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.
🇮🇳 India and 6 moreChurel
A female revenant of South Asian folklore, feared for luring men awayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreDivدیو
Monstrous creatures of Persian and West Asian lore, later adapted into Islamic and regional mythologiesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreParīپری
A winged being of Persian origin, linked to beauty and the spirit world across AsiaBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaParashuramaपरशुराम (Paraśurāma)
The warrior sage of Hinduism who wields a divine axe to restore cosmic balance.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaNüwa女媧
A Chinese mother goddess who created humanity and repaired the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePishachaपिशाच (piśāca)
A flesh-eating demon from Indian religions, feared for possession and madness.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaRangdaᬭᬗ᭄ᬤ
A Balinese demon queen who leads witches in an eternal battle against good.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 JapanOni鬼（おに）
A horned demon of Japanese folklore known for strength and evil deedsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreApsaraअप्सरस् (Sanskrit), អប្សរា (Khmer)
Celestial water spirits and dancers from Hindu and Buddhist traditions across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKinnaraकिन्नर (Sanskrit)
A half-human, half-bird creature from Hindu and Buddhist myth, known for music and devotion.Being · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreHybrid beasts in folklore
Creatures made of animal and human parts found in myths and ancient artBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWorld Turtle
A mythic giant turtle said to support the earth or contain the world in various cultures.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanMazoku魔族
Supernatural beings in Japanese myth and fantasy, often evil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaDawon
The lion mount of the goddess Durga in Hindu traditionBeing · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaHenjunaha and LairoulembiHensunaha Lailoulempi
A Meitei epic of lovers who die and return from the underworld through devotion.Figure · Love and attraction Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreGiant
Mythic humanoids of immense size and strength found in global folklore and ancient textsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaHingchabiꯍꯤꯡꯆꯥꯕꯤ
A giantess figure from Meitei folklore who feeds on raw fleshBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaDaityaदैत्याः
A race of asuras in Hindu mythology descended from Kashyapa and DitiBeing Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत
A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreMythic humanoids
Creatures that blend human and animal traits across global folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Churel: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
- Parī: Ismoon ( talk ) 22:26, 10 February 2013 (UTC), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parashurama: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nüwa: 山胖z, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pishacha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rangda: Boy Lawson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Apsara: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Mahishasura: Prakashsubbarao at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ravana: Gita Press Gorakhpur, CC0, source
- World Turtle: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hybrid beasts in folklore: Peter Schmelzle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daitya: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
- Hingchabi: Bemni, N, CC0, source
- Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source
- Giant: Attributed to Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Dawon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kinnara: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, Public domain, source