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.
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horusw岣応湥t
A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horse嘟⑧境嘟脆絼嗉嬥舰嗑熰紜
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal and 1 morePrayer flagLung ta
Cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the windCharm 路 Protection 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreCowrie
A sea snail shell used as currency, divination tool, and charm across many culturesSubstance 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandLia F谩il
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 1 moreOvoo芯胁芯芯
A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 4 moreDzi bead嘟傕綗嘟侧紞 (gzi)
An agate amulet worn in the Himalayas for protection against the evil eye.Charm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptUshabtiw拧btj
Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptPlummet amulet
An Ancient Egyptian charm shaped like a plumb bob to ensure balance in the afterlifeCharm Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm閬撴暀鍝佸鐢熼將
Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceCurse of Vibia
A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm 路 Power and authority 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Ta铆no deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in M膩ori art and beliefBeing 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚘 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanMagatama鍕剧帀
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia and 1 moreSandung
A house-shaped ossuary for the bones of the deceased among Dayak peoples in Borneo.Charm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 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.
- Plummet amulet: The Art Institute of Chicago, CC0, source
- Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sandung: Wibowo Djatmiko ( Wie146 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Curse of Vibia: Franz B眉cheler, Public domain, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lia F谩il: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Dzi bead: Benjwong, Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cowrie: NOAA (Photo Collection of Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program), Public domain, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source