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

🇯🇵 JapanShiranui不知火 Atmospheric ghost lights of the Yatsushiro and Ariake Seas in JapanBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity 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 🇫🇮 FinlandEtiäinen A Finnish belief in a premonitory apparition that precedes a person's arrivalBelief · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreFlying Africans A legend of enslaved people returning to Africa by magic flightFigure · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesJewett City vampires A 19th-century New England family's belief in undead plague and their violent response to it.Belief · Protection Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaPranaप्राण A Sanskrit concept of vital energy found in yoga and AyurvedaBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element) A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority 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 🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreZuhriزوهري A human-djinn hybrid child in North African folklore, sought for treasure ritualsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Fading

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDevil's Footprints A 1855 English mystery of hoof-like tracks appearing across snow-covered landscapesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaFish in Chinese mythology鱼 (yú) A cultural symbol of wealth and abundance in Chinese traditionBelief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living 🇨🇦 CanadaSt. Louis Light A bright beam of light seen moving along an abandoned railway in Saskatchewan.Belief Fading

🇮🇪 IrelandTír na nÓg An island realm in Irish myth where time stands still and youth never fadesBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇫🇷 FranceMagonia A cloud realm of aerial sailors blamed for hail and stolen grain in medieval EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFiddler's Green A maritime afterlife of endless music and rest for veteran sailorsBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇩🇿 AlgeriaTassili Mushroom Figure Neolithic cave art in Algeria interpreted by some as depicting psychedelic mushroom use.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreToltecayotl A Nahuatl concept of the art of living and wisdom derived from Toltec traditionBelief · Power and authority Revived 🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAstral body A subtle vehicle of emotion and dream said to travel beyond the physical formBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical

🇯🇵 JapanBanchō Sarayashiki番町皿屋敷 A Japanese ghost story about a servant who dies unjustly and haunts her murderer by counting plates.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇵🇭 Philippines and 3 moreMy Way killings Fatal disputes in the Philippines sparked by singing Frank Sinatra's song at karaoke barsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreKyöpelinvuori A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical

🇵🇱 PolandFrankenstein town gravediggers scandal A 1606 witchcraft trial in Silesia that may have inspired Mary Shelley's novelBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLegend of the White Snake白蛇傳 A Chinese folktale about a snake spirit who becomes human to love a mortal manFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanLooking taboo A mythic rule forbidding a gaze that would bring disasterBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇭 Ghana and 4 moreSpirit children A Ghanaian belief that disabled children are harmful spirits requiring ritual treatment or deathBelief · Cursing and harm Fading 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelSeder hishtalshelusסדר השתלשלות A Kabbalistic cosmology mapping the descent of divine light through spiritual realms to the physical world.Belief · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesBelled buzzard A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 3 moreCurse of TimurПроклятие Тамерлана A rumor that disturbing the conqueror's tomb brings invasion and calamity.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇱 ChileWarlock of Chiloébrujo chilote A legendary network of sorcerers from the Chilean archipelago and their mythical powers.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesLaw of attraction A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomCain bairns A Scottish folk belief that witches took children as a tax to the DevilBelief Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaBabi ngepet A Javanese myth about a person who turns into a boar to steal wealthBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living

🇲🇲 MyanmarYadayaယတြာ Rituals in Myanmar to avert misfortune using astrology and numerologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

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
Flying Africans: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Prana: Tamilmama, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Devil's Footprints: John Good, Public domain, source
Fish in Chinese mythology: Daderot, Public domain, source
Tír na nÓg: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, source
Tassili Mushroom Figure: I redrawn the rock art written by ancient people., Public domain, source
Astral body: Rad el Baluvar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
Frankenstein town gravediggers scandal: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
Legend of the White Snake: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Seder hishtalshelus: Daderot, Public domain, source
Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Martian Monkey: Tim Farley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Babi ngepet: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Yadaya: Thai Government, CC BY 2.0, source
Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
Looking taboo: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source