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

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreKnocker A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇯🇵 JapanTsukumogami付喪神 Household objects that gain a spirit after reaching their hundredth year in Japanese folklore.Being · Cursing and harm 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 🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreDrekavacДрекавац A South Slavic night creature born from unbaptised souls or sinnersBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNight hag A supernatural being believed to sit on sleepers and cause paralysisBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomBrowniebrùnaidh A nocturnal household spirit from Scottish folklore that performs chores in exchange for offerings.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇵🇭 PhilippinesAswang A shape-shifting monster from Philippine folklore that preys on humans.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaAlakshmiदेवी अलक्ष्मी A Hindu goddess of misfortune and the shadow opposite to LakshmiBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreEzili DantorÈzili Dantò A fierce mother spirit in Haitian Vodou who protects the marginalized and demands loyalty.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇯🇵 JapanBaku獏 A Japanese spirit said to eat bad dreams and protect sleepersBeing · Protection Living 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreHaoma A divine plant and spirit in Zoroastrianism, linked to healing and ancient rituals.Substance · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreLwa Spirits in Haitian Vodou that mediate between people and the creator god.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 JapanZashiki-warashi座敷童子 A parlor spirit from northern Japan that brings fortune or ruin to a household.Being · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAos Sí Supernatural beings of Irish and Scottish folklore, said to dwell in mounds and influence the human world.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Baku: Momotarou2012, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lakshmi: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lwa: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
Night hag: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Aos Sí: AE [George William Russell] (1867-1935), CC BY 4.0, source
Tsukumogami: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source