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

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreCromniomancy Divination by onions to reveal health, love, weather and distant newsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Love and attraction Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreVarahiवाराही (Vārāhī) A Hindu mother goddess with a sow face, worshipped in Tantric rites for protection and powerBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreKṣitigarbhaक्षितिगर्भ A bodhisattva vowed to empty the hells and guard children, shown with a staff and jewel.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇮🇳 IndiaUchchhishtaउच्छिष्ट A Hindu concept of ritual impurity linked to saliva and food remnantsBelief · Cleansing and purification Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreHoly ChaliceSanto Cáliz A cup believed to have held the blood of Jesus at the Last SupperCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇺🇸 United StatesBaseball superstition Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection 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

🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment 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 🇮🇹 ItalyIn bocca al lupo An Italian idiom wishing good luck by invoking danger, with a response asking for the wolf's death.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living

🇦🇺 Australia and 3 moreNelson (cricket) A cricket superstition about the score 111 and the leg-raising ritual to ward it offBelief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇧🇿 BelizeTata DuendeNukuch Tat A thumbless forest spirit of Belizean folklore that protects animals and warns children.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCash方孔錢 A round copper coin with a square hole used in China and East Asia for two millennia.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTariqaطريقة A Sufi spiritual path and the community that follows itTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing Living

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesKa-Bala A 1967 talking board game that claims to tell the future with a spinning marble and tarot cards.Illusion · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreJailangkung An Indonesian séance using a straw effigy to communicate with spirits of the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 IndiaSuperstition in India Common beliefs and rituals across India that influence daily life and major eventsBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇷 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United States and 3 more11:11 A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living

🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreCross necklace A pendant bearing the Christian cross worn as a sign of faith or protection.Charm · Protection · Power and authority Living

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

🇵🇹 PortugalAngel of PortugalAnjo de Portugal A guardian spirit of Portugal, celebrated on June 10 and linked to the Fátima visions.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 IndiaSuperstitions in Sikh societies Folk beliefs and rituals observed by some Sikhs despite theological prohibitions.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMawlidمولد An annual festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet MuhammadTradition · Power and authority Living

🇲🇬 MadagascarFady Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇯🇵 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

🇮🇩 IndonesiaMarapu Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreSufi whirlingSemazen A spinning meditation practiced by Sufi dervishes to reach spiritual connection through music and movement.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaPoomala Bhagavathy A Hindu goddess of North Malabar, revered as the family deity of the Thiyya community.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomHobgoblin A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 4 moreJumbee A shadowy spirit of the dead in Caribbean folklore, often linked to evil deeds.Belief · Cursing and harm Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Baseball superstition: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY 4.0, source
Vahana: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
Nelson (cricket): Lemuel Francis Abbott, Public domain, source
Cash: User 冷玉 on zh.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
Superstitions in Sikh societies: jjron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Uchchhishta: Ebenezergangmei, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Holy Chalice: Vitold Muratov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
Kṣitigarbha: སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།, Public domain, source
Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sama: myself, Public domain, source
Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Superstition in India: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Angel of Portugal: Daderot, Public domain, source
Poomala Bhagavathy: Ajeeshkumar4u, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cross necklace: paterm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source