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.

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

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

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

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍 A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing 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

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain A Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter, observed on November 1st.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇮🇩 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

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga Suppression Act 1907 A New Zealand law banning traditional Māori healers and faith practitionersText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAnubis𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣 The jackal-headed god who guides souls and oversees mummification in ancient Egypt.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreShen ring An ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal protection, shaped like a rope looped around a stick.Charm · Protection Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomEnglish folklore The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnkh Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for life and the amulet that carries its meaningCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living

🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角 A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreEstonian mythologyeesti mütoloogia The pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Estonian peopleTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印 A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnish mythology The pre-Christian folklore and cosmology of the Finns and KareliansTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Revived 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm道教品壓生錢 Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreAyaz AtaАяз Ата A Turkic winter spirit who brings snow and gifts during the cold seasonBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇸🇩 SudanWitchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande A foundational anthropological study of Azande witchcraft, oracles, and magic in southern Sudan.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ) A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomNine sorceressesnaw chwaer A group of nine magical women in Welsh and Arthurian legendFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreMandaic lead rolls Lead sheets inscribed with Mandaic incantations, rolled and worn as protective talismans by Mandaeans.Charm · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreVelesВелес A Slavic chthonic deity of cattle, the underworld, and oathsBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Estonian mythology: Jeannette Berkowitz (illustrator), Public domain, source
Finnish mythology: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
Anubis: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shen ring: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Veles: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source