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.
🇦🇲 Armenia and 3 moreNardoqanНартуған
A Turkic winter solstice celebration marking the birth of the sunTradition · Wonder and entertainment Revived
🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars
A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMawlidمولد
An annual festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet MuhammadTradition · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 HaitiChristian-Vodou
The blending of Haitian Vodou and Roman Catholicism into a single spiritual practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇭🇹 HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
A major Caribbean festival of music, dance, and satire leading to Mardi Gras in HaitiTradition · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 3 moreJewish heraldry
Heraldic achievements used by Jewish communities in Europe and abroadTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp
Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · 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
🇲🇱 MaliBinouba-binu
A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu
A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor
A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreSufi whirlingSemazen
A spinning meditation practiced by Sufi dervishes to reach spiritual connection through music and movement.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇻🇳 VietnamCây nêuCây nêu (chữ Nôm: 核標)
A bamboo pole raised to keep evil spirits away during the Lunar New Year in VietnamTradition · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings
A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRoshni Mela
A three-day fair of earthen lamps and prayers held at a Sufi shrine in Punjab.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇮🇳 IndiaSanjhi
A festival and art form honoring a mother goddess through clay images and colored designsTradition · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreBullroarer
A wooden slat on a string that produces a roaring sound for ritual and communication.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreOdinic Rite
A UK-based Heathen group that restricts membership to people of European ancestry.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreFengshui woodland風水林
A protected grove in East Asia believed to shape the local environment and bring luck to nearby communities.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇼 TaiwanYin miao陰廟
Temples for wandering spirits in Taiwanese folk religionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreTweezaتويزة
A North African Sufi tradition of communal labor and mutual aidTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFolk practices in Punjab
Indigenous beliefs and rituals of the Punjabi people across India and PakistanTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊
A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ
An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies
Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Roshni Mela: FatherofGod, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jewish heraldry: Consulta Araldica, 1868, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Quviasukvik: Jodie Wilson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Nardoqan: Ollios, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
- Fengshui woodland: 猫猫的日记本 (Cat's diary), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yin miao: Outlookxp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sama: myself, Public domain, source
- Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Folk practices in Punjab: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cây nêu: vi:Phạm Xuân Nguyên, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sanjhi: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source