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.
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה
A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreEx-voto
A gift left in a shrine to mark a vow kept or a miracle receivedCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia
Māori recitations used for spiritual guidance, protection, and formal greetingsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 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
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇲🇬 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreApu
Sacred mountain spirits in Andean tradition that protect communities and control natural resourcesBeing · Protection · Healing 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
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOvooовоо
A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 IrelandBlarney StoneCloch na Blarnan
A limestone block in an Irish castle kissed for the gift of eloquenceCharm · Power and authority Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing 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
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreKataragama templeකතරගම / கதிர்காமம் முருகன் கோயில்
A Sri Lankan shrine shared by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and VeddasTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori (sample)お守り
A small shrine charm in a brocade pouch.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇨🇳 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
🇱🇦 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
🇪🇸 SpainDetente bala
A cloth charm worn by Spanish soldiers to stop bullets in the name of JesusCharm · Protection Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJapanese numismatic charm絵銭
Coin-shaped charms from Japan used for protection, luck, and blessings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreQianliyan千里眼
A Chinese sea and door god with clairvoyant sight, guardian of the sea goddess MazuBeing · Protection Living
🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ)
A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇲 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAna BeKoachאנא בכח
A medieval Jewish liturgical poem linked to the 42-letter name of GodText · Power and authority · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesPele's Curse
A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaKediri curse
An Indonesian urban legend: presidents who visit Kediri are said to lose their jobsBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKhidrالخضر
A Qur'anic guide and saint believed to hold hidden wisdom and aid those in need.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Good Luck Flag: takato marui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, 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
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blarney Stone: Srleffler, Public domain, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bibliomancy: Albert Robida, Public domain, source
- Scapulimancy: Albert Peter Low, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Kataragama temple: Ghostface Buddha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ex-voto: JTSH26, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
- Apu: Cecilia Sacsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qianliyan: 玄史生, CC0, source
- Ana BeKoach: Baruch Zvi Ring (c. 1872 - 1927) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Khidr: Unknown author, Public domain, source