spellcraft

Spellcraft is the practice of creating and performing spells—structured rituals, spoken or chanted words, and symbolic actions intended to influence events, conditions, or outcomes. The term is used across cultures and in various contexts, including religious, magical, folkloric, and fictional settings, to describe the craft of shaping forces believed to operate beyond ordinary action.

Historical spellcraft appears in Western esotericism, folk magic, and traditional religious practices. Grimoires and manuals from medieval and early modern Europe detail spells, talismans, and auspicious timing. Similar practices exist in other traditions, including Indigenous and African diasporic belief systems, each with its own cosmology, tools, and ethical norms.

Modern spellcraft typically emphasizes intention, ritual structure, visualization, and the use of tools, symbols, and correspondences such as colors, herbs, and candles. Practitioners may specialize in protective, healing, prosperity, or banishing spells, and may work alone or in groups, often considering consent and potential harm.

In fiction and popular media, spellcraft denotes a character's ability to manipulate magical forces through knowledge and training. In games and role-playing, it is a skill or class feature that governs spellcasting resources and effects.

Etymology traces spellcraft to the sense of uttering words of power plus craft or skill; scholars treat spellcraft as a cultural practice, part of folklore, ritual, and imagination, with varying claims about efficacy.