Journeys and voyages: practices that mark them
Charms for the road, the sea and the pilgrimage.
Journeys and voyages call for charms because the road is uncertain. Pilgrims, sailors, traders and migrants have long carried protective things: the St Christopher medal, the Japanese omamori for traffic safety, the hamsa on a truck, the Tibetan prayer flag on a mountain pass, the Hindu pilgrim's thread, the Muslim hajji's ihram, and the sailor's tattoo. This page looks at the customs of the road and what they say about risk.
Leaving and returning
Customs mark departure and return. Families in India and Southeast Asia bless travellers with a mark or a sweet, and in Russia people sit quietly before a trip. Prayers and offerings are made at shrines on mountain passes, with stone cairns and flags in Tibet and Mongolia. Returning travellers are welcomed and sometimes cleansed. Travellers in every age have asked a blessing from a priest, a saint or an elder, and families have kept a lamp lit at home until the traveller's return.
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage joins the journey with the sacred. Hajj to Mecca, the Camino to Santiago, the Hindu yatra to Varanasi, Shikoku's 88 temples in Japan and the Kumbh Mela all involve rites of leaving home, and often a change of dress and status. Pilgrims carry tokens, such as scallop shells, holy water and amulets, and bring them back as blessings. Some pilgrimages take weeks on foot and others are done by bus and plane, and each has its own tokens, songs and customs.
Sea, air and work
Sailors long observed taboos: no whistling on board, certain days to avoid, and a coin placed under a mast. Fishers in Japan and Scandinavia hold shrines and rites. Truckers in South Asia decorate their lorries with eyes and verses, and many airlines skip row thirteen. Such customs ease the stress of dangerous work. Such habits mix faith, habit and risk management, and a number of them have good sense in them, since checking the boat before leaving is both a rite and a safety check.
Migrants and diaspora
People who move take their customs with them, and magic travels in luggage: charms, recipes, prayers, small shrines. Migrants may also be targeted by fraud and oaths, as in trafficking cases using juju rites. A charm can offer comfort while travel safety depends on vaccination, insurance, rules of the road and reliable information. Sailors' tattoos of a swallow or an anchor were said to mark miles sailed and to bring a safe return, and fishermen's wives keep similar customs onshore.
Journeys and voyages on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇪 IrelandBlarney StoneCloch na Blarnan
A limestone block in an Irish castle kissed for the gift of eloquenceCharm · Power and authority Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreBibliomancy
Divination by opening a book at random and reading the first passage foundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreScapulimancy
Divination using animal shoulder blades, practiced across Asia and the Americas.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCapnomancy
Divination by reading the shapes and movements of smoke from fires or incenseOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreQimen Dunjia奇門遁甲
An ancient Chinese divination system mapping time and space for strategic decision-makingOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRowancaorann
A Northern Hemisphere tree believed to ward off witches and protect travellers.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇷 GreeceBaba Yaga (sample)Баба-яга
A witch of Slavic tales who lives in a hut on legs.Figure · Change and initiation Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào)
Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomFumsup
A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreQianliyan千里眼
A Chinese sea and door god with clairvoyant sight, guardian of the sea goddess MazuBeing · Protection Living
🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBuccabocka
A Cornish sea-spirit and mine-dweller who receives fish offerings from coastal communities.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector
A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomBiast Bhealach Odail
A shapeshifting spirit of a Scottish mountain passBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSailors' superstitions
A global collection of omens, charms and taboos used by mariners to manage the risks of life at seaBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇴 NorwayTycho Brahe daysTycho Brahes-dage
Scandinavian folklore dates believed to be unlucky for magic and businessBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreSpilling water for luck
A folk custom of pouring water to wish a traveler or worker a smooth journeyBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Good Luck Flag: takato marui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Rowan: Taken by me, Jonik , on August 25, 2004., CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Blarney Stone: Srleffler, Public domain, source
- Bibliomancy: Albert Robida, Public domain, source
- Scapulimancy: Albert Peter Low, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capnomancy: Tigerzeng, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bucca: Frederick Whymper, Public domain, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Sailors' superstitions: Siren Painter (eponymous vase), Public domain, source
- Qianliyan: 玄史生, CC0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source