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

🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living

🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreAgimatAnting-anting A Filipino amulet or charm believed to grant protection, power, and supernatural abilities.Charm · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horseརླུང་རྟ་ An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreSpirit An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào) Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇮🇸 IcelandRauðskinna A legendary Icelandic grimoire said to grant mastery over dark forces.Text · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanFukusuke福助 A kneeling Japanese doll believed to bring wealth and honorCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living 🇺🇸 United StatesFeri Tradition An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptBarbarous name A magical word whose meaning is unknown or ignored, valued for its sound alone.Text · Power and authority Historical 🇧🇷 BrazilPro-VidaPró-Vida, Integração Cósmica An occultist group founded in Brazil that promises cosmic consciousness and earthly paradise.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMelusineMélusine A water spirit of French and Luxembourgish lore, known for her serpent form and the castles she built.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNew Thought A spiritual philosophy linking mental states to physical health and prosperityTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreDerafsh Kavianiدرفش کاویانی A legendary royal standard of pre-Islamic Iran, later adopted as a symbol of national identity.Charm · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaSnow Lionགངས་སེང་གེ་ A celestial mountain guardian of Tibet embodying fearlessness, bliss, and the DharmaBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTeraphimתרפים Ancient Hebrew household figures linked to ancestry, property rights and divinationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreBalaur A many-headed dragon from Romanian folklore that guards treasures and controls the weather.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority 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

🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí) A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇸 SerbiaCikavacцикавац A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaJiugongdao九宫道 A Chinese folk sect centered on Mount Wutai and esoteric cosmologyTradition · Power and authority Revived

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiFèy A Haitian Vodou folk song used as a political anthem during military ruleTradition · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenKnights of Ålleberg Swedish ghost story about sleeping warriors in a mountainFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePan Twardowski A Polish sorcerer who bargained with the Devil and ended up on the MoonFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛𐉩 (Etruscan) An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī) A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇹🇭 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇳🇿 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 🇮🇩 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

🇵🇱 Poland and 4 moreMoranaМорена A Slavic goddess of winter and death, whose effigy is drowned to welcome springFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 ChinaInterconnected-arm gibbon通臂猿 A mythical primate with linked arms that can extend one limb by pulling in the other.Figure · Power and authority Legendary 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Barbarous name: Aktiophis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fukusuke: Nesnad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Knights of Ålleberg: Photograph: Nasko, Public domain, source
Pan Twardowski: Pit1233, Public domain, source
Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source
Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Morana: Marta Malina Moraczewska, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
Snow Lion: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source
Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source
Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
Agimat: FroyAgta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source