Spirits, creatures and beings

Djinn, fairies, orisha, golems and the other powers that magic deals with.

A feather: used in cleansing and blessing in some traditions, worn as a sign of office, and carried as a charm.

Beings are the powers that magic deals with: spirits, ancestors, gods, djinn, fairies, orisha, nats, kami, demons, golems, ghosts and the many kinds of household and landscape spirit. People in most cultures have described a world shared with unseen others, who may help, trouble or ask for respect. This page covers what these beings are said to be and the very different ways communities relate to them. They are always described here as what communities believe, not as established fact.

Different kinds of beings

A being can be a god with a priesthood, such as an orisha served in Yoruba religion, Cuba and Brazil. It can be an ancestor, honoured in China, Africa and Mexico. It can belong to a place, such as the kami of Shinto, the Thai phi or the Burmese nats. It can be a trouble-maker, like the djinn of Arabic and Islamic tradition, formed from smokeless fire, or the fairies of Ireland, whom people avoided naming.

Relationship, not command

In many traditions, a person does not command a being but enters a relationship with it, through offerings, promises and respect. Possession and mediumship are forms of that relationship, as in Vodou, Candomblé, Korean mudang rites and Sufi gatherings. In ceremonial magic of the European grimoires, by contrast, the magician summons spirits by name and authority, which the Church condemned as demon-raising. The same being may be loved in one household and feared in the next, and a spirit helpful to its servant can be harmful to a stranger.

Religions and renaming

Dominant religions often absorbed beings by relabelling them. Christian missionaries called many African and Indigenous spirits demons. Islam reads the djinn as real creatures, some of whom are Muslim, and Hindu and Buddhist traditions fold local deities into their own pantheons. Pagan and fairy beliefs were sometimes recast as the devil's work, which fed witch trials in Europe. Churches and mosques have sometimes divided beings into good and evil in ways the older traditions did not, so that a neutral local spirit became a demon on the day a missionary arrived.

Harm and interpretation

Belief in harmful spirits has been used to accuse people. Children in parts of West and Central Africa have been branded as witches possessed by evil spirits, and some have been abused by pastors or families in the name of deliverance. Scholars read spirit beliefs as ways to make sense of illness, loss and conflict, and many communities see them simply as neighbours. That is why accusations tied to spirit beliefs fall hardest on children and the vulnerable, and why many agencies train local leaders to challenge them.

Being 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

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

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍 A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreDakiniḍākinī A goddess figure in Hinduism and Buddhism, ranging from flesh-eating demoness to enlightened energy.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomHob A small household spirit of Northern England and the Anglo-Scottish border.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreLamassu𒀭𒆗 (dlamma) A Mesopotamian guardian spirit, a winged bull with a human head, set to watch the gatesBeing · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptWadjetwꜢḏyt The green cobra goddess who protected Lower Egypt and the pharaohs.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreViracochaWiraqucha The supreme creator deity of the Andes, associated with the sea and civilization.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSuryaसूर्य The sun as a Hindu deity and the source of light and knowledgeBeing · Power and authority · Healing Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyJupiterIuppiter The Roman sky father and king of the gods, associated with thunder and oathsBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptHekaḥkꜣw The ancient Egyptian deification of magic, medicine, and primordial creative powerBeing · Healing · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreIfritعفريت A class of powerful chthonic spirits in Islamic tradition and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreIsisꜣst (Egyptian) Egyptian goddess of magic, mourning and kingship, mother of HorusBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreTyrTýr A Germanic deity of war and oaths, known for sacrificing his hand to a wolfBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAmunjmn (Old/Middle Egyptian); Amoun (Coptic) The hidden creator god of ancient Egypt, later fused with the sun deity Ra.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreSaturnSāturnus Roman god of time and agriculture, linked to the Saturnalia festivalBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanShikigami式神 A conjured spirit from Japanese Onmyōdō, often bound to paper or animal form.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān) A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYoginiयोगिनी A female master of yoga and tantra, or a fierce goddess aspect in Indian temples.Tradition · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos An antlered Celtic deity depicted with torcs and serpents, known from Roman-era Gaul.Being · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神 A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusjꜥrt An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMakaraमकर A legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology and a symbol of water and thresholdsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreYazata𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 A Zoroastrian term for divine beings worthy of worship and venerationBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreHiisi A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTeraphimתרפים Ancient Hebrew household figures linked to ancestry, property rights and divinationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAllocer A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaAntabogaꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ A serpent deity of Javanism and Sundanism who created the world turtle and rice goddessBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptSet animalsha A mysterious creature from ancient Egypt, linked to the god Set and chaos.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaEtheric body A subtle energy layer said to sustain the physical form and connect it to higher states.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelMelchom A demon of hell and former Ammonite idol described in the Dictionnaire InfernalBeing · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Antaboga: fir0002 flagstaffotos [at] gmail.com Canon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, GFDL 1.2, source
Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
Lotan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
Inugami: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Hob: Jo Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Dakini: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
Lamassu: Daderot, CC0, source
Wadjet: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Viracocha: Pattych ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Surya: Ravi Varma Press, Public domain, source
Jupiter: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ifrit: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Isis: Ägyptischer Maler um 1360 v. Chr., Public domain, source
Tyr: Gunnar Creutz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Amun: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saturn: Robert Lowe, CC BY 2.0, source
Uraeus: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Teraphim: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Melchom: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
Makara: Subbhashinee S, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source