Everyday use: practices that mark them

Small habits kept at home: the horseshoe, the salt over the shoulder, the evil-eye bead.

Everyday magic is the small habits kept at home: the horseshoe, salt over the shoulder, knocking on wood, the evil-eye bead, a lucky number, a morning prayer, the red thread, a bowl of water at the door, a charm in the car. People keep them without making much of them. This page looks at what these habits are, why they last and where they fit alongside religion and science. It is the commonest magic of all.

What it looks like

Daily practice is ordinary. In India, a lemon and chillies hang at shops, and a rangoli drawn at a doorstep welcomes luck. In Turkey, a nazar hangs near the door. In Britain, people say touch wood. In Japan, a lucky cat sits in the shop window, and in Mexico an egg may be rolled over a child. Many of these customs use cheap, available things. Many habits are older than the people who keep them, and nobody can say who started them.

Why people keep them

Researchers describe such habits as low-cost ways to cope with uncertainty. They give a feeling of control, mark boundaries and bring people together at little risk. Studies of lucky charms show they can raise confidence. Most people hold small customs with a light touch, half serious and half playful, and would not say they believe in them. Practices come in several types: some are protective, some bring luck, some help the household keep track of time and weather, and some are no more than a habit of speech.

Names, religion and class

Customs are shared across religions with different explanations. The evil eye is feared by Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus in the Mediterranean and beyond. Religious reformers often attack such customs, and educated people sometimes mock them as rural. Women do most of the work of keeping them going, within the home. The home is also where these customs meet money, since shops sell everything needed, and some of the items on sale are made far from their cultural homes.

Shops and screens

Ordinary habits are now a market of charms, apps, horoscopes and online readers. Small purchases are harmless, but large payments for luck or protection are a warning sign of fraud. The customs also spread online, where they can lose their origin. Whether or not they work, they remain a way people say that they care about each other. In the end, the most common magic in the world is neither dramatic nor secret, and it is practised by people who have no wish to be called magicians.

Everyday use 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

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

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBeltaneBealtaine A Gaelic festival marking the start of summer with protective bonfires and livestock ritualsTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Revived

🇨🇳 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

🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house A small roofed shrine that shelters a place's protective spiritCharm · Protection Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreDruidry A modern nature religion inspired by ancient Celtic priests and Romantic idealsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 4 moreLên đồng A Vietnamese ritual where mediums enter trance to channel spiritsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreFolk Catholicism Local religious customs that blend official Church teaching with indigenous or regional traditions.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇲🇱 Mali and 3 moreGris-gris A small pouch or charm from West Africa used for protection and luck.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇼 TaiwanKuai Kuai culture乖乖文化 A Taiwanese custom of placing obedient snacks on machines to ensure smooth operationBelief · Protection Living

🇮🇪 IrelandStatue rubbing A tourist custom of touching statues to attract luck, love, or a return visit.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living 🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living 🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreTheatrical superstitions Beliefs and rituals among actors to avoid bad luck and ward off spiritsBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreNang Taniนางตานี A female spirit said to inhabit wild banana trees in Southeast Asian folklore.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKōshin庚申信仰 A Japanese folk belief involving vigils to prevent internal spirits from reporting human deeds to heavenBelief · Protection · Healing Living 🇸🇪 SwedenAskafroa A Scandinavian tree spirit believed to guard the ash and demand appeasement.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇸🇻 El SalvadorChasca A spirit of the water in Salvadoran folklore who blesses respectful fishermenFigure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanYakudoshi厄年 Traditional Japanese ages believed to bring bad luck and the rituals used to ward them offBelief · Protection Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm · Protection Revived

🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇺🇦 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Kuai Kuai culture: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Druidry: TheJaySpearing, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lên đồng: Khangoii, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Nang Tani: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gris-gris: Teogomez, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source