Hindu and Tantric: magic in this belief world
Mantra, yantra, tantra, puja and the folk goddess cults of India and Nepal.
Hindu practice holds a very large range of ritual: Vedic fire offerings, mantra and yantra, tantra, temple puja, astrology, and the village goddess cults of India and Nepal. Many Hindus would call this worship, not magic, while scholars note that charms, spells and rites of power run through the tradition from the Atharvaveda onward. This page covers the range and the tensions inside it. Hindu communities live in every continent, and their rites differ by language and household.
Mantra, yantra and tantra
A mantra is a sacred sound or phrase, a yantra a diagram, and tantra a family of ritual traditions that use both. Tantric practice is varied: some is household devotion, some is initiatory work under a guru, and some has been sensationalised abroad as sex magic, a picture most practitioners reject. Knowledge is passed through initiation, and many texts are closed to outsiders. Initiation into a mantra is usually given by a guru or family teacher, and the same sound may be said to work only when received in the right way.
Folk and village practice
Beyond the temple, villages have healers, exorcists and mediums who work with goddesses and spirits. Practices against the evil eye include the lemon and chillies, black dots and a rite of waving salt and chillies before a child. Jyotisha, Indian astrology, is consulted for weddings, names and business, and is taught in some universities, which scientists have criticised. Healers and goddess shrines, such as those of Sitala for smallpox and fever and of Bhagavati in Kerala, draw crowds who seek relief and protection.
Gender, caste and law
Access follows caste and gender. Priesthood is largely male and Brahmin, though women lead some rites, and low-caste and Dalit practitioners lead many village cults. Accusations of witchcraft, in India often called dayan or dain, have killed people in states such as Jharkhand and Assam, and several states have passed laws against witch-hunting. Maharashtra and Karnataka have anti-superstition laws. Hindu reformers have also attacked such practice: the Arya Samaj, founded in 1875, opposed idol worship and ritual excess, and rationalist groups in India campaign against godmen who claim miracles.
Diaspora and commerce
Overseas, communities keep household rites and temple worship, and pandits conduct weddings by video. Yoga and tantra are now global industries, and Western teachers have sold forms far from their roots, while Indian reformers and some Hindus object. Scholars point to centuries of overlap between Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Islamic traditions of charms and healing. Hindu temples in Britain, North America and Southeast Asia now host priests trained in India, and some rites have been adapted to the calendar of working life.
Hindu and Tantric on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral
A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAghoriअघोर
An ascetic monastic order of Shaivite sadhus known for antinomian rituals in cremation groundsTradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreOshunỌ̀ṣun
A Yoruba water spirit linked to love, wealth, and the Osun River in Nigeria.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang)
Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRelic
An object or body part kept to honor a holy person and mark their connection to the divineCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance
Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPanchagavya
A fermented mixture of five cow products used in Hindu rituals and Ayurvedic traditions.Substance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreHaoma
A divine plant and spirit in Zoroastrianism, linked to healing and ancient rituals.Substance · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAmritaअमृत (Sanskrit)
A Sanskrit concept of immortality and the nectar that grants it across Indian religionsBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气
A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreLwa
Spirits in Haitian Vodou that mediate between people and the creator god.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreYemọjaYemoja
A mother spirit of rivers and oceans worshipped across Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreObatalaỌbatalá
The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道
A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGaneshaगणेश (Gaṇeśa)
An elephant-headed Hindu deity worshipped as the remover of obstacles and patron of wisdom.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreWild rueاسپند
A desert plant whose seeds hold psychoactive alkaloids and serve as incense in the Middle East.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKamakhya Templekamakhya mondir
A Hindu temple in Assam known for its yoni shrine and the Ambubachi Mela festivalTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePilgrimage
A journey to a sacred site for spiritual growth or religious dutyTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 1 moreVietnamese folk religiontín ngưỡng dân gian Việt Nam
A collection of local spirit worship and ancestral veneration in VietnamTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNadi astrologynāḍi jyotiṣa
A Tamil astrological tradition using palm leaves to read past lives and future pathsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAsian witchcraft
A broad overview of magical practices and persecution across Asian culturesTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAetherius Society
A new religious movement blending theosophy, UFO claims, and spiritual healing to aid humanity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPranaप्राण
A Sanskrit concept of vital energy found in yoga and AyurvedaBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNavaratnaनवरत्न
A nine-gem talisman set in gold or silver, linked to Hindu astrology and planetary worshipCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreVarahiवाराही (Vārāhī)
A Hindu mother goddess with a sow face, worshipped in Tantric rites for protection and powerBeing · Protection · 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.
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Nadi astrology: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " ARTiFACTS ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Amrita: http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven, CC BY 3.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lwa: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Yemọja: Samuel Tobbytex007, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Obatala: Isha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ganesha: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Wild rue: Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kamakhya Temple: JyotiPN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pilgrimage: Ali Mansuri, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Vietnamese folk religion: Unknown (traditional painting dated back to the 17th century), Public domain, source
- Aghori: Retratistadelsur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oshun: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " Department_of_Trife ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Vahana: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
- Prana: Tamilmama, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aetherius Society: Hjamesberglen, CC0, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Navaratna: Pradeep717, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Relic: MathieuGuy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asian witchcraft: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Public domain, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source