🇷🇺 Magic in Russia

115 entries from Russia, best known first, across 15 places of magic.

Shamanism in Siberia is a diverse set of practices among indigenous groups, often blending with Islam or Buddhism. It centers on spirit journeys and healing, with distinct traditions among Uralic, Samoyedic, Turkic, and Tungusic peoples.

Female shaman terms share a root linked to the hearth goddess Etügen.
Nganasan shamans used three different crowns for different spiritual realms.
Shamanic songs mimic animal sounds like birds, wolves, and polar bears.
Skeleton-like dress overlays symbolize shamanic rebirth in several cultures.
The word 'shaman' derives from Proto-Turkic *bögü via Evenk.

Overview

Siberia is considered the heartland of shamanism, where many ethnic groups maintain these religio-cultural practices today. The tradition is highly diverse, shaped by linguistic families like Uralic, Samoyedic, Turkic, and Tungusic. While some groups have adopted Islam or Buddhism, core elements remain. The practice involves communicating with spirits for healing and guidance. Female shamans are prominent, with linguistic roots suggesting women may have practiced first. The tradition shares features with neighboring cultures, such as the Sami joiks, but retains unique local characteristics in music, dress, and ritual objects.

Practices and beliefs

Shamans undertake spirit journeys to rescue lost souls, reenacting dreams from their training. Healing séances involve mimicking natural sounds, such as bird calls or reindeer noises, to invoke helping spirits. Music includes overtone singing and songs that imitate animals like wolves or polar bears. Divination and contact with upper, lower, or dead worlds are common functions. Specific tools include drums with two transoms and headdresses adorned with effigies of human organs or bones, symbolizing rebirth. Songs often contain magical spell-like mumbling styles.

Rites and charms

Rites include clean tent ceremonies held after the polar night, involving sacrifices. Initiating songs describe the shaman's transformation, mentioning details like a dress with seven vertebrae. Seances are accompanied by women imitating animal sounds to provide fertility or aid the shaman's journey. Shamans wear specific crowns for different realms: upper world, underworld, or childbirth. Rituals often involve transforming into helper animals, such as a polar bear, through sound mimesis and costume.

Who practises

Practitioners include male shamans (böö, saman) and female shamans (udagan), with the latter term sharing a root across many languages. Types of shamans vary by function: those contacting the upper world, the underworld, or the dead. Healers, diviners, and sacral rite specialists are distinguished. Some shamans are chosen through dreams or illness. Historical records note notable figures like Dyukhade Kosterkin. In some groups, like the Ket, shamans are associated with specific helper animals like deer or bears.

Regions and communities

Practices differ by linguistic group. Uralic speakers like the Khanty and Mansi show remnants, while Samoyedic groups like the Nganasans and Nenets maintained living traditions longer. Turkic peoples in Altai and Tuva blend shamanism with Islam or Buddhism. Tungusic groups have their own folklore, such as the Tale of the Nisan Shaman. Regional variations exist in drum structure, headdress design, and the influence of neighboring cultures like Buryat or Abakan-Turkic peoples.

The calendar

Specific rites are tied to seasons, such as the clean tent ceremony after the polar night. Childbirth occasions require specific ceremonial crowns. Life events like death and resurrection are addressed through shamanic intervention. Festivals are not explicitly detailed, but seasonal transitions and community needs drive the timing of seances and sacrifices.

Law and the state

The text does not provide information on legal status, persecution, or state treatment of shamanism in Siberia.

Today

Shamanism persists among indigenous groups, though it has declined in some areas. The last Nganasan seances were recorded in the 1970s. Folklore memories were collected in the 1960s. Some languages, like Kamassian, are extinct, affecting cultural transmission. Modern practitioners maintain traditions, while scholars study historical records and folklore to understand the belief system.

Where this page comes from

The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Shamanism in Siberia", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. EveryJaadu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

Market Oracle Sacred site Trial site or memorial School or museum Town known for a tradition Centre of practice

Places of magic in Russia

Donbas 1 Kaliningrad Oblast 1 Kazan 1 Novgorod 1 Rostov-on-Don 1 Saint Petersburg 1 Sakha Republic 1 Sverdlovsk oblast 1 Ural 1 Yakutsk 1 Altai Republic Kyzyl and Tuvan shamanism Lake Baikal Olkhon Island and Shaman Rock Tereng Valley

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

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreNart sagaНарты кадджытæ A collection of epic tales from the North Caucasus about a legendary group of heroes.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreDomovoyДомовой A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHermetica A collection of ancient texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, covering magic, alchemy and philosophy.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Change and initiation Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean-Eugène Robert-Houdin A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreChortчёрт A Slavic demon spirit with horns and hooves, known in folklore as a trickster or minor evil force.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreAl BastyAlbastı A female spirit of guilt and childbirth found in Turkic and Caucasian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpentsогненный змей A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaHabernitsa A noon demon of Slavic fields who punishes workers and causes pain.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreBevis of HamptonПовесть о Бове-королевиче A medieval chivalric romance about a hero's exile and return across Europe and the Near EastText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreSárkány A winged reptilian beast from Hungarian folklore, linked to weather and literary heroes.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 3 moreThe Swan Queen A Lithuanian fairy tale about a bird maiden who becomes human and returns to the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreYellow shamanismШар бөө A Mongolian and Siberian shamanic tradition blended with Buddhist ritualsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Historical 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBlack Orlov A black diamond linked to a legend of theft and tragic deathsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element) A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 3 moreCurse of TimurПроклятие Тамерлана A rumor that disturbing the conqueror's tomb brings invasion and calamity.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreVelesВелес A Slavic chthonic deity of cattle, the underworld, and oathsBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreElder Mother A guardian spirit of elder trees in English and Scandinavian folkloreBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreKyöpelinvuori A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
Amniomancy: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bevis of Hampton: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sárkány: Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, source
Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chort: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
Veles: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source