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.
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 5 moreKrampus
A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 6 moreBurning of Judas
An Easter rite where an effigy of the betrayer is destroyed by fire or other meansRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚘馃嚬 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht
A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Revived
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 5 moreStraw bearStrohb盲r
A carnival figure wrapped in straw that visits homes for gifts and marks the turning of seasons.Tradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 1 moreAos S铆
Supernatural beings of Irish and Scottish folklore, said to dwell in mounds and influence the human world.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyBadaliscBadalisch
A mythical goat-headed creature from the Italian Alps, captured and mocked during Epiphany celebrations.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 5 moreSaint Michael
A Christian archangel who defends the faithful and weighs soulsBeing 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚨馃嚤 Poland and 4 moreMorana袦芯褉械薪邪
A Slavic goddess of winter and death, whose effigy is drowned to welcome springFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceMeilichios螠蔚喂位委蠂喂慰蟼
An ancient Greek chthonic spirit linked to Zeus and appeased through fire offerings.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyFeldgeist
German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 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.
- Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Badalisc: Luca Giarelli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burning of Judas: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morana: Marta Malina Moraczewska, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meilichios: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
- Saint Michael: Francesco Botticini, Public domain, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Aos S铆: AE [George William Russell] (1867-1935), CC BY 4.0, source