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

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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyLectisternium An ancient Roman ritual where couches were draped and meals served to gods.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAncestor worship Rites of respect for the dead that maintain family bonds and seek spiritual guidanceTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇯🇵 JapanKagura神楽 A Shinto ritual dance where performers embody deities to purify and welcome spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教 Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 IndiaNechung Oracleགནས་ཆུང་ཏ་བླ་མ The official prophetic medium and spiritual advisor to Tibet's Dalai LamaOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection 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

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHomaहोम A fire ritual found across Asian religions where offerings are burned as a votive exchange with the divine.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 2 moreParittaපිරිත් (Sinhala), ปริตร (Thai), ပရိတ် (Burmese) Pali verses recited in Theravada Buddhism for protection and blessingsText · Protection · Healing Living

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

🇯🇵 JapanHoshi Matsuri星まつり A Buddhist ritual to honor stars and pray for protection from disasterRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇵 Nepal and 3 moreGurung ShamanismTamu Cho The ancient shamanic beliefs and rituals of the Gurung people in NepalTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreInsufflation A ritual breath used in Christian rites to drive out evil or invite the spirit.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法 An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇲🇱 MaliBinouba-binu A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter waterמֵי הַמָּרִים (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Ordeal of the bitter water: Charadron, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kagura: Elstner Hilton, Public domain, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nechung Oracle: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
Homa: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hoshi Matsuri: Anonymous ( Japan ) Unknown author, CC0, source