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EveryJaadu

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 AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君 The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦 A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm 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 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreWitch trials in Finland A historical record of legal persecution for magic in a region where men were common targets.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली Floor art made with coloured powders and flowers to welcome guests and deitiesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreWitches' Sabbath A legendary gathering of witches described in early modern trial records and folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living 🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreBay Laurelδάφνη An aromatic Mediterranean plant used in cooking and as a symbol of victory and purification.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living 🇮🇹 ItalyWitch trials in Italy Historic legal proceedings against alleged witches across Italian states from the 14th to 18th centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaSiddhiसिद्धि Magical powers and spiritual attainments in Indian religionsBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNazar battuनज़र बट्टू / نظر بٹو A charm or deliberate flaw used in South Asia to ward off the evil eye.Charm · Protection Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindiबिंदी A dot worn on the forehead to mark spiritual focus and cultural identityCharm · Protection · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 IndiaKumkumकुङ्कुमम् A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used in Hindu markings and ritualsSubstance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇳 IndiaWitch-hunts in India Violent persecution of people accused of witchcraft, mostly women, in rural IndiaBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreTetragrammatonיהוה The four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written as YHWH.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFetch A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神 A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreTetraphobia The avoidance of the number four due to its similarity to the word for death in East Asian languagesBelief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇺🇸 United States and 7 moreSatanic panic A moral panic over unsubstantiated claims of Satanic cults abusing children in the late twentieth centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTarottarocchi A set of playing cards used for games and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇵 JapanHyakki Yagyō百鬼夜行 A Japanese folklore concept of a night parade of supernatural creaturesBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇩🇪 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 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore) A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living 🇧🇯 Benin and 3 moreZangbeto A masked night-guardian tradition among the Ogu people of West AfricaTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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