Magic in East Asia

Taoist talismans, the I Ching and feng shui, onmyodo and the omamori, and the mudang of Korea. 308 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 212 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 14 🇯🇵 Japan 255 🇲🇴 Macau 2 🇲🇳 Mongolia 27 🇰🇵 North Korea 3 🇰🇷 South Korea 40 🇹🇼 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

🇯🇵 JapanOnmyōdō陰陽道 A Japanese system of divination and calendar science rooted in yin-yang philosophyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Revived

🇨🇳 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

🇯🇵 JapanSetsubun節分 A Japanese seasonal rite to drive away bad luck and welcome spring with roasted beansRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 JapanShinto shrine神社 (jinja) A structure housing kami deities within the Shinto tradition of JapanTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean shamanism무속 A Korean folk religion centered on ritual specialists who mediate between humans and spiritsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreMenshen門神 Guardian figures pasted to doors in Chinese folk religion to protect homes from evil.Belief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름 A Korean lunar holiday marking the first full moon with nut-cracking and field firesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 JapanTorii鳥居 A traditional Japanese gate marking the boundary between the mundane and sacred spaces of Shinto shrines.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreHmong folk religionKev Dab Qhuas The ethnic religion of the Miao and Hmong peoples, centered on spirit worship and shamanic healing.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女 A Shinto shrine priestess and traditional female medium in JapanTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道 A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreFeng shui風水 A Chinese geomantic practice for aligning structures with cosmic energyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 JapanKagura神楽 A Shinto ritual dance where performers embody deities to purify and welcome spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJangseung장승 Wooden or stone poles that guard Korean villages and temples from evil spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 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

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKūkai空海 Founder of Shingon Buddhism who brought Vajrayana esoteric practices from China to Japan.Text · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿 Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 JapanAbe no Seimei安倍晴明 A historical court official turned legendary Japanese onmyōji and folk heroFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇯🇵 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 🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝 The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGhost FestivalZhongyuan Festival; Yulanpen Festival A festival to feed wandering spirits and guide them home during the seventh lunar month.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇯🇵 JapanNoro祝女 Ryukyuan village priestesses who tend sacred hearths and utaki shrinesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Fading

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节 A spring day for sweeping graves, feeding the dead and honouring ancestorsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism) A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào) Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功 A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreNuo folk religion傩 (Nuó) A Chinese exorcistic tradition using wooden masks and ancestor worship to drive away malevolent forcesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇹🇼 TaiwanYin miao陰廟 Temples for wandering spirits in Taiwanese folk religionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊 A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · 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.

Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shinto shrine: No machine-readable author provided. Fg2 assumed (based on copyright c, Public domain, source
Korean shamanism: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Menshen: Taiwankengo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Torii: JordyMeow, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hmong folk religion: Thomas Riccio, CC BY 4.0, source
Miko: Chris Gladis, Flickr user MShades, CC BY 2.0, source
Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feng shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Kagura: Elstner Hilton, Public domain, source
Jangseung: Yoshiaki Sano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kūkai: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mount Osore: Douglas P Perkins ( Douglaspperkins ( talk )), CC BY 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
Nuo folk religion: Wikiwikiyarou, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, 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