What is Necromancy?

Necromancy is a form of divination which is used to conjure the spirits of the dead in order to gain knowledge about the future and the outcome of events in the future, the spirits conjured this way are called spirits of divination.

The spread of necromancy

During the middle ages, illiterate members of society were either nobility or Christian clergy and it is thought that either of these groups was responsible for the propagation and practice of necromancy, even though in Christianity it is forbidden and denied.

Some people deny that necromancy has anything to do with witchcraft while others say that it is a form of black magic and witchcraft and necromancers were tried as witches and hanged, the confessions of those accused of necromancy suggest that a wide range of spell casting and magical practices were involved in necromancy.

The practice of necromancy

It is though that to be able to conjure up the dead the practitioner needs the help of powerful spirits for both the practitioners' protection and to make the corpse or ghost of the dead submit to his will. An ancient spell is the used to call upon the powers of powerful spirits to bind the dead with two essential elements that are needed to summon the dead, a burnt sacrifice and a blood-drenched altar. Elaborate preparations are made which includes the careful study of the planets and in particular the moon and the influence of Saturn.

The site for the ritual also has to be chosen with great care with the most favourable sites being crossroads, vaults, ruins or a deserted forest. Once the site has been chosen and the alignment of the planets is in favour a concentric circle of power is drawn on the ground, within the circle are inscribed crosses and other symbols.

For the magic to work, the necromancer and his assistant must stand within the circles centre and the circle must be blessed or consecrated. The summoning of the dead or spirit of the dead can then take place using the names of power, when this is successful the dead will return full of anger at being summoned against his will to return to the land of living.

The necromancer must then struggle to gain control over the dead and when control has been gained, the necromancer can then control them and questions will be asked which the dead must answer.

After the ritual has finished the necromancer must not leave the circle until the dead has been dismissed and all flowers must then be removed from the area and burned and the ashes buried deep into the earth. The ritual is one of the darkest forms of black magic and is the most dangerous of all forms of witchcraft.