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.
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic
Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman
An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇦🇷 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A woven straw charm hung for protection, named after Ireland's patron saintCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人
The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A cloth pouch holding charms for protection, luck, or love in the Hoodoo tradition.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreAgimatAnting-anting
A Filipino amulet or charm believed to grant protection, power, and supernatural abilities.Charm · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypoleMaibaum
A tall wooden pole raised for European spring festivals, accompanied by dance and celebration.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 morePalad khikปลัดขิก
A Thai phallic amulet believed to bring luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 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
🇮🇪 IrelandStatue rubbing
A tourist custom of touching statues to attract luck, love, or a return visit.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreZhengde Tongbao正德通寶
A fantasy cash coin used as a Chinese and Vietnamese amulet for luck and protection.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean numismatic charm열쇠패
Coin-shaped objects used as protective and decorative charms in Korean cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫婦和合花錢
Coin-shaped amulets from East Asia that celebrate marriage, fertility, and conjugal harmonyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreZmeu
A humanoid dragon from Romanian folklore that kidnaps maidens and steals treasures.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇷🇺 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
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană
Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇮🇹 ItalyAnguane
Cloven-footed water nymphs from Northern Italian folklore who nurse infants with their backs.Being · Love and attraction · Healing Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreSwan maiden
A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenVittra
A forest spirit from northern Sweden linked to livestock and seductionBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaFish in Chinese mythology鱼 (yú)
A cultural symbol of wealth and abundance in Chinese traditionBelief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNini Pelet
A West Javanese sorceress legend linked to Mount Ciremai and the origin of the word for love charmsFigure · Love and attraction · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaKeong Emas
A Javanese legend about a princess turned into a golden snailFigure · Love and attraction Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomTam Lin
A Scottish ballad about a fairy knight rescued by his mortal lover on Hallowe'enFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions
Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreEl Sombrerón
A tall, hat-wearing figure from Guatemalan legend who courts young women and haunts neighborhoods at dusk.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Anguane: Elena Alexandrina Bednarik, Public domain, source
- Swan maiden: Walter Crane, Public domain, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Palad khik: deror_avi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
- Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gauchito Gil: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Korean numismatic charm: Unknown author(s)., Public domain, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fish in Chinese mythology: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
- Agimat: FroyAgta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Keong Emas: Post of Indonesia, Public domain, source
- Tam Lin: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source