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The word witch is over a thousand years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and cræft ('craft'). [77] The masculine form was wicca ('male sorcerer'). [78] In early modern Scots, the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females ...
A serpent or dragon consuming its own tail, it is a symbol of infinity, unity, and the cycle of death and rebirth. Pentacle: Mesopotamia: An ancient symbol of a unicursal five-pointed star circumscribed by a circle with many meanings, including but not limited to, the five wounds of Christ and the five elements (earth, fire, water, air, and soul).
Pompeian wall painting depicting a hermaphrodite sitting, left hand raised towards an old satyr approaching from behind; a maenad or bacchant brings a love potion.. Magic in the Greco-Roman world – that is, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the other cultures with which they interacted, especially ancient Egypt – comprises supernatural practices undertaken by individuals, often privately ...
Hecate, the chthonic Greek goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, necromancy, and three-way crossroads, [21] appears as the master of the Three Witches. In ancient Greek religion , Hecate as goddess of childbirth is identified with Artemis , [ 22 ] who was the leader (ηγεμόνη: hegemone ) of the nymphs .
Apotropaic marks, also called 'witch marks' or 'anti-witch marks' in Europe, are symbols or patterns scratched on the walls, beams and thresholds of buildings to protect them from witchcraft or evil spirits. They have many forms; in Britain they are often flower-like patterns of overlapping circles. [25] such as hexafoils.
Hecate (/ ˈ h ɛ k ə t i / HEK-ə-tee; [4] Ancient Greek: Ἑκάτη) [a] is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, [5] and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied.
Greek divination is the divination practiced by ancient Greek culture as it is known from ancient Greek literature, supplemented by epigraphic and pictorial evidence. Divination is a traditional set of methods of consulting divinity to obtain prophecies (theopropia) about specific circumstances defined beforehand.
The Greek alphabet was used in the Greek magical papyri, where letters and symbols were combined in spells intended to protect or curse individuals. Additionally, the Phoenician alphabet , which influenced many later scripts, was used in the creation of amulets meant to ward off evil.