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.
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming
A worldview of ancestral creation and eternal law in Australian Aboriginal cultureTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇼 TaiwanKuai Kuai culture乖乖文化
A Taiwanese custom of placing obedient snacks on machines to ensure smooth operationBelief · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaMangala Dosha
A Hindu astrological belief that Mars causes marital trouble and the rituals used to address itBelief · Protection 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
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese superstitions
Common beliefs in Japan about luck, numbers, and omens rooted in language and customBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet
An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功
A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 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
🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ
A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKōshin庚申信仰
A Japanese folk belief involving vigils to prevent internal spirits from reporting human deeds to heavenBelief · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană
Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱
A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇻🇳 VietnamBà Chúa Xứ婆主處
A Mekong Delta goddess of prosperity, asked for trade, health and fertilityBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer
A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen
A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBaseball superstition
Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude
A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇳 Guinea and 2 moreTaboo on rulers
Restrictions placed on kings and priests to manage fear and hostilityBelief · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesJewett City vampires
A 19th-century New England family's belief in undead plague and their violent response to it.Belief · Protection Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי
A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies
Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors
A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm · Protection Revived
🇦🇲 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies
Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇲🇬 MadagascarFady
Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊
A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanYakudoshi厄年
Traditional Japanese ages believed to bring bad luck and the rituals used to ward them offBelief · Protection Living
🇨🇳 ChinaEight Treasures八寶 (Bābǎo)
A set of eight symbols in Chinese art and amulets representing good fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇪🇸 SpainIndalo
A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 EgyptBarakahبركة
A spiritual blessing power in Islam and Arabic ChristianityBelief · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 ChinaSuperstition in China
A broad category for folk beliefs and rituals dismissed as backward by modern Chinese authoritiesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions
Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United StatesNew England vampire panic
A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaSuperstition in India
Common beliefs and rituals across India that influence daily life and major eventsBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Kuai Kuai culture: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Baseball superstition: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY 4.0, source
- Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
- Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
- The Dreaming: September 1985, Public domain, source
- Sailors' superstitions: Siren Painter (eponymous vase), Public domain, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
- Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Troll cross: Unknown author, 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
- Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
- Eight Treasures: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
- Barakah: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Superstition in China: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- New England vampire panic: no credited author, Public domain, source
- Superstition in India: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bà Chúa Xứ: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source