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 Britain repealed its Witchcraft Act only in 1951.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

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreAncient Mesopotamian religion The polytheistic beliefs and practices of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia from 6000 BC to 500 ADTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoAztec religion The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreDísdísir Female spirits of fate and protection in Norse traditionBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvių mitologija The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreSaturnalia An ancient Roman winter festival of role reversal and feasting in honor of SaturnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

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

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

🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical

🇯🇵 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊 A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Jewish heraldry: Consulta Araldica, 1868, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
Dís: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source