Ceremonial magic

thumb|upright=0.55|Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century

thumb|Altar in Roskilde Cathedral|Roskilde Lutheran Cathedral beneath a carved [[reredos]] An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and modern paganism. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse religions.

thumb|Hungarian goulash in a traditional "bogrács" (cauldron)

thumb|Late medieval chalice in silver-gilt with enamels of Saints and Scenes from the Life of Christ thumb|Diagram showing the parts of a liturgical chalice.

right|thumb|Undine Rising From the Waters, by Chauncey Bradley Ives thumb|Rococo set of [[personification figurines of the Four Elements, 1760s, Chelsea porcelain]] An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent followers, there are four categories of elementals, which are gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders. These correspond to the four Empedoclean elements of antiquity: earth, wate

thumb|Goetic seals from the Lesser Key of Solomon

thumb|Catholic thurible, or chain censer, designed for swinging thumb|Censer from Tibet, late 19th century, silver

Evocation is the act of evoking, calling upon, or summoning a spirit, demon, deity or other supernatural agents, in the Western mystery tradition. Conjuration also refers to a summoning, often by the use of a magical spell. The conjuration of the ghosts or spirits of the dead for the purpose of divination is called necromancy. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions and may employ the use of mind-altering substances with and without uttered word formulas.

thumb|right | The Immortal Soul of the Taoist Adept

circle of space marked out by practitioners of many branches of ritual magic

thumb|265px|An athame, used in Wiccan ritual practices An athame or athamé (, , , or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or magical tool among several used in ceremonial magic traditions, and by other neopagans, witchcraft, as well as satanic traditions. A black-handled knife called an arthame appears in certain versions of the Key of Solomon, a grimoire dating to the Renaissance.

thumb|Pentagram, a common symbol on a pentacle A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as pantacle in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal (although it can be of other materials), upon which a magical design is drawn. Symbols may also be included (sometimes on the reverse), a common one being the six-point form of the Seal of Solomon.

forms of address or reference to the deity of a religion

thumb|The magic circle|magical circle and triangle, magical objects/symbols used in the evocation of the seventy-two spirits of the Ars Goetia

fictional concept of a plane of existence, similarly postulated by various philosophies and religions; crossed by the human soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, believed to be populated by various immaterial beings

disciplines of occultism or esotericism that are involved with magic rituals

worship of stars and other heavenly bodies as deities

perfume used to anoint the vessels of the Jewish Tabernacle

Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult

spoken or written words having supernatural effects

Magical science during the Renaissance

symbol of a cross with a rose at its centre, associated with Rosicrucianism and other mystical movements