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

🇹🇳 TunisiaStambeli A Tunisian music and possession rite practiced by Black communities of slave descentTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 1 moreHaitian Vodou in CubaVodú Haitiano A Caribbean religious tradition brought by migrants and maintained in eastern CubaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功 A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRinging Cedars' Anastasianismдвижение «Анастасия» A Russian new religious movement based on books about a Siberian mystic and nature worshipTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAetherius Society A new religious movement blending theosophy, UFO claims, and spiritual healing to aid humanity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreYehowistsильинцы A Russian Spiritual Christian group founded by Nikolai Ilyin in the 1840sTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

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

🇻🇳 VietnamCây nêuCây nêu (chữ Nôm: 核標) A bamboo pole raised to keep evil spirits away during the Lunar New Year in VietnamTradition · Protection Living

🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreTweezaتويزة A North African Sufi tradition of communal labor and mutual aidTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇿🇦 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing 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

🇭🇹 HaitiChristian-Vodou The blending of Haitian Vodou and Roman Catholicism into a single spiritual practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical 🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇮🇩 IndonesiaSunda Wiwitanᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪ A folk religion of the Sundanese people in western Java, IndonesiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇨🇳 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

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

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

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

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
Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Stambeli: Youssefbensaad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Haitian Vodou in Cuba: Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo, NOAA NODC, Public domain, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Kiratism: TheDreamSky ( talk ), CC BY 3.0, source
Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aetherius Society: Hjamesberglen, CC0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, 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
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Folk practices in Punjab: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cây nêu: vi:Phạm Xuân Nguyên, CC BY-SA 3.0, source