Roman Witchcraft: Ancient Practices Revived

BY NICOLE LAU

Roman witchcraft emerges from the pragmatic, contractual spirituality of ancient Rome—a civilization that conquered the Mediterranean world while honoring household gods, consulting augurs, and working powerful magic. From the Lares guarding the hearth to the elaborate curse tablets buried in graves, Roman magical practice blends religious devotion, practical sorcery, and the sophisticated cosmopolitanism of an empire that absorbed and adapted magical traditions from across the known world.

The Roman Approach to Magic and Religion

Romans approached the divine with characteristic practicality. Religion was less about faith than about maintaining the pax deorum (peace of the gods) through proper ritual, offerings, and contractual reciprocity. Magic operated within this framework—a technology for influencing divine and spiritual forces through correct procedures.

Religio vs. Magia vs. Superstitio

Religio: Proper, state-sanctioned religious practice. Maintaining correct relationships with gods through traditional rituals.

Magia: Foreign or private magical practices, often viewed with suspicion but widely practiced. Could be beneficial or harmful.

Superstitio: Excessive or improper religious behavior, foreign cults, or practices that threatened social order.

The boundaries between these categories were fluid and politically charged. What one person called religio, another might call superstitio.

Do Ut Des: I Give So That You Might Give

Roman spirituality operated on reciprocity. Offerings to gods and spirits created obligations. Proper ritual compelled divine response. This contractual approach shapes Roman magical practice—precise formulas, correct offerings, and clear statements of desired outcomes.

The Roman Pantheon and Magical Deities

Janus: God of Beginnings and Transitions

Two-faced Janus looks simultaneously forward and backward, governing all beginnings, doorways, transitions, and thresholds. Every ritual begins by invoking Janus.

Associations: Doorways, gates, beginnings, endings, transitions, time, duality.

Symbols: Two faces, keys, staff, doorways.

Magical Role: Invoked first in all rituals, opening magical workings, threshold protection, new beginnings.

Vesta: Goddess of the Hearth

Vesta's sacred flame burned perpetually in Rome, tended by the Vestal Virgins. She represents the heart of home and state, the sacred fire that must never die.

Associations: Hearth, home, sacred fire, purity, domestic harmony.

Symbols: Eternal flame, hearth, donkey (her sacred animal).

Magical Role: Household protection, domestic harmony, sacred fire magic, purification.

The Lares: Household Guardians

The Lares are protective spirits of the household, honored at the lararium (household shrine). Each home has its Lares, and crossroads have their own Lares Compitales.

Associations: Home protection, family, boundaries, crossroads.

Offerings: Wine, incense, food, flowers, especially on Kalends (first of month) and family occasions.

Magical Role: Household protection, family blessings, boundary magic.

The Penates: Guardians of the Pantry

The Penates protect the household's food stores and ensure abundance. They're honored alongside the Lares at the lararium.

Associations: Food, abundance, household prosperity, storage.

Offerings: First portions of meals, wine, bread.

The Genius and Juno

Every man has a Genius (guardian spirit), every woman a Juno. These personal spirits represent one's life force, destiny, and protective power.

Magical Role: Personal protection, honoring one's own spirit, birthday celebrations (honoring the Genius/Juno).

Diana: Queen of Witches

As in Italian tradition, Diana governs witchcraft, the moon, crossroads, and wild places. Her worship at Lake Nemi involved mystery rites and magical practices.

Associations: Moon, witchcraft, crossroads, hunting, childbirth, slaves and outcasts.

Magical Role: Moon magic, witchcraft, protection, independence, wild nature connection.

Proserpina (Persephone): Queen of the Underworld

Proserpina rules the underworld alongside Pluto (Hades), governing death, rebirth, and the mysteries of transformation.

Associations: Death, rebirth, underworld, spring, pomegranates, transformation.

Magical Role: Necromancy, ancestor work, transformation, shadow work, seasonal magic.

Mercury: Messenger and Magician

Mercury (Greek Hermes) governs communication, commerce, travel, trickery, and magic. He guides souls to the underworld and carries messages between worlds.

Associations: Communication, travel, commerce, trickery, magic, boundaries.

Symbols: Caduceus, winged sandals, traveler's hat, herms.

Magical Role: Communication magic, travel protection, business success, cunning, spirit communication.

Hecate: Adopted Goddess of Magic

Romans adopted the Greek Hecate, honoring her as Trivia (of the three ways) at crossroads. She governs magic, ghosts, and the night.

Associations: Crossroads, magic, ghosts, night, keys, torches.

Magical Role: Witchcraft, crossroads magic, necromancy, protection, spirit work.

Roman Magical Practices

The Lararium: Household Shrine

Every Roman home maintained a lararium—a shrine to household deities, typically including the Lares, Penates, and Genius of the household head.

Traditional Placement: Near the hearth, entrance, or atrium.

Contents:

• Statues or paintings of Lares and Penates
• Image of the family Genius/Juno
• Offering bowls for wine and food
• Incense burner
• Oil lamps
• Fresh flowers
• Family heirlooms or ancestor representations

Daily Practice: Morning offerings of incense and wine, prayers for household protection and prosperity, special offerings on Kalends and family occasions.

Defixiones: Curse Tablets

Romans extensively used defixiones—thin lead sheets inscribed with curses, binding spells, or petitions to underworld deities. These were rolled, pierced with nails, and deposited in graves, wells, or temples.

Common Uses:

• Binding enemies or rivals
• Compelling love or desire
• Ensuring victory in legal cases or competitions
• Cursing thieves
• Seeking justice from underworld deities

Typical Formula:

• Invocation of underworld deities (Proserpina, Pluto, Mercury, spirits of the dead)
• Identification of the target
• Specific binding or curse
• Sealing formula

Modern Adaptation: Contemporary practitioners may create binding spells using similar principles, writing on paper or biodegradable materials, with ethical considerations about cursing.

Fascinum: Protection Against the Evil Eye

Romans feared the evil eye (fascinum) and employed various protective measures:

Phallic Amulets: Phallus symbols (fascinum) protected against evil eye, especially for children and at thresholds. Not obscene but apotropaic—averting evil through shock and humor.

Bulla: Protective amulet worn by freeborn children until coming of age, containing protective charms.

Mano Fica: Hand gesture (thumb between fingers) or amulet representing the gesture, protecting against evil eye.

Bells and Chimes: Sound disperses harmful magic and evil spirits.

Augury and Divination

Romans took divination seriously, consulting augurs before major decisions.

Augury: Reading bird flight, behavior, and calls. Augurs divided the sky into sections and interpreted birds' movements.

Haruspicy: Examining animal entrails (especially liver) for divine messages. Etruscan in origin, adopted by Romans.

Sortilege: Drawing lots or casting dice for yes/no answers or selecting from options.

Bibliomancy: Opening Virgil's Aeneid randomly for guidance (Sortes Virgilianae).

Dream Interpretation: Dreams carried messages from gods and spirits, requiring skilled interpretation.

Incubation: Temple Sleep

Sleeping in temples (especially of Asclepius/Aesculapius) to receive healing dreams or divine guidance. The god would appear in dreams, offering cures or wisdom.

Sympathetic Magic

Romans practiced sympathetic magic—like affects like, part represents whole.

Poppets: Wax or clay figures representing targets, used in love spells or curses.

Knot Magic: Binding or releasing through tying and untying knots.

Image Magic: Drawing or carving representations of desired outcomes.

The Roman Magical Calendar

Kalends (First of Month)

First day of each month, sacred to Juno. Time for new beginnings, offerings to household gods, paying debts, and setting intentions.

Nones (5th or 7th)

Quarter moon, market day, time for public business and offerings.

Ides (13th or 15th)

Full moon, sacred to Jupiter. Major festivals often fell on the Ides.

Major Festivals

Saturnalia (December 17-23): Festival of Saturn, role reversals, gift-giving, feasting, candles. Influenced modern Christmas traditions.

Lupercalia (February 15): Fertility festival, purification, wolf-god worship. Young men ran through streets striking women with goat-hide strips for fertility.

Vestalia (June 7-15): Festival of Vesta, when her temple opened to women. Donkeys garlanded, mills and ovens decorated.

Lemuria (May 9, 11, 13): Appeasing restless spirits. Householders performed midnight rituals to expel hostile ghosts.

Parentalia (February 13-21): Honoring ancestors, visiting graves, making offerings to the dead.

Compitalia (January): Crossroads festival honoring Lares Compitales, household shrines decorated, offerings at crossroads.

Roman Magical Texts and Sources

Literary Sources

Ovid's Fasti: Poetic calendar explaining Roman festivals and their mythological origins.

Pliny's Natural History: Encyclopedic work including magical uses of plants, stones, and animals.

Apuleius's The Golden Ass: Novel featuring magical transformation and Isis mysteries.

Virgil's Aeneid: Epic poem used for bibliomancy, containing magical and prophetic elements.

Archaeological Evidence

Thousands of defixiones, amulets, and magical artifacts provide direct evidence of Roman magical practice. These authentic ancient spells inform modern reconstruction.

Building Your Roman Practice

Establish a Lararium

Create a household shrine honoring the Lares, Penates, and your personal Genius/Juno. Make daily offerings and prayers.

Simple Lararium:

• Small shelf or table near entrance or kitchen
• Images or symbols of household deities
• Offering bowl for wine
• Incense holder
• Oil lamp or candle
• Fresh flowers or seasonal offerings

Observe the Kalends

Mark the first of each month with offerings to household gods, reflection on the past month, and intentions for the new one.

Honor Your Ancestors

Observe Parentalia or create your own ancestor veneration practice. Visit graves, make offerings, tell family stories.

Practice Augury

Develop awareness of bird behavior and natural omens. Keep a journal of observations and their outcomes.

Work with Protective Magic

Create or acquire protective amulets. Place them at thresholds, wear them, or give them to loved ones.

Study Roman History and Culture

Understanding Roman culture, values, and worldview deepens magical practice. Read primary sources and scholarly works.

Adapt Festivals to Modern Life

Celebrate Roman festivals with appropriate foods, rituals, and offerings. Saturnalia gift-giving, Vestalia bread-baking, Lemuria ghost-appeasing.

Practice Reciprocity

Approach deities and spirits with the Roman mindset of contractual reciprocity. Make offerings, state your needs clearly, fulfill your obligations.

Cultus Deorum: Honoring the Gods

Roman religious practice (cultus deorum) emphasizes correct ritual over belief or emotion.

Elements of Proper Cultus

Purification: Wash hands and face before ritual. Wear clean clothing.

Invocation: Call the deity by proper names and epithets.

Offering: Present appropriate offerings—incense, wine, food, flowers.

Prayer: State your request clearly and respectfully.

Gratitude: Thank the deity and acknowledge their power.

Dismissal: Properly close the ritual, allowing the deity to depart.

Ethical Considerations

Cultural Context: Roman religion belongs to Roman culture and its descendants. Approach with respect.

Historical Complexity: Rome practiced slavery, imperialism, and values different from modern ethics. Honor the wisdom without romanticizing problematic aspects.

Cursing Ethics: Romans cursed freely, but modern practitioners should consider ethical implications of harmful magic.

Reconstructionism: Decide whether you're reconstructing historical practice or adapting Roman elements to modern spirituality. Both are valid but require different approaches.

Conclusion

Roman witchcraft offers a path of practical magic, household devotion, and contractual reciprocity with the divine. From the Lares guarding your threshold to the elaborate rituals of state religion, from curse tablets buried at crossroads to auguries read in bird flight, Roman magical practice provides a sophisticated, time-tested system for working with spiritual forces.

The Romans conquered the world not only through military might but through their ability to honor the gods properly, maintain the pax deorum, and work magic when needed. Their pragmatic approach to the divine—treating gods as powerful allies to be honored and negotiated with—offers a refreshing alternative to more mystical or devotional paths.

Salve Lares! Salve Penates! Salve Genius huius loci! (Hail Lares! Hail Penates! Hail Genius of this place!) May the household gods protect you, may your offerings be accepted, and may you walk in right relationship with the divine.