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 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
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreZhengde Tongbao正德通寶
A fantasy cash coin used as a Chinese and Vietnamese amulet for luck and protection.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean numismatic charm열쇠패
Coin-shaped objects used as protective and decorative charms in Korean cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLock charms家锁 / 锁片 (jiā suǒ / suǒ piàn)
A Chinese metal pendant shaped like a lock to protect children from harm and death.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese burial money瘞錢 (yì qián)
Imitations of currency placed in Chinese graves to serve the deceased in the afterlife.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 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 moreConfucian coin charms
Amulets bearing Confucian moral teachings and historical storiesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelSegulaסגולה
A Jewish charm or ritual believed to bring protection, healing, or blessings.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫婦和合花錢
Coin-shaped amulets from East Asia that celebrate marriage, fertility, and conjugal harmonyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomFumsup
A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน
A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇻🇪 VenezuelaDjucu
A warm sea nut used as a lucky charm in the CaribbeanCharm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDried cat
A dried feline body hidden in walls to protect a home from harmCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaEight Treasures八寶 (Bābǎo)
A set of eight symbols in Chinese art and amulets representing good fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk heirloom of Clan MacLeod, said to hold fairy magic and ancient power.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNavaratnaनवरत्न
A nine-gem talisman set in gold or silver, linked to Hindu astrology and planetary worshipCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇱 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
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCash方孔錢
A round copper coin with a square hole used in China and East Asia for two millennia.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOkiagari-koboshi起き上がり小法師
A Japanese roly-poly doll that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇹🇼 Taiwan and 1 moreAuspicious train ticket吉祥語車票
Train tickets with station names that form lucky phrases through wordplay.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor
A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī)
A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇪🇸 SpainIndalo
A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · 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.
- Chinese burial money: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Confucian coin charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source
- Okiagari-koboshi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cash: User 冷玉 on zh.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navaratna: Pradeep717, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
- Korean numismatic charm: Unknown author(s)., Public domain, source
- Lock charms: Scott Semans World Coins (CoinCoin.com)., CC BY 3.0, source
- Dried cat: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, source
- Eight Treasures: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Auspicious train ticket: SSR2000, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
- Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source