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

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

🇯🇵 JapanTengu天狗 Japanese mountain spirits that evolved from ominous birds into protective forest guardians.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanJorōgumo絡新婦 (kanji), じょろうぐも (hiragana) A shapeshifting spider yōkai of Japanese folklore that lures victims with human guise.Being · Cursing and harm 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

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreRusalkaрусалка A water spirit of Slavic folklore, often linked to drowned women and seasonal ritesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanIttan-momen一反木綿 A flying cloth yōkai from Japanese folklore that warns children to stay indoors at nightBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanKappa河童 A river-dwelling yōkai known for its head dish and love of cucumbersBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

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

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreXiezhi獬豸 A one-horned beast from East Asia that separates the guilty from the innocentBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

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

🇷🇺 RussiaKikimoraКикимора A female house spirit in Slavic folklore that reflects the state of a home.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreFox spirit狐狸精 A shapeshifting creature from Chinese folklore that can take human form and live for centuries.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaHundun混沌 A faceless being and the primordial void in Chinese cosmology and myth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreFenghuang鳳凰 (fènghuáng) A mythological bird symbolizing virtue and imperial harmony in East Asian cultureBeing · Power and authority · Love and attraction Legendary

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreRokurokubiろくろ首 A Japanese spirit with a stretching neck or a flying headBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanNurarihyon滑瓢 or ぬらりひょん A slippery Japanese monster that slips away and haunts homes in folklore and pop culture.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiangshi殭屍 A Chinese corpse said to rise and hop, feared for its strengthBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanOsaki尾先 A mountain spirit in Japanese folklore that brings wealth or possession.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

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

🇯🇵 JapanAbura-sumashi油すまし A mountain spirit from Amakusa folklore said to be a thief turned yōkaiBeing 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 🇯🇵 JapanSatori覚 A mind-reading monkey-like yōkai from the mountains of JapanBeing Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKijo鬼女 A demon woman from Japanese folklore, born of resentment and karma.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaGwisin귀신 A Korean ghost of a human who died, lingering to finish unfinished business.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanYōsei妖精 A Japanese term for spirits drawn from Western legends and native folkloreBeing Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanMazoku魔族 Supernatural beings in Japanese myth and fantasy, often evil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaQiongqi窮奇 A winged beast from Chinese myth that rewards wickedness and punishes virtueBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí) A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanTesso鉄鼠 A Japanese yōkai born from a monk’s curse and the destructive power of ratsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreChimimōryō魑魅魍魎 A Chinese term for mountain and river spirits that spread to Japan and VietnamBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaZouyu騶虞 A legendary Chinese creature said to appear only under benevolent ruleBeing · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaDenglong蹬龙 A Chinese mythical beast with mixed animal traits, often guarding imperial sites.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreShen蜃 A sea creature from Chinese mythology said to create mirages through shape-shiftingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShuihu水虎 A legendary water creature from Chinese folklore, later adopted into Japanese myth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaEgg ghost달걀귀신 A headless Korean spirit shaped like an egg, said to bring death upon sightingBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanOsakabehime刑部姫 A yōkai spirit said to inhabit Himeji Castle and reveal its fate.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreHuoshu火鼠 A legendary fire-resistant rat from Chinese folklore said to yield self-cleaning cloth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaNine-headed bird九頭鳥 A mythical creature from ancient China that became a symbol of deceit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanShichinin misaki七人ミサキ A group of seven vengeful ghosts from Japan that appear near water and kill those who see them.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKinoko木の子 A mountain spirit in Japan that looks like a small child and plays tricks on workers.Being Legendary 🇹🇼 TaiwanMo-sin-a魔神仔 A short, furry forest demon from Taiwanese folklore said to lure travelers into the mountains.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaShangyang商羊 A mythical Chinese bird that predicts rain by dancing on one legBeing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDokkaebi도깨비 A one-legged supernatural being from Korean folklore, often linked to household objects and magical items.Being · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreKakuen玃猿 (Jué yuán) A legendary ape-like creature from Chinese and Japanese folklore known for abducting humans.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFengxi封豨 A two-headed boar monster and ancient rain deity from Chinese mythBeing · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling 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
Tesso: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Kikimora: Гиппиус Татьяна Николаевна (1877-1957), Public domain, source
Fox spirit: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
Fenghuang: Supremo Editor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hundun: Oldie~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rokurokubi: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Nurarihyon: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Kitsune: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
Kappa: Unknown author, CC0, source
Rusalka: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Namazu: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Abura-sumashi: Triton, CC BY 3.0, source
Gashadokuro: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Zouyu: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
Denglong: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shuihu: Author: b. 1654, Public domain, source
Nine-headed bird: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Xiezhi: Carty239 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source