Households and ordinary people
Grandmothers, parents and neighbours doing the small things: the knot, the salt, the red thread.
Households and ordinary people do most of the world's magic: the grandmother who ties a thread on a baby's wrist, the neighbour who throws salt, the shopkeeper who hangs a lemon and chillies, the family that burns incense before a photograph. These people are not specialists and often do not call it magic. This page looks at the domestic side of the subject, which is the commonest and least written about.
Everyday customs
Household practice is woven into daily life: sweeping at new year, a bead on a cradle, a horseshoe over a door, a charm in a car. It tends to be practical, brief and handed down within the family. Many people say they do it because their mother did, or to be safe. It rarely needs a priest, a text or a fee. The hands that do it are those of mothers and grandmothers, who also cook, clean and care, so the magic is part of the labour of the home.
Women and the home
Women are the principal keepers of household custom in many societies, as mothers, grandmothers and aunts. Their knowledge covers birth, child care, food, illness, marriage and death. That knowledge is often undervalued by the formal religion and by scholars, and was also the source of accusations in the witch trials, in which women who were midwives or healers were prominent. A household custom is learned by watching and may never be explained, since the practitioner does not see it as special.
Faith and the home
Religious leaders have seen household custom as faith, as superstition or as a nuisance. Reformers in Protestant Europe, Salafi Islam and some Hindu and Buddhist movements have told people to give up such practices. Many people keep them regardless. In the diaspora, the home customs are sometimes the part of heritage that lasts longest, and are carried to new countries in suitcases. In cities, small shrines, protective charms and everyday rituals often survive in apartments, taxis and shops.
Why scholars care
Anthropologists of everyday religion and folklorists record these customs as evidence of how people manage risk. They show how belief and practice differ, since people may say they do not believe and still knock on wood. Household magic is also the easiest to commercialise, in shops selling charms and kits that detach customs from their homes. A new student or visitor may find that families who say they do not believe still follow such customs carefully, and this gap is one of the more interesting findings.
Households and ordinary people on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwort褔芯褉薪芯斜懈谢褜 (chorn贸byl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 5 moreStraw bearStrohb盲r
A carnival figure wrapped in straw that visits homes for gifts and marks the turning of seasons.Tradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 5 moreKrampus
A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚘馃嚬 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht
A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Revived
馃嚨馃嚬 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca
A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 5 moreBogeyman
A mythical creature used across cultures to frighten children into obedienceFigure 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 5 moreFig sign
A hand gesture used to ward off the evil eye or as an insult in many culturesBelief 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚙馃嚞 Bulgaria and 5 moreKukeri泻褍泻械褉懈
A costumed ritual in Bulgaria to chase away evil spirits and welcome springRite 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomSt Mark's Eve
An English folk custom to witness omens of death and future marriage on the eve of a saint's feast dayRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreDuende
A humanoid spirit of Iberian and Latin American folklore, ranging from household pranksters to forest guardians.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 6 moreBurning of Judas
An Easter rite where an effigy of the betrayer is destroyed by fire or other meansRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyBadaliscBadalisch
A mythical goat-headed creature from the Italian Alps, captured and mocked during Epiphany celebrations.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚟馃嚭 HungaryCurse of TuranTur谩ni 谩tok
A Hungarian belief that a historic spell causes national misfortune and personal despairBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚨馃嚤 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga
A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpents芯谐薪械薪薪褘泄 蟹屑械泄
A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceGello螕蔚位位蠋
A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceMargot the fairy
Earthly fairies of Brittany known for dancing, building monuments, and testing human guests.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚨馃嚬 Portugal and 1 moreCabra cabriola
A fire-breathing goat bogeyman used to frighten children in Portuguese and Brazilian folkloreBeing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomChained Oak
A Staffordshire oak bound in chains by a local legend of a curse and an earl.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomHobgoblin
A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreElder Mother
A guardian spirit of elder trees in English and Scandinavian folkloreBeing 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyFeldgeist
German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreBogle
A Northumbrian and Scots household spirit or ghost known for perplexing people.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreDrude
A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚨馃嚤 Poland and 4 moreMorana袦芯褉械薪邪
A Slavic goddess of winter and death, whose effigy is drowned to welcome springFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 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.
- Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Badalisc: Luca Giarelli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
- Bogeyman: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Fig sign: Harald the Bard, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Duende: Ren茅 Mayorga, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burning of Judas: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
- Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
- Morana: Marta Malina Moraczewska, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chained Oak: Gary Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source