Spirits, creatures and beings
Djinn, fairies, orisha, golems and the other powers that magic deals with.
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, Candombl茅, 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.
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob
A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiErzulie脠zili
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou representing love, beauty, and protective fury.Being 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiGedeGu茅d茅
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou who guard the dead and grant fertility.Being 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚨馃嚜 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚘馃嚪 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreLwa
Spirits in Haitian Vodou that mediate between people and the creator god.Being 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚙馃嚧 Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu
An Andean deity of abundance and prosperity, central to the Alasitas festival.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚙馃嚪 BrazilPomba Gira
An Afro-Brazilian spirit of love and desire worshipped in Umbanda and QuimbandaBeing 路 Love and attraction 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚞馃嚬 GuatemalaMaxim贸nRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚙馃嚪 BrazilBoitat谩
A fiery serpent of Brazilian folklore that guards forests or frightens childrenBeing 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 moreEzili Dantor脠zili Dant貌
A fierce mother spirit in Haitian Vodou who protects the marginalized and demands loyalty.Being 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚬馃嚬 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSoucouyant
A shape-shifting vampire spirit of Caribbean folklore that sheds its skin to fly as a fireballBeing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚡馃嚥 Jamaica and 3 moreDuppy
A Caribbean term for a ghost or malevolent spirit, rooted in West African folklore.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚛馃嚥 DominicaBelie Belcan
A loa of justice and protection in Dominican Vud煤, linked to Saint Michael.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiBoum'ba Maza
A family of water spirits in Haitian Vodou ritesBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiRada lwa
A family of cool-tempered spirits in Haitian VodouBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 morePetwo
A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚦馃嚠 Nicaragua and 3 moreHeadless priestel cura sin cabeza / paring pugot
A headless Catholic spirit that haunts Central America and the Philippines as a warning against sacrilege.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa
A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚙馃嚳 BelizeTata DuendeNukuch Tat
A thumbless forest spirit of Belizean folklore that protects animals and warns children.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican RepublicAnaisa Pye
A Dominican loa of love and wealth, linked to Saint Anne.Being 路 Love and attraction 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 5 moreLoogaroo
A shapeshifting vampire of Caribbean folklore, feared for its blood-drinking habits.Being 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiMarassa Jumeaux
The divine twins of Haitian Vodou, representing love, truth, and justice.Being 路 Love and attraction 路 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.
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lwa: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
- Maxim贸n: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Boitat谩: The ponta cabe莽a, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Erzulie: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Loogaroo: A.F.Pannemaker, Public domain, source
- Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source