sorcery

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Magic

Nouns

1. sorcery; the occult; magic, the black art, necromancy, theurgy, thaumaturgy; demonology, diablerie, bedevilment, devil worship, diabolism; voodoo, obeah, hoodoo, macumba, santeria; witchcraft, wicca, witchery; alchemy; white or black magic; black Mass; fetishism, vampirism; conjuration; bewitchery, enchantment, mysticism, second sight, mesmerism, animal magnetism; od or odylic force; clairvoyance (see intuition); spiritualism, spirit-rapping, table-turning, ancestor worship, palmistry, chiromancy, numerology, oneiromancy; divination (see prediction); sortilege, hocus-pocus (see deception). See secret.

2. spell, charms, hex, incantation, cabala, runes, abracadabra, open sesame, mumbo jumbo, evil eye, door sign. Informal, jinx, Indian sign, hand.

3. exorcism; countercharm; conjuring potion, essence of St. Michael, fast luck oil, fast scrubbing essence; bell, book, and candle; talisman, amulet, mojo, toby, periapt, phylactery, philter; fetish, agnus Dei; esbat. Slang, lucky dog, water notre dame, gris-gris.

4. (tools of sorcery) wand, caduceus, rod, divining rod, magic lamp or ring, wishing cap, Fortunatas' cap, magic carpet; philosophers' stone; hoodoo animal, moonack, familiar; goofer bag. Slang, moonack.

5. sorcerer, magician; adept; thaumaturgist, theurgist; conjuror, voodooist, necromancer, seer, wizard, witch, archimage; lamia, hag, warlock, charmer; medicine man; alchemist; shaman, witch doctor, medium, clairvoyant, mesmerist; deus ex machina; soothsayer, oracle; Cagliostro, Mesmer; Circe, siren, weird sisters. Slang, night hag. See demon.

Verbs — practice sorcery, conjure, charm, enchant; bewitch, bedevil; entrance, mesmerize, magnetize; exorcise; fascinate; taboo; wave a wand; rub the ring or lamp; cast a chart; cast a spell; hold a séance, call up spirits, raise spirits from the dead. Informal, jinx. Slang, hoodoo, goober.

Adjectives — magic, magical; occult; secret, mystic, weird, cabalistic, talis-manic, phylacteric, incantatory, apotropaic; charmed, bewitched; spellbound, haunted.

Quotations — To deny the possibility, nay, the actual existence of witchcraft and sorcery is flatly to contradict the revealed word of God (William Blackstone), Nature has given us astrology as an adjunct and ally to astronomy (Johannes Kepler), Astrology is framed by the devil (Martin Luther), Belief in magic is older than writing (Zora Neale Hurston), May the Force be with you (George Lucas).

Antonyms, see religion.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. black magic, divination, enchantment, necRomancy; see magic 1 , witchcraft .

See Synonym Study at magic .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

black magic, black art, magic, supernatural powers, witchcraft, necromancy, wizardry, mysticism, Satanism, voodoo, spellbinding, diabolism, conjuring, alchemy.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun The use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events: conjuration, magic, sortilege, thaumaturgy, theurgy, witchcraft, witchery, witching, wizardry. See SUPERNATURAL.