Each of these brought in its portmanteau of culture a range of superstitions and beliefs derived from Pagan, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions. These generated allusions to miracles, wonders, necromancy and desire, which, collectively, were described as Magic.

This general syncretism was remarkably consistent in its substance despite the nuances in linguistics. Names attributed to supernatural beings and their characteristics were often similar in their roots and the spiritual powers were ubiquitous in their definitions of good and evil, life and death.

The evolution of the culture of Magic resulted in two branches. 1) The Folk tradition practiced by individuals and small covens present in most communities. Their vocation was the curing of diseases and resolution of problems of love and conflict by means of the ministering of potions or incantations the formulas for which were passed orally. 2) The Learned tradition practiced by the educated aristocracy, ecclesiastics and court officials whereby the substance of magic was collated and recorded in writing.

Participants in both cases were referred to as being priests with subdivisions of function such as sorcerers who produced and guarded the materials of magic and witches who employed these to cast spells and influence the wellbeing of society. The latter were capable of shape-changing and aerial travel.

The Abrahamic faiths were rich in stories of events which defied natural explanation. In particular, the Jews had a long history of mysticism expressed in the Kabbalah and shared this with the Islamists. Their repute as diviners, physics, interpreters of manifestations and moralists enabled the attainment of high positions as courtiers and administrators but all of this came to an abrupt end in the last decade of the 15th century when fate in the shape of a royal decree determined that they and the Moors should be expelled from the kingdom of Portugal.

This blow to the numbers of Learned magicians was partly offset in the growth of oral Folk magic. In most villages the services could be found of a wise man or woman to whom common people would resort for healing, the provision of love charms and amulets to ward of evil, matchmaking, blessings (benzedeiras) and the divination of future intent.

Because rural people were inclined to spend a lifetime in their home district, news of magical manifestations was brought by itinerant trovadors. In turn, their songs were incorporated into the cantigas sung at work and at play by villagers and often intertwined with biblical stories. Similarly, the names of saints and martyrs were invoked on par with those of fallen angels in prayers and blessings.

It was this complex synthesis of faiths and beliefs which brought magical activity to the attention of the Portuguese Inquisition which commenced its surveillance in 1536 having been constituted by Pope and King to ensure that only strict Catholicism was permitted as a state religion. However, unlike its disregard for civil rights of Protestants, Islamists and Jews in their clandestine role of being “New Christians”, the Inquisition tended to deal leniently, almost sympathetically, with those who had strayed from the path of righteousness. Often, they were given a relatively light punishment and instructed to seek guidance from their parish priest to avoid any practices which could be termed diabolical.

One could almost believe that some of the Inquisitors secretly practiced learned magic; during nearly three hundred years very few punishments were inflicted either by burning or imprisonment!

Two erudite works cover the history of Portuguese magic during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries:

1. O Imaginário da Magia by Francisco Bethancourt which examines the magical culture of witches, healers and fortune-tellers in the 16th century

2. Bruxaria e Superstiçâo by Joâo Pedro Paiva which focuses on the years 1600 to 1774. His examination of the very detailed records maintained by the Inquisition finds that many accusations of satanic conspiracy linked to Folk Magic were treated sceptically and downgraded to being misguided superstition.

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 marked the beginnings of the Portuguese Age of Enlightenment. Initially under the guidance of the Pombaline regime (1750 to 1777), it achieved a revolution in the philosophy of governance and contributed to the weakening of rigid Catholic resolution. The Inquisition was terminated in 1821 and freedom of thought returned to Portugal.

The practice of Learned Magic, which had survived clandestinely as an academic subject, now became more open and attracted new adherents from the middle and upper classes. Small groups were formed at universities, in the guilds and among the military. Ceremonies of initiation and the wearing of regalia were introduced and a hierarchy established which employed the language and international symbols of magic. Such secret societies formed links with established chapters of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism which had a tradition dating from the 17th century of blending the occult with Hermeticism, the Jewish Kabbalah and Islamic mysticism.

As the 19th century progressed into the 20th century, science began to overturn and explain ancient beliefs in miracles and inexplicable manifestations thus enabling an unfolding of human consciousness and an understanding of how the physical world was influenced by invisible, spiritual forces.

This intellectual interpretation of the purpose and meaning of existence is now being challenged by the coming of Artificial Intelligence and its morphing into forms which may be vastly superior to the intellectual capabilities of humanity. Such analysis of the existential magic phenomenon has been given the description of “latent space emergent capacity”. A comprehension of these mysteries should now become crystal (sic) clear.

The moral fibre of Portuguese nation was shaken in 1974 by the Carnation Revolution. Regulations which had governed how people should think and behave were suddenly abandoned in favour of liberalisation. This permitted the importation of films and literature which dealt with the subject of Magic as being worthy only of superficial and often shoddy treatment. Witches, wizards and warlocks were all related to dark powers and vividly portrayed in “horror movies” and sagas of searches for grails, rings and religious treasure

Unfortunately, this appealed to the public´s new appetite for entertainment and was seized upon by tourism as an opportunity to create lucrative “magical experiences of Portugal”. Visits to megalithic sights in the hope of witnessing traces of the mouras encantadas and to locations such as Sintra, Arruda dos Vinhos, Évora and Porto to explore legends of witches, alchemists and sorcerers. All of this was most disturbing for local magicians who sought the safety of villages for continuing their secret meetings and ceremonies.

This alterations to the culture of magic coincided with the establishment of a Portuguese branch of the Pagan International Federation which introduced the contemporary form of Wicca practice to both solitary devotees in rural locations and to small groups known as covens in towns. The result was a blending of eclectic, modern Wicca with the traditional Portuguese pantheon which I have endeavoured to describe in this series of essays.

Tomar has been my home town for nearly forty years so it was to my great surprise to find that one of the most influential covens had made its headquarters here and had advertised its presence and activities on social media. Even so, the amount of specific information is scarce. Applications to join are vetted by a panel of adherents whose real names are kept secret and meetings are held at sites which are rumoured to have holy associations such as the famous Convento and its links to the ancient Order of Knights Templar, local springs, waterfalls and megaliths such as the recently rediscovered Anta (dolman) do Vale da Laje which has the remains of a central altar.

The history of Portuguese magic is not one of superstition lost in the mists of time but rather an ongoing adaptation by successive generations of mystics to the exigencies and uncertainties of dealing with the misfortunes and practicalities of living.

For explicit examples of magical practice it is recommended to read the works of José Leite de Vasconcelos and José Carlos Voeira Leitâo whose “Learned Magic in Early Modern Portugal” was published by the University of Coimbra.