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EveryJaadu

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 AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAstrology A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreCowrie A sea snail shell used as currency, divination tool, and charm across many culturesSubstance · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat A monthly Wiccan ritual held at the full or new moon for worship and community.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Love and attraction Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम् A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAmunjmn (Old/Middle Egyptian); Amoun (Coptic) The hidden creator god of ancient Egypt, later fused with the sun deity Ra.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesRing shout A sacred circle dance of African American origin using rhythmic movement and call-and-response singingRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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 🇮🇳 IndiaHindu astrologyज्योतिष (Jyotiṣa) A traditional Hindu system of astrology and timekeeping rooted in the VedasTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmiलक्ष्मी A Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, and beauty, worshipped as the consort of Vishnu.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreKau chim求籤 A divination practice using numbered bamboo sticks to seek answers from deitiesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreYantraयन्त्र A geometric diagram from Indian traditions used for worship and meditationTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSomaसोम A sacred ritual drink of the ancient Vedic religion and its Iranian counterpartSubstance · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMisogi禊 A Shinto rite of full-body purification using cold waterRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMani stone Carved stones inscribed with Buddhist mantras, placed as offerings along paths in the Himalayas.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇨🇳 ChinaNeidan内丹 A Taoist practice using the body as a cauldron to refine inner energies for longevity and immortalityTradition · Healing · Power and authority Living 🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreObatalaỌbatalá The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living 🇯🇵 JapanDaruma doll達磨 A round Japanese talisman that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreShivaशिव A principal Hindu deity of destruction and yoga, worshipped across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFortune-telling A practice of predicting future events or personal details through various methods and tools.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 IndiaMuhurtamuhūrta A Hindu unit of time used to select auspicious moments for rituals and daily practiceBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreShakta pithasशाक्त पीठ (Śākta Pīṭha) Sacred shrines in Shaktism marking where parts of the goddess Sati fell to earth.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United StatesHopi mythology The creation stories and spirit traditions of the Hopi people of the American SouthwestTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWheel of the Year An annual cycle of eight seasonal festivals observed by modern pagans.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDianic Wicca A female-only pagan tradition honoring the Goddess and women's experienceTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSuryaसूर्य The sun as a Hindu deity and the source of light and knowledgeBeing · Power and authority · Healing Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyJupiterIuppiter The Roman sky father and king of the gods, associated with thunder and oathsBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreFeng shui風水 A Chinese geomantic practice for aligning structures with cosmic energyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreAugury A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreMaraboutmurābiṭ A Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, often linked to Sufi brotherhoods.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
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Photo credits on this page

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

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