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.
🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreAncient Mesopotamian religion
The polytheistic beliefs and practices of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia from 6000 BC to 500 ADTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreDomovoyДомовой
A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών
An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs
A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreFoundation deposit
Ritual burial of objects under buildings to protect them from ruinRite · Protection Historical
🇲🇽 MexicoAztec religion
The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvių mitologija
The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion
The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay
An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt
A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptUshabtiwšbtj
Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo
An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion
Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm道教品壓生錢
Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptPlummet amulet
An Ancient Egyptian charm shaped like a plumb bob to ensure balance in the afterlifeCharm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceCurse of Vibia
A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity
A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptWadj amulet
A papyrus-shaped charm for eternal youth in the afterlifeCharm · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇦 CanadaPinga
An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp
Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇹🇳 TunisiaOmek Tannou
A Tunisian rainmaking ritual using a sculpted head or stick to call for water during droughts.Rite · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇯🇵 JapanYosuzume夜雀
A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies
Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇦 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaShi尸
A living descendant who sat in place of a dead ancestor during ancient Chinese ritualsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Curse of Vibia: Franz Bücheler, Public domain, source
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Foundation deposit: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shi: Jason Zou, Public domain, source
- Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Plummet amulet: The Art Institute of Chicago, CC0, source