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

🇮🇳 India and 6 moreChurel A female revenant of South Asian folklore, feared for luring men awayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaParashuramaपरशुराम (Paraśurāma) The warrior sage of Hinduism who wields a divine axe to restore cosmic balance.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 morePishachaपिशाच (piśāca) A flesh-eating demon from Indian religions, feared for possession and madness.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreApsaraअप्सरस् (Sanskrit), អប្សរា (Khmer) Celestial water spirits and dancers from Hindu and Buddhist traditions across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇳 India and 1 morePichal periਪਿੱਛਲ ਪੈਰੀ A backward-footed female spirit of northwestern South Asia and Central AsiaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaMahishasuraमहिषासुर A bovine asura slain by the goddess Durga in Hindu myth and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKinnaraकिन्नर (Sanskrit) A half-human, half-bird creature from Hindu and Buddhist myth, known for music and devotion.Being · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇧🇹 BhutanDrukའབྲུག A mythical thunder dragon from Tibetan and Bhutanese traditionBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇵🇾 Paraguay and 2 moreKurupiCurupí A Guaraní forest spirit known for his elongated phallus and role as a protector or abductor.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWorld Turtle A mythic giant turtle said to support the earth or contain the world in various cultures.Being · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaBonnaconβόνασος A legendary bull that defends itself with burning excrementBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCrocotta A mythical dog-wolf of India and Ethiopia that mimics human voicesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇴 Bolivia and 1 moreAnchanchu A shapeshifting vampire of the Andes that drains blood and demands offerings from miners.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreTarand A legendary reindeer-like creature said to change its hair colour like a chameleon.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaDawon The lion mount of the goddess Durga in Hindu traditionBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇵🇾 ParaguayJasy Jatere A Guaraní spirit of the moon who guards yerba mate and enforces the siestaBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇮🇩 IndonesiaAbada A two-horned mythical beast from Central African and Southeast Asian loreBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaBuru A fierce swamp creature from Apatani founding narrativesBeing Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaEcheneis A legendary fish said to hold back ships and influence legal proceedingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaDaityaदैत्याः A race of asuras in Hindu mythology descended from Kashyapa and DitiBeing Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaHingchabiꯍꯤꯡꯆꯥꯕꯤ A giantess figure from Meitei folklore who feeds on raw fleshBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaPandi A legendary race of giant-eared people from ancient geographic textsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaBramrachokh A demon in Kashmiri myth that mimics a light to lead travellers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaIndus worm A giant carnivorous river creature from ancient Greek accounts of the IndusBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaChedipeचेदिप A witch-vampire spirit of the Godavari region that drains men and feeds on sorrowBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Bonnacon: unknown (medieval) author, Public domain, source
Crocotta: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Kurupi: FrankOWeaver, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Churel: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Parashurama: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Pishacha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Apsara: Unknown author, CC0, source
Mahishasura: Prakashsubbarao at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
World Turtle: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tarand: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Anchanchu: Arizz4k, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Daitya: Unknown author, CC0, source
Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
Hingchabi: Bemni, N, CC0, source
Jasy Jatere: Patty P, Public domain, source
Dawon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Kinnara: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, Public domain, source