Witchcraft

thumb|Depiction of witchcraft in John William Waterhouse's painting The Magic Circle (1886)

thumb|right|220px|A woman performs a cursing ritual (Hokusai) A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, "curse" may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power, such as a god or gods, a spirit, or a natural force, or else as a kind of spell by magic (usually black magic or dark magic) or witchcraft; in the latter sense, a curse can also be called a

magic used for evil and selfish purposes

thumb|19th century book of incantations, written by a Welsh physician

A homunculus ( , , ; "little person", : homunculi , , ) is a small artificial human or human-like being. Popularized in 16th-century alchemy and 19th-century fiction, it has historically been referred to as the creation of a miniature, fully formed human or humanoid being. The concept has roots in preformationism as well as earlier folklore and alchemic traditions.

magic for selfless purposes

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

a branch of magical practice, using magic to influence love and/or sexual relations

legend originating in England and France

The concept of Magic in Islam

magic that is neither for specifically beneficial or hostile reasons