Folk and village custom: magic in this belief world

Rural and household beliefs that belong to no single organised religion.

Folk and village custom is the large body of belief and practice that belongs to no organised religion: the charm against the evil eye, the cure for warts, the fairy hawthorn, the household spirit, the lucky day. It is passed within families and communities and exists in every society. This page looks at how it is kept, who keeps it, and why it is both valued and dismissed. It is also called popular religion, vernacular religion or lived religion by scholars.

Keepers and settings

Keepers are often older women, farmers, midwives, shepherds and craftsmen. Settings are the house, field, well, crossroads and church porch. European cunning folk offered help for fees and kept charms and books. In many Asian and African villages the specialist is a healer, a diviner or a spirit medium working beside religion. The same grandmother may light a candle at church, tie a thread on a child and say a charm for a burn, and see no conflict between them.

Names and labels

The same thing carries many names: the evil eye is the nazar, mal de ojo and ayin hara. Folklorists collected such customs from the nineteenth century, sometimes as relics of a vanished past and sometimes as living culture. The label folk also marks class, since the term often implies rural, poor or uneducated, a bias that modern scholars try to avoid. Where the village has a wise woman or a bone-setter, the community knows what to ask of her and what she will refuse to do.

Religion, state and reform

Churches, mosques and temples have absorbed, tolerated and condemned folk practice in turn. States have banned it as backward: Chinese campaigns against superstition in the twentieth century closed local temples and shrines, and Soviet policy targeted village healers. At times governments have turned to it as national heritage, as in revived festivals across Europe and Asia. Historians and folklorists note that it often keeps old customs alive within newer religions, such as lighting fires at midsummer within Christian saints' days.

Change and commerce

Urban life and migration thin out folk knowledge, while heritage projects and the internet gather it. Customs reappear as products, such as protective charms in shops and festival tourism. Some folk practice carries harm: village accusation of witchcraft, treatments that delay medical care, and fees charged to relieve fear. Illness needs real medical care. In places with active heritage movements, folk custom has become a source of pride, and young people record songs and cures from grandparents before they are lost.

Folk and village custom on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇺🇸 United StatesBloody Mary A mirror ritual to summon a spirit that reveals the future or brings harmBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living

🇯🇵 JapanHatsuyume初夢 The first dream of the new year and its traditional omensBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 JapanCurse of the Colonelカーネルサンダースの呪い A Japanese sports superstition blaming a baseball team's losses on an offended fast-food mascot.Belief · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇹🇼 TaiwanKuai Kuai culture乖乖文化 A Taiwanese custom of placing obedient snacks on machines to ensure smooth operationBelief · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of the Bambino A sports superstition linking a long championship drought to a player saleBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇭🇺 HungaryCurse of TuranTuráni átok A Hungarian belief that a historic spell causes national misfortune and personal despairBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreJinx A curse or attribute believed to attract bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇪 IrelandStatue rubbing A tourist custom of touching statues to attract luck, love, or a return visit.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living

🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇯🇵 JapanAkisutozenekoあきすとぜねこ A Shōwa-era Japanese game that turns lovers' names into a predicted relationship outcomeBelief · Love and attraction Historical 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese superstitions Common beliefs in Japan about luck, numbers, and omens rooted in language and customBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th A Western superstition that a specific calendar alignment brings misfortuneBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living

🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpentsогненный змей A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKōshin庚申信仰 A Japanese folk belief involving vigils to prevent internal spirits from reporting human deeds to heavenBelief · Protection · Healing Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱 A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Rocky Colavito A baseball superstition linking a 1960 player trade to decades of team failureBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm · Protection Revived

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreSpilling water for luck A folk custom of pouring water to wish a traveler or worker a smooth journeyBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇫🇮 FinlandEtiäinen A Finnish belief in a premonitory apparition that precedes a person's arrivalBelief · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇯🇵 JapanYakudoshi厄年 Traditional Japanese ages believed to bring bad luck and the rituals used to ward them offBelief · Protection Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomShoes on a table A superstition that placing footwear on a table invites bad luck or disrespectBelief · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇳 ChinaEight Treasures八寶 (Bābǎo) A set of eight symbols in Chinese art and amulets representing good fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇮🇹 ItalyIn bocca al lupo An Italian idiom wishing good luck by invoking danger, with a response asking for the wolf's death.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreJailangkung An Indonesian séance using a straw effigy to communicate with spirits of the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 3 more11:11 A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living

🇪🇸 SpainIndalo A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇵 JapanShiranui不知火 Atmospheric ghost lights of the Yatsushiro and Ariake Seas in JapanBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaSuperstition in China A broad category for folk beliefs and rituals dismissed as backward by modern Chinese authoritiesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaAugust curse A Russian belief that severe disasters and national tragedies cluster in the month of August.Belief Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 4 moreJumbee A shadowy spirit of the dead in Caribbean folklore, often linked to evil deeds.Belief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United StatesNew England vampire panic A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMoney tree搖錢樹 A mythical tree of fortune and a Chinese New Year custom for wealthFigure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇻🇳 VietnamBà Chúa Xứ婆主處 A Mekong Delta goddess of prosperity, asked for trade, health and fertilityBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇴 NorwayTycho Brahe daysTycho Brahes-dage Scandinavian folklore dates believed to be unlucky for magic and businessBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSailors' superstitions A global collection of omens, charms and taboos used by mariners to manage the risks of life at seaBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇺🇸 United StatesStamping A childhood gesture believed to capture luck from specific animals or objectsBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Hatsuyume: Takeuchi Seihō, Public domain, source
Curse of the Colonel: Ogiyoshisan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Curse of the Bambino: National Photo Company, Public domain, source
Kuai Kuai culture: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
Sailors' superstitions: Siren Painter (eponymous vase), Public domain, source
Money tree: Pratyeka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
Eight Treasures: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
Superstition in China: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
New England vampire panic: no credited author, Public domain, source
Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Bà Chúa Xứ: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source