Protection
Warding off the evil eye, spirits, illness and bad luck: amulets, wards and thresholds.
Protection is the most widespread aim of magic. People hang, wear, bury, burn and recite things to keep out the evil eye, harmful spirits, illness and bad luck. The blue nazar, the hamsa, the horseshoe, the red thread, the Japanese omamori and the Ethiopian protective scroll all serve it. This page covers what is guarded, who is thought to need guarding, and how different societies see the practice. It is a good place to start with the subject.
What is guarded
The most guarded are the vulnerable and the valued: newborns, brides, pregnant women, livestock, new houses and travellers. Doorways, windows and crossroads get special care, since they are where inside meets outside. Practices include hanging a lemon and chillies in India, a horseshoe in Britain and Ireland, an eye-bead in Turkey, a mezuzah on Jewish doorposts and a spirit house in Thailand. Beyond doors, people protect journeys, wells, boats and herds, and the guarded thing is usually whatever the family can least afford to lose.
Against what
The danger named varies. In the Middle East and Mediterranean it is the evil eye, a harm said to come from envy or praise. In sub-Saharan Africa it is often witchcraft or a rival's sorcery. In Europe it was witches, fairies and the devil, and in East Asia hungry ghosts and ill-fortune. Protective practice therefore tells a researcher what a community fears and who it suspects. Some marks are drawn in chalk, paint or henna and renewed each year, and others are made once and left to fade.
Faith and the objects
Religions deal with protective objects in different ways. Many Muslim scholars accept verses of the Quran recited for protection and disapprove of beads or knots believed to work by themselves. Catholic Christians use blessed medals, holy water and the sign of the cross. Sikhism rejects talismans, while Buddhist monks bless protective threads and tattoos in Thailand and Cambodia. Official teaching often differs from practice in the village, where one household may wear a charm quietly and say a prayer at the same time.
Scholars and the market
Psychologists suggest protective objects ease anxiety and give a sense of control. Sceptics note that no test has shown them to prevent harm. Commerce is large: charms are mass-produced, and some sellers charge heavily for items promised to ward off disaster. Anyone in real danger or illness should turn to practical help first. Believers usually say the protection is a matter of trust and care, and many say the object matters less than the intention and the community that stands behind it.
Protection on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWell dressing
A rural English custom of decorating water sources with natural designsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion
Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇦🇷 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day
A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A hollowed vegetable carved with a face and lit from within, worn as a Halloween symbolCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神
A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring day for sweeping graves, feeding the dead and honouring ancestorsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFolk Orthodoxyнародное православие
A blend of Eastern Orthodox doctrine and pre-Christian pagan beliefs in Slavic communitiesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君
The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman
An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreXiezhi獬豸
A one-horned beast from East Asia that separates the guilty from the innocentBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreRainmaking rites
Ceremonies performed to call rain through prayer, dance, or symbolic actsRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog
A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreAgimatAnting-anting
A Filipino amulet or charm believed to grant protection, power, and supernatural abilities.Charm · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horseརླུང་རྟ་
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral
A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A flannel pouch holding charms for protection and luck in African American Hoodoo traditionCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer
An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreHuldra
A seductive forest spirit of Scandinavian folklore with a hidden animal tail.Being · Protection Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreBaba Yaga
A complex Slavic witch figure who lives in a moving hut and flies in a mortar.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber
Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 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
🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense
Aromatic plant materials burned to release fragrant smoke for ritual, scent, or timekeeping.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanOnmyōdō陰陽道
A Japanese system of divination and calendar science rooted in yin-yang philosophyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Revived
🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo
A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCorn dolly
A woven straw figure made from the last sheaf of a European harvest to house the crop spirit.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦
A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldrabók
An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund
A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text · Healing · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBhootभूत
A restless spirit of the dead in South Asian belief and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Перперуна
A Balkan rainmaking rite performed by youths in greenery to invoke summer showersRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla
A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaJin Chan金蟾
A three-legged toad charm used in feng shui to attract wealth and guard against bad luckBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanSaruboboさるぼぼ
A faceless red doll from Japan, given as a charm for family and fortuneCharm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bhoot: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jin Chan: Tristanb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sarubobo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amniomancy: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Well dressing: User:WhaleyTim, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Inugami: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk Orthodoxy: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
- Xiezhi: Carty239 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Dodola: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Agimat: FroyAgta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source