Throughout history, people have claimed to contract with the paranormal, predict the upcoming, and enforce occult forces, and are called wizards. Their perception altered over the periods; initially, they were shamans; in ancient times, scholars and the Middle Ages, they were many philosophers. It was believed that sorcery was practiced mainly by educated people, and their goal was to find the meaning of life and the secret natural forces that drive it. These are the most famous wizards who have indebted history.
1. John Dee and Edward Kelly
British astronomer and mathematician John Dee and Renaissance occultist and psychic Edward Kelly created the so-called Enochian magic system based on conversations with spirits and angels. Kelly reportedly communicated with the angel Uriel with the help of crystals. He is whispered to have had the skill to look into a crystal ball, while Dee predicted the future from the glasses themselves. The two occultists also tried to summon spirits and subdue them, which eventually led to accusations by the Catholic Church of witchcraft.
2. Edward John Dimond
American wizard Edward John Dimond was born in Massachusetts at the same time as the Salem witch trials. This peculiarity fell into a trance, and after that, he returned to consciousness with knowledge of the future. Police used his abilities to find the stolen items. According to other legends, Dimond went to the local cemetery during the storm and cried in the wind. In this way, he greeted the captains of the ships and helped them find the right direction. When a captain resented him, he would curse them and send a storm to destroy his ship.
Though we know that wizardry is no longer a popular and well accepted field for anyone to venture into, there were some really famous and powerful wizards which history did bless us with in the time past. If not for documentations and stories told, some of the historical facts about these famous wizards would have been lost and nothing would be known or spoken about them today. Check out this site for similar historical facts.
3. John of Nottingham
During the 14th century, people in England lived under the oppression of King Edward II. and powerful local men, father, and son Hugh Despenser. To get rid of them, they hired the wizard John of Nottingham, who also brought his assistant Robert Marshall. The two of them in a deserted house waxed the contours of the people representing the powerful and another additional character named Richard de Lowe, to check if their spell worked. A branch was buried in the style of de Lowe, and witnesses claim that the real Richard de Lowe woke up the next morning screaming and not knowing what was happening. Nottingham then pulled out a branch and plunged the figure into his heart, after which things de Low died. Nottingham was taken to court but acquitted of all murder charges.
4. Gwion / Taliesin
The controlling witch Cerridwen had a son named Afaggdu and prepared a special magic tonic that would give him wisdom and magical powers. She gave it to her employer, Gwion, to mix the drink. He accidentally burned himself and licked his finger on which there was a little potion, thus taking over all the wisdom and magic intended for Affagdu. Cerridwen was furious, so Gwion changed into a rabbit and tried to run away from her, but she transformed into a dog and started hunting him. After a series of transformations and escape attempts, Gwion turned into a grain of straw and hid among a pile of the same in one barn. Then Cerridwen turned into a chicken and struck at all the grains and with them Gwiona. After nine days, Cerridwen gave birth to Gwiona as a little child. She couldn’t harm him then, so she tied him in a specific bag and threw him into the water. He was shortly found by a man named
Elphin, who raised him. Elphin called him Taliesin.
Growing up, Taliesin became a powerful wizard, perhaps even the most influential, until Merlin’s arrival.
5. Merlin
The stories that say of the wizard Merlin are just as complex as the spells he cast. His mother was a simple woman and his father a demon Incubus, so Merlin inherited many magical powers from him. But unlike his father, Merlin used his powers to do good and to unite with nature. He became a consultant to King Arthur and helped him with his spells and his wisdom. The magician showed him the location of Excalibur, the magical sword guarded by Our Lady of the Lake, and assisted him in essential battles. His fate was the young, beautiful sorceress Vivien to whom he revealed all his secrets. She put him to sleep by magic and imprisoned him in an oak tree.
6. Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus, whose name means “Three times more powerful than Hermes,” was reportedly an ancient magician, mystic, alchemist and astrologer. He is said to have had the greatness and powers of Hermes – the messenger of the Greek gods and the god of magic and Thoth’s forces – the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic. His numerous writings are considered the basis of Hermeticism.
Due to the massive amount of occult works signed by his name, he suspects that he was a historical figure, but it is already believed that a multitude of authors signed with that name. Hermes Trismegistus is too shrouded in myths and secrets to conclude anything reliable about him today.
7. Se-Osiris
A powerful wizard from the time of ancient Egypt, he reportedly lived during the time of Pharaoh Ramses II. (Great). According to legend, when the ba (according to Egyptian mythology one of the components of the soul, the one in which the personality of man is located) of an Ethiopian wizard came to Ramses’ palace to embarrass the Egyptian wizards, Se-Osiris was 12 years old, but still opposed the Ethiopian. The evil wizard summoned a forceful snake, but Se-Osiris turned it into a worm. Then he asked a dark fog to suffocate Ramses, but Se-Osiris dispelled it with light. Eventually, foaming with rage, the Ethiopian created a massive wall of fire and threw it at him, but Se-Osiris turned it back toward the Ethiopian and destroyed it.
The magic of these magicians did not move mountains or rule the stars. Their magic maintains the flame of curiosity and imagination in people’s hearts.