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.
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwaySami religion
The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the S谩mi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaOssetian mythology袠褉芯薪 屑懈褎芯谢芯谐懈
The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi
A S谩mi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition 路 Protection 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚠馃嚫 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Revived
馃嚚馃嚟 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight
A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 2 moreTiet盲j盲
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwayGr贸galdr
An Old Norse poem about raising a dead seeress to ask for helpText 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gr贸galdr: W.G. Collingwood (1854 - 1932), Public domain, source
- Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tiet盲j盲: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- S谩mi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source