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.
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressv谦lva
Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Revived
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba
The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and sei冒r magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing 路 Love and attraction 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady
A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomSt Mark's Eve
An English folk custom to witness omens of death and future marriage on the eve of a saint's feast dayRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreAugury
A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex
A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBarghest
A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceCoscinomancy
A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day
A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic
A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBlack dog
A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceCartomancy
Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy
Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 3 moreTasseography
A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAeromancy
Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaCarromancy
A divination method that reads the future from molten wax or candle flamesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese
A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy
Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreOomancy
Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Love and attraction Historical
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy
Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 3 moreLes Lavandi猫resKannerez-Noz
Supernatural washerwomen who wash shrouds or bloodstained clothes for those about to die.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena Maria袨谐薪械薪邪 袦邪褉懈褬邪
A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreCola Pesce
An Italian merman legend about a boy cursed by his mother to live in the seaFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy艢uri饜寫饜寲饜寷饜墿 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden脜rsg氓ng
An archaic Swedish divination ritual performed on Christmas Eve to glimpse the coming year.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBluecap
A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy
Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomTwo of Coins
A tarot card representing balance, juggling duties, and the struggle to maintain equilibrium.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreCromniomancy
Divination by onions to reveal health, love, weather and distant newsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Love and attraction Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 FinlandEti盲inen
A Finnish belief in a premonitory apparition that precedes a person's arrivalBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Augur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
- 艢uri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carromancy: Peter Becker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
- Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
- Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
- Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Two of Coins: Augusto Rius in 1889 [1] for Heraclio Fournier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Les Lavandi猫res: Jean-脡douard Dargent, Public domain, source