, holding a crucifix and a small vial of oil.
2026-08-17Ars moriendi: the art of dying well
In a small room in 15th-century Germany, a dying man lies on a straw bed.
2026-08-17Meaning of the death card in tarot readings
Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d'utilisation) A querent once pushed the card back across the table and refused to finish the reading.
2026-08-17