Magic is a very loaded term. These days, when most people use the word "magic," they are referring to the sort of sleight of hand magic epitomized by shows like "The Illusionists" or "David Copperfield." This sort of magic is just an artistic homage to the old forms of magic. This older magic reaches back to a time before civilization, when early man grappled with his world, trying to understand what caused storms, or comets, or the movement of the stars. From these needs, early humans devised the earliest magical traditions.

Time changes things, of course. By the time of the Roman Empire, Roman Augurs predicted the future using a special kind of crook and the flight of birds. Greek Oracles would inhale fumes coming from cracks in the ground, and enter a sort of intoxicated fugue. While in this state, they would propose what they saw happening in the future, often in cryptic riddles.

By the Middle Ages, there were stories of witches flying in the night, vampires turning into cats, werewolves eating people, and alchemists who could turn lead into gold or produce an elixir of immortality.

Today, magic is well understood and categorized. Volumes have been written on single magical traditions. Which kind of magic are you? Take this quiz and find out!