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Nigromancy, meaning black magic together with six associated practices of black divination, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456. In 1597, King James VI and I published a treatise, Daemonologie, a philosophical dissertation describing contemporary nigromancy and the historical relationships between the various methods of divination used in black magic. This book is believed to be one of the main sources used by William Shakespeare in the production of Macbeth. During his period of scholarship, A. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of black magic practices, rituals and traditions in The Book of Ceremonial Magic (1911). The seven artes prohibitae or artes magicae, arts prohibited by canon law as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456, their sevenfold partition reflecting that of the artes liberales and artes mechanicae, were: nigromancy geomancy hydromancy aeromancy pyromancy chiromancy scapulimancy The division between the four elemental disciplines (viz., geomancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, pyromancy) is somewhat contrived. Chiromancy is the divination from a subject's palms as practiced by the Romani (at the time recently arrived in Europe), and scapulimancy is the divination from animal bones, in particular shoulder blades, as practiced in peasant superstition. Nigromancy is distinguished from scholarly high magic derived from High Medieval grimoires such as the Picatrix, Liber Juratus Honorii, and Liber Razielis Archangeli. While the term "nigromancy" broadly construed includes the six associated divinatory practices, it more specifically refers to the demonic magic of the Late Middle Ages. Demonic magic was performed in groups surrounding a leader in possession of a grimoire. Practitioners were typically members of the educated elite, as most grimoires were written in Latin. One such case in 1444, Inquisitor Gaspare Sighicelli took action against a group active in Bologna.

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Black magic