Skip to content

Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month

EveryJaadu

Magic in East Asia

Taoist talismans, the I Ching and feng shui, onmyodo and the omamori, and the mudang of Korea. 311 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Writing and burning a fu talisman Joss paper and the Hungry Ghost offering Kau cim and jiaobei The I Ching and the yarrow stalks Feng shui placement Setsubun bean-throwing Harai, the Shinto rite of purification Omamori and ofuda renewal Omikuji fortune slips Gut, the Korean shaman rite

Countries

🇨🇳 China 214 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 14 🇯🇵 Japan 256 🇲🇴 Macau 2 🇲🇳 Mongolia 28 🇰🇵 North Korea 3 🇰🇷 South Korea 42 🇹🇼 Taiwan 27

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇯🇵 JapanMount Osore恐山 A volcanic pilgrimage site in Japan believed to be a gateway to the underworldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君 The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 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

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦 A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火 Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教 Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇹🇼 TaiwanKuai Kuai culture乖乖文化 A Taiwanese custom of placing obedient snacks on machines to ensure smooth operationBelief · Protection Living 🇯🇵 JapanAkisutozenekoあきすとぜねこ A Shōwa-era Japanese game that turns lovers' names into a predicted relationship outcomeBelief · Love and attraction Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功 A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇯🇵 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 🇯🇵 JapanYakudoshi厄年 Traditional Japanese ages believed to bring bad luck and the rituals used to ward them offBelief · Protection Living 🇯🇵 JapanJanjanbiじゃんじゃん火 Atmospheric ghost lights from Nara Prefecture, said to be the spirits of lovers or a wronged commander.Belief Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Kuai Kuai culture: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Kitsunebi: Abasaa, Public domain, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mount Osore: Douglas P Perkins ( Douglaspperkins ( talk )), CC BY 3.0, source
Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.