Witchcraft

Witchcraft (also called witchery or spellcraft) broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised individually, by designated social groups, or by persons with the necessary secret knowledge.

Witchcraft is a complex concept that varies culturally and societally, therefore it is difficult to define with precision and cross-cultural assumptions about the meaning or significance of the term should be applied with caution. Witchcraft often occupies a religious, divinatory, or medicinal role, and is often present within societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical world view.

Although witchcraft can often share common ground with related concepts such as sorcery, the paranormal, magic, superstition, and the occult, it is usually seen as distinct from these when examined by sociologists and anthropologists.