Shinto and Taoist: magic in this belief world

Ofuda and omamori, fu talismans, onmyodo, and the rites of temples and mountains.

Shinto and Taoism are two major East Asian religions, and both include rites that outsiders may label magic. Shinto shrines sell omamori and perform purification, and Taoist priests make fu talismans and perform rites for the living and the dead. Related practices include onmyodo in Japan and feng shui and divination in China. This page covers how these traditions work and how states have treated them. They differ greatly: Shinto is tied to place and community, while Taoism offers both a philosophy and an organised priesthood.

Shinto rites

Shinto centres on kami, the spirits and powers of places and ancestors, and on purification (harae). Shrines offer omamori, ofuda and fortune slips called omikuji, and priests perform rites for new cars, buildings and births. Many Japanese take part without describing themselves as believers, and the rites are woven into the calendar. Ordinary visitors buy a charm for a particular aim, such as safe childbirth, exam success or traffic safety, and may return it to the shrine after a year.

Taoist ritual and talismans

Taoism includes philosophy, monastic practice and a priestly tradition of liturgy and exorcism. Priests of lineages such as Zhengyi write fu, written talismans, and perform rites for protection and the dead. The I Ching and feng shui are also linked with Taoist thought, though they have separate histories. Several Chinese dynasties licensed Taoist priests and also tried to control them. Taoist masters have trained in lineages that run for many generations, and some rites are reserved for the ordained and not for the public.

Onmyodo and the state

Onmyodo, a Japanese system of divination and calendar-keeping drawn from Chinese yin-yang thought, served the imperial court. The famed Abe no Seimei lived in the Heian period. The Meiji government abolished the official onmyodo bureau in 1870 and separated Shinto from Buddhism, which reshaped practice. In China, Taoist temples were closed during the Cultural Revolution and have partly revived. Women have long served as shrine maidens in Shinto and as priests in several Taoist lineages, though the top posts are mostly held by men.

Commerce and the West

Feng shui and fortune-telling are large industries in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the diaspora, and Japanese lucky charms are bought by tourists. Scholars debate the line between religion and superstition, a distinction introduced in Asia by modern states in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Practitioners tend to describe what they do as ritual service to the community. Taiwanese and Hong Kong temples and Japanese shrines are visited by large numbers of people, and communities overseas have built new shrines and temples.

Shinto and Taoist 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

🇨🇳 ChinaLan Caihe藍采和 An ambiguous Taoist immortal known for a flower basket and wandering songsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Guolao张果老 A Taoist immortal known for his white donkey and fish drum, said to be a bat spirit.Figure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaHe Xiangu何仙姑 A female immortal from Chinese Taoist legend known for divination and lotus magicFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiangshi殭屍 A Chinese corpse said to rise and hop, feared for its strengthBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKuda-gitsune管狐 (kuda-gitsune) A small spirit kept in a tube or sleeve to aid fortune-telling and cursing in Japanese folklore.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaNüwa女媧 A Chinese mother goddess who created humanity and repaired the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanTengu天狗 Japanese mountain spirits that evolved from ominous birds into protective forest guardians.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanKitsuneきつね A Japanese fox spirit known for shapeshifting and trickeryBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanAbe no Seimei安倍晴明 A historical court official turned legendary Japanese onmyōji and folk heroFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTamamo-no-Mae玉藻前 A nine-tailed fox spirit from Japanese legend who possessed emperors and concubines across Asia.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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

🇯🇵 JapanOni鬼（おに） A horned demon of Japanese folklore known for strength and evil deedsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanUchide no kozuchi打ち出の小槌 A legendary Japanese magic hammer that taps out desired items from thin airFigure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanNamazu鯰 A giant catfish myth believed to cause earthquakes in JapanBeing Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanGashadokuroがしゃどくろ A giant skeleton spirit born from the bones of those who died in war or famine.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanRaijū雷獣 A Japanese lightning creature that sleeps in navels and falls from stormsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanMazoku魔族 Supernatural beings in Japanese myth and fantasy, often evil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaPeaches of Immortality仙桃 Legendary Chinese fruits said to grant eternal life to deities and mortalsSubstance · Luck and prosperity · Change and initiation Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanOsakabehime刑部姫 A yōkai spirit said to inhabit Himeji Castle and reveal its fate.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanŌnyūdō大僧正 A giant monk spirit in Japanese folklore, ranging from helpful helpers to menacing shadows.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanMakuragaeshi枕返し A Japanese spirit that flips pillows and turns sleepers upside downBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanHitotsume-nyūdō独眼僧 A one-eyed Japanese monk spirit from folklore and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanKuzunoha葛の葉 A kitsune spirit and mother of the famous onmyōji Abe no Seimei in Japanese folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreThree-legged crow三足烏 A mythological bird representing the sun in East Asian traditionsFigure · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaAo鰲 A colossal sea turtle of Chinese myth whose legs support the skyBeing · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanBanchō Sarayashiki番町皿屋敷 A Japanese ghost story about a servant who dies unjustly and haunts her murderer by counting plates.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaMago Halmi마고할미 A giant creator goddess in Korean mythology associated with hemp weaving and the separation of heaven and earth.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Lan Caihe: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Three-legged crow: Jinsha Site Museum. Original author: ancient Shu people., Public domain, source
Ao: David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Zhang Guolao: Hong Zicheng, Public domain, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
He Xiangu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Nüwa: 山胖z, CC BY 3.0, source
Uchide no kozuchi: Yashima Gakutei, CC0, source
Kitsune: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Namazu: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Gashadokuro: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Peaches of Immortality: Anonymous ( China ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
Hitotsume-nyūdō: Kashiwa Seiho (柏正甫), Public domain, source
Tamamo-no-Mae: ウィキ太郎 Wiki Taro, Public domain, source
Kuzunoha: Print artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) Print artist: Utagawa Hiroshige, Public domain, source
Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source