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

🇻🇳 VietnamChầu vănHát chầu văn A Vietnamese trance singing art used in deity mediumship ritualsIllusion · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇮🇹 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

🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ) A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇨🇦 CanadaBalzac Billy A groundhog-costumed mascot that forecasts the weather on Groundhog Day in Alberta.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

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

🇯🇵 JapanHoshi Matsuri星まつり A Buddhist ritual to honor stars and pray for protection from disasterRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreImitation of sounds in shamanism Shamanic vocal and musical mimicry of nature to invoke spirits or transform identityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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 🇮🇱 IsraelShekhinahשְׁכִינָה The divine presence of God dwelling among people in Jewish and Islamic thoughtBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇳🇵 Nepal and 3 moreGurung ShamanismTamu Cho The ancient shamanic beliefs and rituals of the Gurung people in NepalTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇸🇻 El SalvadorChasca A spirit of the water in Salvadoran folklore who blesses respectful fishermenFigure · Protection · 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

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing 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 🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 Traditional Korean shamanistic music performed during gut rituals to induce tranceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 4 moreJumbee A shadowy spirit of the dead in Caribbean folklore, often linked to evil deeds.Belief · Cursing and harm Living

🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة A collective Sufi ritual of remembrance and chanting to experience Divine PresenceRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 JapanSuzu鈴 A hollow Japanese bell with inner pellets, used in Shinto rites and shrines.Charm · Protection · 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

🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreSamaسماع A Sufi ritual of listening, music, and whirling to reach spiritual ecstasyRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

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

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAna BeKoachאנא בכח A medieval Jewish liturgical poem linked to the 42-letter name of GodText · Power and authority · Protection Living

🇲🇬 MadagascarFady Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇵 JapanYakudoshi厄年 Traditional Japanese ages believed to bring bad luck and the rituals used to ward them offBelief · Protection Living

🇩🇿 Algeria and 5 moreZawiyaزاوية A Sufi building and institution for worship, education, and community life in the Islamic world.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇮🇳 IndiaTawajjuh A Sufi practice of transmitting spiritual energy from a master to a studentTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇹🇷 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

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

Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Baseball superstition: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY 4.0, 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
Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
Superstitions in Sikh societies: jjron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ana BeKoach: Baruch Zvi Ring (c. 1872 - 1927) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain, source
Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
Hoshi Matsuri: Anonymous ( Japan ) Unknown author, CC0, source
Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, 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
Zawiya: Schneders, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Poomala Bhagavathy: Ajeeshkumar4u, CC BY-SA 4.0, source