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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

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreKau chim求籤 A divination practice using numbered bamboo sticks to seek answers from deitiesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreKṣitigarbhaक्षितिगर्भ A bodhisattva vowed to empty the hells and guard children, shown with a staff and jewel.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 JapanSuzu鈴 A hollow Japanese bell with inner pellets, used in Shinto rites and shrines.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Kau chim: No machine-readable author provided. 9old9 assumed (based on copyright, Public domain, source
Kṣitigarbha: སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།, Public domain, source
Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, 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.