Witch ball
Glass ball coated with a reflecting material, used to ward off the evil eye of a passing witch.
Sympathetic magic
Basis of all magic according to the anthropologist and folklorist Sir James George Frazer, founded on the idea that things act on each other because they are linked by invisible and secret bonds.
Necromancy
Form of magic in which the dead are re-animated and able to communicate with the sorcerer who invoked them, just as they would if they were alive.Taghairm
Scottish Celtic practice similar to necromancy, in which spirits or demons are conjured up to help achieve some end, or to foretell the future.
Mandrake
One of 2500 species of plants belonging to the Solanaceae family. Its psychoactive effects have been known to physicians since ancient times.
Black cat
The numerous folk beliefs about black cats, and cats in general, are often contradictory. Superstitions surrounding black cats are almost certainly some of the most prevalent even today, along with the number thirteen and walking under a ladder.
Abracadabra
Magic word that has been in use since at least the second century BCE, when it appears on a Greek amulet as a ba ga da.
Spell (magical)
Verbal charm to be spoken or chanted, sometimes a single magic word such as Abracadabra or the Renervate encountered in the fictional Harry Potter series of books.
Apotropaic eye
One of a number of signs used to ward off occult forms of evil such as spirits or demons.
Apotropaic magic
Form of magic with the power to avert evil influences.