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.
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος
A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic
Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo
An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇯🇵 JapanHyakumonogatari Kaidankai百物語怪談会
An Edo period Japanese parlour game where ghost stories extinguish candles one by oneRite · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic
A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu)
A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreKallikantzarosκαλικάντζαρος
A malevolent goblin that dwells underground and surfaces during the twelve days of Christmas.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇭🇺 HungaryCurse of TuranTuráni átok
A Hungarian belief that a historic spell causes national misfortune and personal despairBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanUshi no toki mairi丑の時参り
A Japanese ritual of cursing performed at a shrine during the early morning hours.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda
A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLei Ting curse charm符咒钱
A numismatic charm invoking the thunder god to banish evil spirits.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 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 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
🇫🇷 FranceCurse of Vibia
A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpentsогненный змей
A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga
A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ
A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱
A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceMargot the fairy
Earthly fairies of Brittany known for dancing, building monuments, and testing human guests.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomChained Oak
A Staffordshire oak bound in chains by a local legend of a curse and an earl.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMeilichiosΜειλίχιος
An ancient Greek chthonic spirit linked to Zeus and appeased through fire offerings.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm 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
🇯🇵 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
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBlack Orlov
A black diamond linked to a legend of theft and tragic deathsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇦 CanadaPinga
An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaJvarasuraज्वारासुर
A fever demon in Hindu lore who serves the pox goddess Shitala.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude
A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection 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
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreElder Mother
A guardian spirit of elder trees in English and Scandinavian folkloreBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBogle
A Northumbrian and Scots household spirit or ghost known for perplexing people.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHobgoblin
A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyFeldgeist
German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreChain letterFukou no Tegami
A message that demands copying and forwarding to avoid bad luck or gain fortuneBelief · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kallikantzaros: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Jvarasura: Suraj Belbase, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Lei Ting curse charm: Donald_Trung, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
- Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
- Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chained Oak: Gary Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Meilichios: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
- Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
- Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
- Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source