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.
🇮🇳 IndiaPili Yesaಪಿಲಿವೇಷ
A coastal Karnataka folk dance where performers paint themselves as tigers to honour the Goddess DurgaIllusion · Protection · Power and authority 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBhairavaभैरव
A fierce manifestation of Shiva and a Buddhist protector deity worshipped across South and East Asia.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇵 NepalTaleju𑐟𑐮𑐾𑐖𑐸 (Newar) / तलेजु (Devanagari)
A royal goddess of the Kathmandu Valley, worshipped as Durga and Tara.Being · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreKataragama templeකතරගම / கதிர்காமம் முருகன் கோயில்
A Sri Lankan shrine shared by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and VeddasTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship
Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQilin麒麟
A legendary chimerical creature from Chinese mythology that signals the arrival or death of a sage.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreSky lantern天燈
A paper hot air balloon lifted by flame to carry wishes and blessingsRite · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreReliquary
A container for sacred remains or objects, crafted across many faithsCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmiलक्ष्मी
A Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, and beauty, worshipped as the consort of Vishnu.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A daily geometric floor drawing made with rice flour at the home entrance in South IndiaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake charming
A street performance using a gourd flute to make snakes swayIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Fading
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNew moon cleansing (sample)
Smoke and water used to mark a lunar month.Rite · Cleansing and purification Fading
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam
Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇹🇹 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
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJapanese numismatic charm絵銭
Coin-shaped charms from Japan used for protection, luck, and blessings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaVelichappaduവെളിച്ചപ്പാട്
A Hindu temple oracle in Kerala who channels deities through trance and danceBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRavanaरावण (Rāvaṇa)
A ten-headed demon king of Lanka and a devoted follower of Shiva in Hindu tradition.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaMahishasuraमहिषासुर
A bovine asura slain by the goddess Durga in Hindu myth and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù)
A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSamatonꯁꯃꯗꯣꯟ ꯑꯌꯥꯡꯕ (Shamadon Ayangba)
A winged divine horse from Meitei mythology and ancestor of the Manipuri ponyBeing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies
Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaSuperstition in China
A broad category for folk beliefs and rituals dismissed as backward by modern Chinese authoritiesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaTribal religions in India
Indigenous spiritual practices of India's Scheduled Tribes, often grouped under Hinduism in official records.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pili Yesa: Premnath Kudva, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pilgrimage: Ali Mansuri, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bhairava: Saankav, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Taleju: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kataragama temple: Ghostface Buddha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burmese folk religion: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oshun: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " Department_of_Trife ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Mahishasura: Prakashsubbarao at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Ravana: Gita Press Gorakhpur, CC0, source
- Samaton: Isabelm-h, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barong: Skha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sky lantern: Richy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reliquary: Attributed to Jean de Toul, also written Jehan de Touyl in one source, CC0, source
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lakshmi: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Snake charming: Paris75000, Public domain, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Superstition in China: Gary Todd, CC0, source