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 Britain repealed its Witchcraft Act only in 1951.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

🇺🇸 United StatesHex sign Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols that range from folk art to talismansCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreDruidry A modern nature religion inspired by ancient Celtic priests and Romantic idealsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 1 moreVietnamese folk religiontín ngưỡng dân gian Việt Nam A collection of local spirit worship and ancestral veneration in VietnamTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇯🇵 JapanMount Osore恐山 A volcanic pilgrimage site in Japan believed to be a gateway to the underworldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn) A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇲 MyanmarNatနတ် Spirits venerated in Myanmar alongside Buddhism, including deified humans and nature guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreFolk Catholicism Local religious customs that blend official Church teaching with indigenous or regional traditions.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Revived

🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز A spring equinox festival marking the new year across Persianate culturesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Cleansing and purification Living

🇲🇬 MadagascarMalagasy mythology The oral traditions and ancestral beliefs of the Malagasy people in MadagascarTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSpiritualism A nineteenth-century religious movement focused on communicating with the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreBiodynamic agriculture An organic farming system with esoteric roots and spiritual practicesTradition · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 IndiaSanamahismꯁꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ ꯂꯥꯏꯅꯤꯡ The polytheistic ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, IndiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarnstar A painted or carved star used to decorate barns in parts of the United States and Canada.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇹 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

🇮🇹 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

🇹🇳 TunisiaStambeli A Tunisian music and possession rite practiced by Black communities of slave descentTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 1 moreHaitian Vodou in CubaVodú Haitiano A Caribbean religious tradition brought by migrants and maintained in eastern CubaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇧🇷 BrazilPro-VidaPró-Vida, Integração Cósmica An occultist group founded in Brazil that promises cosmic consciousness and earthly paradise.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

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

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功 A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBrahma Kumarisप्रजापिता ब्रह्माकुमारी ईश्वरीय विश्वविद्यालय A meditation-based spiritual movement that teaches soul identity and global peaceTradition · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇷🇺 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

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing 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

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreKélé An Afro-Saint Lucian faith rooted in Yoruba traditions and secret practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreNew IsraelНовый Израиль A Russian sectarian movement that established a farming commune in UruguayTradition Living 🇰🇷 South KoreaSuunism수운교 A Korean ethnic religion focused on the Great Jade Emperor of Heaven and spiritual reconnection.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreChain letterFukou no Tegami A message that demands copying and forwarding to avoid bad luck or gain fortuneBelief · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreKiratism The indigenous animist and shamanic religion of the Kirati peoples in Nepal and IndiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaMarapu Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇭🇹 HaitiChristian-Vodou The blending of Haitian Vodou and Roman Catholicism into a single spiritual practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreOdinic Rite A UK-based Heathen group that restricts membership to people of European ancestry.Tradition · Power and authority Living 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreBullroarer A wooden slat on a string that produces a roaring sound for ritual and communication.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Sanamahism: Kayia N, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Barnstar: Una Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Biodynamic agriculture: Martist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jewish heraldry: Consulta Araldica, 1868, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Animal Tarot: Cards: anonymous; Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Piedmontese tarot: Argonitros, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Stambeli: Youssefbensaad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Haitian Vodou in Cuba: Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo, NOAA NODC, Public domain, source
Hex sign: Smallbones, CC0, source
Druidry: TheJaySpearing, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vietnamese folk religion: Unknown (traditional painting dated back to the 17th century), Public domain, source
Mount Osore: Douglas P Perkins ( Douglaspperkins ( talk )), CC BY 3.0, source
Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
Nat: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
Kiratism: TheDreamSky ( talk ), CC BY 3.0, source
Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Brahma Kumaris: Tamasin Ramsey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Aetherius Society: Hjamesberglen, CC0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source