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Necromancy vs Witchcraft - What's the difference?

necromancy | witchcraft |

As nouns the difference between necromancy and witchcraft

is that necromancy is divination involving the dead or death while witchcraft is the practice of witches; magic, sorcery or the use supernatural powers to influence or predict events.

necromancy

English

Alternative forms

* necyomancy, egromancy

Noun

  • Divination involving the dead or death.
  • * 1597 King James Daemonologie
    • And for to make this treatise the more pleasaunt and facill, I have put it in forme of a Dialogue, which I have diuided into three bookes: The first speaking of Magie in general, and Necromancie in special.
  • * 1652 Gaule The Magastromancer
    • And in one word for all, Nagomancy', or ' Necromancy ; by inspecting, consulting, and divining by, with, or from the dead.
  • * 1867 E. Rogers, quoted in K. Thomas Relig. & Decline of Magic
    • the Devil did often tempt me to study necromancy' and ' nigromancy and to make use of magic, and to make a league with him...
  • * 1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult
    • There is no doubt..that necromancy is the touch-stone of occultism...
  • Loosely, any sorcery or witchcraft, especially involving death or the dead, particularly sorcery involving raising]] or [[reanimate, reanimating the dead.

    • Derived terms

    * thread necromancy

    witchcraft

    English

    (wikipedia witchcraft)

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • The practice of witches; magic, sorcery or the use supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
  • * 1387 , John Trevisa (transl.), Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden Monachi Cestrensis , chapter XLIV:
    • And in þat ilond is sortilege and wicchecraft i-vsed. For wommen þere selliþ schipmen wynde, as it were i-closed vnder þre knottes of þrede, so þat þe more wynd he wol haue, he wil vnknette þe mo knottes.
    Wiccans believe in a modernised form of witchcraft .

    See also

    * spellcraft * gypsycraft English words suffixed with -craft