Traditions and systems

Whole bodies of practice: Vodou, shamanism, hoodoo, Wicca, onmyodo, Ifa and the rest.

A ritual circle: a marked space set apart for a rite, with its edge and a sign at the centre. Found in ceremonial, folk and neopagan practice.

A tradition is a whole body of magical practice with its own teachers, vocabulary and rules, as distinct from a single charm or rite. Ifa in West Africa, Vodou in Haiti, Tibetan Buddhist ritual, Wicca in Britain and America, and Siberian shamanism are all traditions in this sense. Some are living religions, some are modern inventions, and some survive only in fragments. This page looks at how they differ and what each label hides. Each is described here in its own terms wherever the community has chosen to share them.

Who holds them

A tradition has keepers. In Ifa, a babalawo trains for years and memorises the verses of Odu. In Haitian Vodou, a houngan or mambo is initiated within a house and a lineage. Wicca, by contrast, grew from the writings of Gerald Gardner in the 1950s and spreads by books and covens. Access varies: some traditions are open, some require initiation, and some are closed to outsiders by the community's own rule.

Names that mislead

Outsiders have often given traditions names their keepers did not choose. Colonial officials and missionaries called African and Indigenous religions fetishism, witchcraft or devil worship. The word voodoo, borrowed from the Haitian religion, became a stock horror image, while practitioners say Vodou. Many people also reject the word magic for what they see as plain religion, worship of ancestors or medicine of the land. Some are written down in long poems or scriptures, while others are carried only in memory, song and apprenticeship, which affects how outsiders can study them.

How states treat them

Treatment ranges from protection to prohibition. Haiti recognised Vodou as a religion in 2003. Britain repealed its Witchcraft Act only in 1951. Several African and Pacific states still prosecute witchcraft accusations, and Saudi Arabia has executed people for sorcery. Many traditions were absorbed rather than banned: Santeria wore the faces of Catholic saints, and Taoist ritual was licensed by Chinese emperors. Recognition on paper does not end prejudice: a faith can be legal under a constitution and still be mocked, taxed or policed at local level.

Scholars and sceptics

Anthropologists such as Evans-Pritchard, who studied the Azande in the 1930s, described magic as a coherent system of explanation, not stupidity. Historians stress that boundaries between religion, magic and science were drawn by particular people for particular reasons. Sceptics point out that tests of efficacy have found no effect beyond expectation. Many tradition-bearers answer that the question misses what the practice is for. Folklorists add that traditions are always changing, with no pure original to return to, and that revival is itself a form of change.

Tradition 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

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreThelema A Western esoteric philosophy centered on discovering and following one's True WillTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 ItalyArcheosofica A school of esoteric Christianity founded in Rome that teaches ascetic disciplines and magical theory.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreLocational astrology A branch of astrology that maps planetary influences to specific places on Earth.Tradition · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 morePiedmontese tarotTarocco Piemontese A 78-card Italian deck used for trick-taking games in northern Italy and beyondTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandEarly Irish astrology The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyIatromathematics A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition · Healing Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNeopagan witchcraft Modern pagan traditions that practice magic and draw on historical witch beliefs.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreAnimal TarotTiertarock A family of playing card decks featuring animal imagery instead of traditional tarot scenesTradition · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreShamanism in Europe Scholarly theories on shamanic elements in European folk beliefs and witch trialsTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 4 moreBelgian Tarot A standard tarot deck printed in the Low Countries, mislabeled as Swiss.Tradition · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRinging Cedars' Anastasianismдвижение «Анастасия» A Russian new religious movement based on books about a Siberian mystic and nature worshipTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAetherius Society A new religious movement blending theosophy, UFO claims, and spiritual healing to aid humanity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWestern Sufism Adaptations of Islamic mysticism in Europe and North AmericaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreYehowistsильинцы A Russian Spiritual Christian group founded by Nikolai Ilyin in the 1840sTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreNew IsraelНовый Израиль A Russian sectarian movement that established a farming commune in UruguayTradition Living

🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomGorsedd stonesCerrig yr Orsedd Stone circles built for the National Eisteddfod of Wales to host druidic ceremonies.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreExorcist A religious specialist who performs rites to remove alleged demonic possession from people or places.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living 🇩🇪 GermanyThule SocietyThule-Gesellschaft A German occult group that sponsored the early Nazi party and promoted racial mysticism.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreOsirian Egyptian OrderOrdine Osirideo Egizio An Italian esoteric society tracing its roots to 18th-century Naples and ancient Hermetic traditions.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇸 Spain and 3 moreJewish heraldry Heraldic achievements used by Jewish communities in Europe and abroadTradition · Power and authority Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreAlpha et Omega An occult order formed from the Golden Dawn schism, active in London and Paris before World War IITradition · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptEnochian chess A four-player chess variant used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for divination and playTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreOdinic Rite A UK-based Heathen group that restricts membership to people of European ancestry.Tradition · Power and authority Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFraternitas Saturni A German esoteric order focused on Saturn magic and astrological teachingsTradition · Power and authority Living 🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreFourth Way A spiritual path for inner development that does not require leaving ordinary lifeTradition · Change and initiation Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreIlluminates of Thanateros An international group dedicated to practical chaos magic and experimental ritual workTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyUR Group An Italian esoteric circle studying magic and traditional philosophy in the late 1920s.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomTyphonian Order A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇹 ItalySegnature An Italian folk healing rite using gestures and prayers to cure illness and remove cursesRite · Healing · Protection Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Sex magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Order of the Solar Temple: George Stock derivative work: thumperward ( talk ), Public domain, source
Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
Jewish heraldry: Consulta Araldica, 1868, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Animal Tarot: Cards: anonymous; Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
Piedmontese tarot: Argonitros, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Archeosofica: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Exorcism: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Belgian Tarot: PATLECOQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fourth Way: Londonlinks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Segnature: SeAnstapa, CC0, source
Aetherius Society: Hjamesberglen, CC0, source
UR Group: Gruppo di Ur, Public domain, source
Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Gorsedd stones: Robin Drayton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source