Top 10 Real Life Wizards of the World

Better known as the Baal Shem of London, Hayyim Falk was a mysterious Rabbi of uncertain origins - either Bavaria or Podolia in modern-day Ukraine. In Westphalia, Germany, he was almost burned at the stake, but found refuge with a German Count and eventually moved to London. Falk practiced various mystic arts, including alchemy and Practical Kabbalah. He gave frequent demonstrations of his magical abilities, giving rise to numerous legends. It was said he could discover gold underground, keep candles lit for an impossible duration, and even put out a fire at a Synagogue by writing in Hebrew on the door.

Sometimes described as the Japanese equivalent of Merlin, Abe no Seimei was an onmyōji, or spiritual diviner, who advised emperors during the Heian period. In addition to advising the emperor on spiritual matters, Seimei also conducted exorcisms, warded off evil spirits, and was supposedly skilled at locating lost objects. Like most onmyōji, Seimei also divined the future. After his death, numerous folk tales sprang up about him, including that he was half kitsune (or fox spirit), on his mother’s side. One has to wonder if he foresaw just how great his reputation would become.

A British occultist during the early 20th century, Dion Fortune was one of the foremost female magic practitioners of her time. Born Violet Firth, Fortune became involved in several spiritual groups, including Alpha et Omega, a daughter organization of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. She also co-founded one of her own, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, which still exists today. Fortune was a prolific writer and infused her own ideas on occultism into both her fiction and non-fiction works. Although a practicing medium, Fortune claimed that she did not contact deceased spirits, but instead enlightened Masters who had ascended to a higher state of being.

A literal Renaissance man, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa had many talents, including occult research. The German polymath is best known for writing occult books, particularly his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which include information on magical disciplines such as alchemy, scrying, and the four classical elements. Agrippa also developed a celestial alphabet which can supposedly be used to converse with angels. Unsurprisingly, he had several conflicts with the church, though he was never formally persecuted. Towards the end of his life, however, he appeared to recant at least some of his earlier writings, warning against the “deceits of devils”.

Another Renaissance man, John Dee was a British scholar whose pursuits included both science and magic. An advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, Dee acted as the court astronomer. However, his studies also included alchemy and divination. After leaving the Queen’s service, Dee traveled Europe with another well-known occultist, Edward Jelly. Together they developed the Enochian language, another proposed language of the angels. Although the duo performed magic for royalty all over Europe, Dee’s focus on contacting angelic beings brought him back to England, where he eventually died destitute.

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of this Wiccan pioneer’s most famous work: the Book of Shadows. An English civil servant, Gerald Gardner found a new purpose after retirement, teaching a version of the Pagan faith that he claimed came from the secretive, mysterious New Forest coven. In penning his spellbook the Book of Shadows, he ideas from other occultists, such as Aleister Crowley, as well as Freemason rituals. Gardner also founded the Bricket Wood Coven, wrote several other books on witchcraft, and curated a museum about the subject - helping spread his beliefs to much of the English-speaking world.

Born Alphonse Louis Constant, Éliphas Lévi was an influential French occultist, sage, socialist and pan-humanist. As a young man, he trained to become a Catholic priest, but left the priesthood and dedicated his energy towards revolutionary social change. In his middle years, he became a ceremonial magician and wrote extensively on magic, with a particular interest in tarot. He stood out as an independent thinker, who eschewed ideas like spiritualism and reincarnation, and retained an attachment to Catholic teachings. It was this divergence from his contemporaries that made him so popular - and influential.

A controversial figure, Helena Blavatsky was a Russian spiritualist and the founder of the esoteric religion Theosophy. Well-traveled, Blavatsky first gained fame in the United States as a spirit medium. She claimed that she could contact “elementals” that inhabited the psychic “shells” of the deceased. Her demonstrations of occult phenomena generated both excitement, and accusations that she was a fraud. During her life, she published several books detailing her theosophical outlook, which merged occult beliefs with ancient teachings from both the West and East. Her teachings proved immensely influential, especially in the New Age movement.

You don’t need psychic powers to have seen this one coming! This Russian mystic and faith healer is famous, or infamous, for his involvement with the last royal family of Russia. Grigori Rasputin gained tremendous influence due to his purported ability to heal the Romanov royal heir, Alexei, of hemophilia. It’s also been claimed that he was able to hypnotize people. But the most astonishing tales are those surrounding his death. Although the exact circumstances of his murder remain unsolved, the man was supposedly poisoned multiple times and shot, and still didn’t die! While further gunshots did do him in, the fact that it took so much to kill him certainly feels supernatural.


Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Hugh Draper (1500s)
Charged with Sorcery, He Carved an Astrological Map in His Cell


Israel Regardie (1907-85)
Once Aleister Crowley’s Secretary, He Revealed Secret Rituals to the World


Gérard Encausse a.k.a. Papus (1865-1916)
Hypnotist & Popularizer of Modern Occultism


Theophrastus von Hohenheim, a.k.a. Paracelsus (1493/94-1541)
This Swiss Alchemist Created the Alphabet of the Magi


Cora L. V. Scott (1840-1923)
An American Spiritualist Who Delivered Lectures in a Trance

The quintessential modern occultist, Crowley took inspiration from those who came before him, and exerted a strong influence over those who came after. After joining the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the English occultist went on to found his own religious movement, Thelema. Declaring himself the prophet of a new age, he preached the maxim: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”. A prolific writer, he penned numerous books and essays filled with rituals and magick (spelled with a “c k”) - including various forms of “sex magick”. His writings also touch on banishing and summoning spirits, astral projection, and divination, just to name a few. Crowley’s extensive writings, as well as his opponents’ attempts to demonize him, have led to lasting fame and study.