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Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween Night MuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25 DivinationThe Secret Romani History of Tarot Living traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's Storytelling DivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magic FestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1 Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the grave HistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzle CharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin Story Witch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween Night MuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25 DivinationThe Secret Romani History of Tarot Living traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's Storytelling DivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magic FestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1 Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the grave HistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzle CharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin Story Witch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season

EveryJaadu

All entries

2,660 entries so far, best known first. 2,250 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

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

🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera A sugar or clay skull used in Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.Charm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance and offeringsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity 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

🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense Aromatic plant material that releases scent when heated or burnedSubstance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese fortune telling算命 (Suànmìng) Reading faces, palms, birth hours and places to map a person's luck through lifeTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇲🇽 MexicoOfrenda A Mexican home altar built to welcome the souls of the dead during Día de los MuertosTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 Paper burned as money and goods for ancestors, gods and the deadCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 A Korean ancestral memorial rite involving food offerings and ritual bowsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreDiyu地獄 The underworld realm of trial, atonement, and rebirth in Chinese mythologyBelief · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living

🇨🇿 Czech RepublicCzech folklore The folk traditions of the Czech people, from seasonal rites to music and craft.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween A Christian vigil on 31 October for the dead, now marked by costumes and carved vegetablesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreFolklore of RomaniaFolclorul românesc The traditional stories, music and customs of the Romanian peopleTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian folklore The folk traditions of Ukraine and its ethnic communitiesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTelling the bees A Western European custom of informing bees about major household eventsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝 The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBhootभूत A restless spirit of the dead in South Asian belief and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreGood Luck Flag寄せ書き日の丸 (yosegaki hinomaru) A Japanese national flag signed by loved ones to wish a soldier safety and victory.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese superstitions Common beliefs in Japan about luck, numbers, and omens rooted in language and customBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 3 moreDuppy A Caribbean term for a ghost or malevolent spirit, rooted in West African folklore.Being · Cursing and harm · 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 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreNine-Night A nine-day Caribbean wake rooted in Akan tradition to celebrate the deceased and guide their spirit home.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFangxiangshi方相氏 An official Chinese exorcist who cleared demons from houses and tombsRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living

🇨🇳 ChinaSuperstition in China A broad category for folk beliefs and rituals dismissed as backward by modern Chinese authoritiesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

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

Photo credits on this page

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

Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
Superstition in China: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Good Luck Flag: takato marui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Fangxiangshi: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Bhoot: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Czech folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Folklore of Romania: TwoWings, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ukrainian folklore: U.S. Army Europe Images, CC BY 2.0, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
Chinese fortune telling: Lai Afong, Public domain, source
Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jesa: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Diyu: ScribblingGeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.