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 Britain repealed its Witchcraft Act only in 1951.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

🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · 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 🇺🇦 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

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRoshni Mela A three-day fair of earthen lamps and prayers held at a Sufi shrine in Punjab.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 3 moreJewish heraldry Heraldic achievements used by Jewish communities in Europe and abroadTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇿🇦 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMawlidمولد An annual festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet MuhammadTradition · Power and authority Living

🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreSufi whirlingSemazen A spinning meditation practiced by Sufi dervishes to reach spiritual connection through music and movement.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaSunda Wiwitanᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪ A folk religion of the Sundanese people in western Java, IndonesiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTariqaطريقة A Sufi spiritual path and the community that follows itTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇮🇳 IndiaTribal religions in India Indigenous spiritual practices of India's Scheduled Tribes, often grouped under Hinduism in official records.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇷🇺 RussiaYhyakhЫһыах A summer solstice festival of the Sakha people marking the new year and nature's returnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFolk practices in Punjab Indigenous beliefs and rituals of the Punjabi people across India and PakistanTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreFengshui woodland風水林 A protected grove in East Asia believed to shape the local environment and bring luck to nearby communities.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

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

🇩🇿 AlgeriaMawsimموسم Annual Maghrebi festival blending Sufi veneration with social and economic gatheringTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇦🇲 Armenia and 3 moreNardoqanНартуған A Turkic winter solstice celebration marking the birth of the sunTradition · Wonder and entertainment Revived

🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreTweezaتويزة A North African Sufi tradition of communal labor and mutual aidTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living

🇹🇼 TaiwanYin miao陰廟 Temples for wandering spirits in Taiwanese folk religionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇳🇵 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Roshni Mela: FatherofGod, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jewish heraldry: Consulta Araldica, 1868, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Yhyakh: Humano92, Public domain, source
Quviasukvik: Jodie Wilson, CC BY 2.0, source
Kiratism: TheDreamSky ( talk ), CC BY 3.0, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
Mawsim: Beghdadi Walid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nardoqan: Ollios, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fengshui woodland: 猫猫的日记本 (Cat's diary), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Yin miao: Outlookxp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sama: myself, Public domain, source
Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Folk practices in Punjab: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source