Rites, spells and ceremonies

Things done in a set way: cleansings, offerings, blessings, binding and unbinding, initiations.

A flame: fire as it is used in rites of cleansing, offering and passage, from household hearths to great festivals.

A rite is something done in a set way: a cleansing, an offering, a blessing, an initiation, a binding. What marks it out is form, with fixed words, gestures, timing and often a specialist to lead it. Rites exist in every culture, from the Catholic exorcism and the Vedic fire offering to the Yoruba sacrifice and the Aboriginal ceremony. This page describes them as customs, in outline. Here they are described as customs and in outline only.

Parts of a rite

Most rites share a few parts: a prepared space, a purifying act, speech or song, a gesture, an offering, and a closing that returns everyone to ordinary life. Scholars such as Arnold van Gennep called rites of passage a sequence of separation, threshold and return. Many rites also mark a time: the new moon, the solstice, a death, a birth, a wedding. Some are done once in a lifetime and some every day, and the same gesture can be a rite in one house and a habit in the next.

Who may perform

Some rites belong to anyone in the household, such as sweeping the house at new year or tying a thread on a child's wrist. Others need an officiant: a priest, a medium, a shaman or an initiated elder. Women often hold domestic rites and are shut out of public priesthood, though in places such as Korea, the Philippines and parts of Africa women lead spirit rites. A rite is also tied to a community: it is done with others present, who witness it and agree that it counts.

Rites that hurt

Not every rite is gentle. Some involve animal sacrifice, which is a normal part of a number of living religions and is performed under rules of its own. Exorcism rites have caused real harm when applied to people with mental illness or to children accused of witchcraft, with deaths reported from beatings, fasting and restraint. Illness needs real medical care. Others are simple and joyful, such as a blessing over bread or a thread on a wrist, and carry no danger at all, which is why most rites are never remarked upon.

Change and commerce

Rites move with people. Diaspora communities adapt them to apartments, city streets and other languages. Some are now sold as retreats or workshops, which can strip them from their community and context. Tourism has also turned ceremonies into shows, and communities increasingly set rules about who may watch, photograph or join. Government rules shape rites too: some countries license ritual slaughter, others require permits for processions, and a few have banned particular ceremonies outright, so a rite can become a legal question as well as a religious one.

Rite 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇹 ItalyLectisternium An ancient Roman ritual where couches were draped and meals served to gods.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 2 moreParittaපිරිත් (Sinhala), ปริตร (Thai), ပရိတ် (Burmese) Pali verses recited in Theravada Buddhism for protection and blessingsText · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 Paper burned as money and goods for ancestors, gods and the deadCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLibation The ritual pouring of liquid as an offering to spirits or the deadRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAncestor worship Rites of respect for the dead that maintain family bonds and seek spiritual guidanceTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇯🇵 JapanKagura神楽 A Shinto ritual dance where performers embody deities to purify and welcome spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyepiᬜᬾᬧᬶ A Balinese day of total silence, fasting, and self-reflection to mark the new year.Rite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教 Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFeng Shan封禪 An imperial rite performed at Mount Tai to honor heaven and earth and confirm the mandate of rule.Rite · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreEaster FireOsterfeuer Bonfires lit at Easter to mark the Resurrection and spring renewalRite · Cleansing and purification · Power and authority Living

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 IndiaNew moon cleansing (sample) Smoke and water used to mark a lunar month.Rite · Cleansing and purification Fading

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreUmayyad tradition of cursing Ali A state policy to denounce Ali during communal prayers under the Umayyad CaliphateRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kagura: Elstner Hilton, Public domain, source
Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Feng Shan: Rolf Müller ( User:Rolfmueller ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Easter Fire: Jürgen Eissink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali: Anwar Rizvi, CC BY 2.0, source
Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source