Death. The prospect of death – the word alone – has stirred fear and discomfort amongst the vast majority of people since mankind first came to understand mortality. Death isn’t simply death, but a time when something meets its end, when a light is dimmed, when a door has closed. Death, whether literal or figurative, plays a role in many magical practices and customs, including (though not limited to) divination, spirit work (in its many forms), ritual work, and spell crafting. It is no surprise then that, as death plays so significant a role in magical practice, there are countless folkloric, religious, and mythological deities, spirits, and figures that are associated with (or represent) death, figures that are often also associated with magic in some form or another. This post will explore some of the many deities, spirits, and figures of death, their roles in the crafts of many magical practitioners, and how death deities and figures are incorporated in different practices associated with spirit work.

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