Sorcerer

Solomonar

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Tradition: Romanian Mythology
Alternative Names: Șolomonar, Scholomonar, Solomonari
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

A Solomonar is a tall, red-haired wizard dressed in a long white robe, woollen clothing, or ragged patches. He carries a magical bag containing an iron axe, special reins, and a book of wisdom holding the secrets of his power. Some Solomonari also possess a small wooden instrument used to summon the winds, which may be trapped inside a little jar.

According to Romanian folklore, Solomonari are ordinary people who learn powerful magic at a hidden school called the Solomonărie or Scholomance. There they master the arts of weather-making and learn to command dragons known as zmei or balauri. Riding these mighty creatures through the sky, they summon thunder, rain, and devastating hailstorms.

When they are not riding dragons, Solomonari may wander the countryside disguised as blind, crippled, or impoverished beggars. They ask for alms, and the coins they collect are sometimes thrown into rivers as offerings to water spirits. Their humble appearance hides their supernatural abilities, and they are believed to remember which farmers deserve punishment for their actions. A Solomonar can therefore bring ruin upon a farm by unleashing a hailstorm from the back of his dragon.

The Solomonari are feared as masters of the storm, able to turn the sky itself into a weapon. Their power makes them mysterious figures who walk among ordinary people while holding the secrets of the winds and the creatures of the heavens.

Sources

“Solomonari.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomonari

Merlin

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Tradition: Welsh Mythology
Alternative Names: Myrddin, Merlinus Ambrosius
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

Merlin is a powerful wizard and prophet, often depicted as an old man with a long beard, a staff, and extraordinary knowledge of magic. He can foresee the future, change his shape, and perform supernatural feats beyond the abilities of ordinary men. In some legends, he is born from a mortal woman and an incubus, inheriting strange powers from his supernatural father. His wisdom is sometimes accompanied by madness, making him a mysterious figure whose mind reaches beyond the ordinary world.

Merlin becomes a trusted advisor to Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur. Through magic and cunning, he helps bring about Arthur’s birth, believing the child has a great destiny. When Arthur becomes king, Merlin serves as his counselor and mentor, guiding him through the challenges of ruling Britain. Merlin’s prophecies warn of future conflicts and reveal events that others cannot yet understand.

However, Merlin’s story does not always end in triumph. In a famous version of the legend, he falls in love with his student, the Lady of the Lake, and teaches her his magical secrets. She eventually uses her knowledge to enchant and imprison him, sealing him away forever in a cave, tomb, or other magical enclosure. Other tales describe his disappearance into the wilderness or his departure from the world of men, leaving behind prophecies of things yet to come.

Merlin is one of the great figures of magical wisdom: a sorcerer who helps shape the destiny of kings while remaining bound by the mysteries of fate. His legend also warns that knowledge alone cannot protect a person from love, betrayal, or the consequences of misplaced trust.

Sources

“Merlin.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin

Koschei the Deathless

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Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Koschei the Deathless, Kashchei, Koshchei
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

Koschei the Deathless is an evil immortal sorcerer who uses his magic to capture women and defy death itself. He is so powerful that ordinary weapons cannot easily defeat him, and his supernatural strength returns when he drinks water.

In the tale of Marya Morevna, Prince Ivan marries a beautiful warrior princess named Marya Morevna. Before leaving to fight a war, she warns him not to open the door to the castle dungeon. Unable to resist his curiosity, Ivan enters and discovers Koschei chained inside, weak and emaciated. When Ivan gives him twelve buckets of water, the sorcerer’s strength and magic return. He breaks his chains, escapes, and kidnaps Marya.

Ivan pursues Koschei, but the immortal sorcerer kills him, places his remains in a barrel, and throws it into the sea. Ivan is later restored to life by his sisters’ husbands, three powerful wizards who can transform into birds of prey. They tell him that Koschei possesses a magical horse and that he must obtain an equally powerful mount to defeat him. Ivan travels to the fearsome witch Baba Yaga and survives her trials, earning a magical horse.

Mounted on his new steed, Ivan confronts Koschei once more. This time, he defeats the sorcerer, kills him, and burns his body. Marya Morevna is freed, and Ivan reunites with his family to celebrate their victory.

Koschei embodies the terror of a deathless enemy whose power seems impossible to overcome. Yet even his immortality cannot protect him forever. Through courage, perseverance, and the aid of supernatural allies, Ivan finally destroys the sorcerer who once appeared invincible.

Sources

“The Death of Koschei the Deathless.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Koschei_the_Deathless

Nagual

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Tradition: Aztec Mythology, Mexico Mythology
Alternative Names: Nahual, Nāhualli
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

A Nagual is a human sorcerer with the power to transform into an animal, often taking the form of a jaguar, wolf, dog, owl, bat, or turkey. Some legends also describe Naguals transforming into unnatural shapes such as clouds, lightning, wind, or balls of fire.

The power of a Nagual is connected to the animal spirit linked to a person’s birth. In Mesoamerican beliefs, every person has a spiritual counterpart called a tonal, whose strengths and weaknesses influence their life. A Nagual can draw upon this spiritual connection to gain supernatural abilities and take on an animal’s form.

Naguals can use their powers for good or evil. Some protect their communities, guard sacred places, heal the sick, and remove curses cast by other sorcerers. Others transform at night to attack people, drink blood, steal possessions, or spread sickness.

In some communities, Naguals are respected members of society who are consulted for their spiritual powers. In others, they are feared as dangerous witches who use their animal forms to move unseen through the darkness.

The jaguar is especially associated with powerful Naguals. The Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, who was linked to jaguars, was also associated with Naguals and their supernatural abilities.

The Nagual is both a feared shapeshifting sorcerer and a spiritual guardian. Whether it becomes a protector or a threat depends on the person and how they use their power.

Sources

“Nagual.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagual

Warlock of Ägeri

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Warlock of Oberägeri
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

The Warlock of Ägeri is a feared sorcerer from the forests near Oberägeri, Switzerland. He lived in an old charcoal burner’s hut beneath St. Jostenberg and was believed to be in league with the Devil. According to legend, he was eventually arrested in Zug and executed for his supposed dealings with evil powers.

Before his death, the warlock confessed to several strange acts. On one occasion, he transformed himself into a felled tree trunk. Two tired woodcutters sat on the trunk to eat their afternoon meal. One began carving the bark with his knife, unknowingly causing the disguised sorcerer terrible pain.

In another tale, the warlock promised a group of hunters an extraordinary hunt, provided they followed his instructions and faced a particular direction. The hunters obeyed and soon encountered an astonishing number of hares and deer. However, whenever they fired their guns, the barrels burst or the weapons failed, leaving them unable to kill any of the animals.

Another notorious sorcerer from the region was Hans Blattmann, who faced accusations of witchcraft in Lucerne in 1597. He possessed an assortment of mysterious objects, including a bowl, a fire mirror, a magic ring, silver symbols, blessed candles, seeds, and a special parchment used in his rituals.

Blattmann also prepared healing ointments for painful legs using animal fats, beef marrow, and blessed wax. People told extraordinary stories about his supposed powers, which mixed healing remedies with suspected sorcery.

Together, these tales portray the sorcerers of Ägeri as mysterious men who could transform their bodies, manipulate hunters’ fortunes, and use strange objects and rituals to influence the world around them.

Sources

“Hexenmeister” (Warlock of Ägeri). SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/zug/hexenmeister.html

Bohemian Wizard

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Tradition: Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: The Mirror of the Earth
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

The Earth Mirror is a magical object belonging to a wicked sorcerer in the Bohemian Forest. Through it, he can see distant events and use his magic to interfere with people far beyond his reach.

One day, a farmer was driving his empty wagon home between Lichten and Sehenmichnit when his oxen suddenly became unable to move it. No matter how hard he struck them with his whip, the animals struggled in vain, and the wagon remained frozen in place.

A little man emerged from the woods and told the farmer to strike the wagon’s rear wheel with his hoe. The farmer followed the advice, and the wagon immediately began rolling again.

When he returned home, the farmer discovered that his neighbour, a notorious sorcerer, was lying in bed with a chopped-off foot. The sorcerer owned a magical mirror through which he could observe distant events. When he saw the farmer and his wagon in the mirror, he had placed his own foot against the wheel’s reflection, magically stopping the real wagon as well.

By striking the wheel with his hoe, the farmer had unknowingly struck the sorcerer’s foot through the connection between the mirror and the real world.

The tale presents the Earth Mirror as a dangerous magical object that allows a sorcerer to reach across great distances, but also exposes him to harm through the very magic he uses against others.

Sources

“Der Erdspiegel” (The Earth Mirror). SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/erdspiegel.html

Strange Sepp

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Tradition: Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: Sepp, Brother Strangelove
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

The Strange Sepp was a mysterious man from Eisenstein in the Bohemian Forest who travelled from farm to farm, working wherever he was needed. He could serve as a farmhand, tend oxen, or take on almost any other job. He was known for his strange behaviour and his habit of laughing whenever something was stolen from him. He would simply say that a thief could be caught if one knew the right secrets.

One day, Sepp was helping a group of workers mow a meadow. During their midday meal, he hung his mower’s belt, drinking vessel, and whetstone nearby. When they returned, all three items had disappeared. The other workers mocked him and challenged him to use his mysterious abilities to get them back.

Sepp went straight to the village and gathered a piece of chalk, a wax candle, and a small empty cup. He drew a circle around himself, lit the candle, turned the cup upside down, and placed the light between his feet. Then he began reciting a dark spell.

The magic took hold of the thief, forcing him to turn back and return the stolen equipment, no matter how far away he had travelled. After witnessing this, the villagers stopped mocking Sepp and realised that he possessed genuine supernatural powers.

Yet Sepp’s strange abilities seemed to come at a spiritual cost. That same year, he was not allowed to receive confession, and whenever he attended church, he had to leave before the priest departed. He even declared that if he died that year, nobody should fetch a clergyman for him.

The tale portrays Sepp as a mysterious sorcerer whose knowledge could command supernatural forces, but whose relationship with the Church suggested that his powers came from a dark and dangerous source.

Sources

“Der seltsame Sepp” (The Strange Sepp). SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/sepp.html

Hexenmeister

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Hexenmeister
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

The Hexenmeister is a male sorcerer from the folklore of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He can use supernatural powers to bring misfortune upon people who anger or mistreat him.

In one tale, a young beggar arrives at a farmhouse and asks the farmer for a midday meal. The farmer refuses, explaining that he is too busy bringing hay into the barn. The young man responds that the farmer will not manage to bring in any hay that day.

As soon as the farmer gathers a bundle of hay, a sudden gust of wind sweeps it away. The farmer struggles throughout the day while his neighbours work without trouble. Only the following day can he finally bring the hay safely into the barn.

The young beggar causes further damage whenever someone angers him. Eventually, he is brought before a court, where it is discovered that he had received communion while unworthy. This is taken as proof that he is a Hexenmeister, a sorcerer whose supernatural powers bring harm to others.

The tale warns that mistreating a stranger may bring unexpected consequences, especially when that stranger possesses hidden magical powers.

Sources

“Hexenmeister.” SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/hexenmeister.html

    Jack o’ Kent

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    Tradition: English Mythology, Welsh Mythology
    Alternative Names: Jack-a-Kent
    Category: Sorcerer

    The Myth

    Jack o’ Kent is a clever wizard from the Welsh Marches, often portrayed as a robed cleric with magical powers and a sharp mind. He is famous for repeatedly outwitting the Devil through tricks, wagers, and bargains. His legends are especially associated with Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

    In one tale, Jack makes a bargain with the Devil to ensure his crops receive the right amount of sunshine and rain. When harvest comes, the Devil can choose either the tops or the bottoms of the plants. The Devil chooses the tops, expecting wheat, but Jack plants turnips, leaving him with nothing but leaves. The following year, the Devil chooses the bottoms, hoping to claim turnip roots. Jack instead plants wheat, cheating the Devil once again.

    In another story, Jack asks the Devil to help him build a bridge in exchange for the first soul to cross it. Once the bridge is finished, Jack throws a bone across it. A hungry dog rushes after the bone and becomes the first to cross, leaving the Devil with an animal instead of a human soul.

    Jack’s cleverness also explains various unusual hills, rocks, and other landscape features around the Welsh Marches. His stories portray him as a man who can challenge the Devil and win, not through brute strength, but by finding loopholes in every bargain.

    Sources

    “Jack o’ Kent.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_o%27_Kent

    Zirega

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    Tradition / Region: Chad Mythology
    Alternative names: Zirega the Sorceress
    Category: Sorceress

    The Myth

    In the Bulala legend of Prince Tchouroma and the flying horse Bidi-Camoun, Zirega is an aged sorceress who lives on the margins of King Dongo’s kingdom. Though feared for her supernatural knowledge, she ultimately becomes one of the prince’s greatest protectors.

    After Princess Aicha chooses the disguised gardener Tchouroma as her husband, King Dongo erupts in fury and banishes both lovers from the palace. Homeless and rejected, they seek refuge with Zirega. Unlike the proud king and his court, the old sorceress welcomes them into her home.

    Zirega possesses mysterious powers tied to dreams, animals, healing, and the hidden forces of the wilderness. When King Dongo later falls gravely ill and none of the kingdom’s healers can cure him, the desperate court finally turns to her for help.

    The sorceress declares that the king can only be saved by drinking fresh milk from a doe that has just given birth.

    On her advice, Tchouroma journeys into the bush. Exhausted beneath a tamarind tree, he falls into a strange half-sleep and hears Zirega’s distant voice guiding him:

    “Get up and take a look. I have gathered all the does in the savannah.”

    When he awakens, the wilderness has transformed. Countless animals stand peacefully around him as though summoned by invisible magic. A doe voluntarily fills his gourd with healing milk.

    Throughout the tale, Zirega acts less like a dark witch and more like a guardian figure connected to ancient spiritual knowledge. She recognizes Tchouroma’s true worth long before the king does, shelters the exiled couple, guides the prince through supernatural trials, and finally reveals to the kingdom that the mysterious warrior who saved them is none other than Tchouroma himself.

    At the end of the story, after Tchouroma’s identity is revealed and he marries Princess Aicha, the royal couple honors Zirega for the rest of her life in gratitude for her wisdom and protection.

    Zirega represents the archetype of the hidden wise woman found throughout African folklore: an elderly figure living outside ordinary society, feared by many but deeply connected to spiritual truth, nature, prophecy, and miraculous knowledge.

    Sources

    Seid, J. B. (2007). Told by starlight in Chad (K. H. Hoenig, Trans.). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.