Beliefs, omens and superstitions

Luck and unluck, the evil eye, knocking on wood and the small customs people keep without asking why.

A crescent moon and a star: the sky as a calendar and a sign, used for lunar rites, fasting months, omens and night-time practice.

Beliefs, omens and superstitions are the small customs people keep without asking why: knocking on wood, salt over the shoulder, avoiding the number thirteen, the evil eye, a black cat crossing the road, a first visitor of the new year. They are found on every continent and are rarely tied to a priest or book. This page looks at where they come from, what the word superstition hides, and why they persist.

What they look like

Beliefs differ by place. The number four is avoided in China, Japan and Korea because it sounds like the word for death, while thirteen is avoided in much of the West. In India, a sneeze before leaving home may delay a journey, and a lemon and chillies are hung over a shop. The evil eye is feared under many names: nazar, mal de ojo, ayin hara. First-footing at new year in Scotland is said to bring luck to a house.

Whose word is superstition

The word superstition has a history. Roman writers used it for religion they disliked, and Christian writers for forbidden practice. Today it often means someone else's belief. Many religions regard some of their own customs as faith and others as superstition, and where the line falls depends on the speaker. Using the word can mark a speaker as modern and a neighbour as backward. Tests of common superstitions show that people who hold them are not less educated or less rational than others, and many hold them lightly.

Why people keep them

Psychologists find that superstition rises with uncertainty and stakes, which is why athletes, sailors, students and gamblers are known for them. Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski observed in the 1920s that Trobriand fishermen used rites in dangerous deep-sea fishing and not in safe lagoon fishing. Most people who follow small customs say they do so partly in jest and partly just in case. Similar customs turn up in places that have never met each other, which suggests that people everywhere respond to risk in similar ways.

When belief causes harm

Most superstitions are harmless. Some are not: beliefs about witchcraft have led to killings in parts of Africa, India and Papua New Guinea, and beliefs about albinism have led to attacks in Tanzania and Malawi. Others cost people money, as when a fee is demanded to lift a bad omen. Education, law and trusted community leaders have all been part of reducing harm. Campaigns by health workers, teachers and community radio have been effective where they listen first and explain later.

Belief 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

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇱🇻 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇪🇸 SpainFolklore of Spain The oral traditions, legends, and folktales of the Iberian PeninsulaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGreen Children of Woolpit A medieval English legend about two green-skinned siblings who appeared in a Suffolk village.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇹 ItalyBefana An Italian witch-like figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany EveFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring A natural ring of mushrooms surrounded by folklore about dancing spirits and witches.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomBritish big cats Urban legends and reported sightings of large wild cats in the United KingdomBelief · Wonder and entertainment Fading

🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFiddler's Green A maritime afterlife of endless music and rest for veteran sailorsBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandTír na nÓg An island realm in Irish myth where time stands still and youth never fadesBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
Folklore of Spain: Mikipons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
British big cats: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tír na nÓg: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, source
Airship of Clonmacnoise: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Jack O'The Lantern: Bodrugan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source