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

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMisogi禊 A Shinto rite of full-body purification using cold waterRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 JapanDaruma doll達磨 A round Japanese talisman that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙 Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 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 🇨🇳 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

🇨🇳 ChinaNeidan内丹 A Taoist practice using the body as a cauldron to refine inner energies for longevity and immortalityTradition · Healing · Power and authority Living

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

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

🇯🇵 JapanFukusuke福助 A kneeling Japanese doll believed to bring wealth and honorCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJapanese numismatic charm絵銭 Coin-shaped charms from Japan used for protection, luck, and blessings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaejongism대종교 A Korean faith system centred on the ancestral king Dangun and national identity.Tradition · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī) A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇧🇹 BhutanVajravarahiརྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ། (Dorje Pakmo) A wrathful female buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, depicted with a sow head and dancing posture.Being · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇯🇵 JapanOkiagari-koboshi起き上がり小法師 A Japanese roly-poly doll that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMoney tree搖錢樹 A mythical tree of fortune and a Chinese New Year custom for wealthFigure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 morePower spotパワースポット A Japanese term for places believed to hold strong earth energy and healing power.Belief · Healing · 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

🇨🇳 ChinaFlying Star Feng Shui A Chinese feng shui school that charts a building's nine squares for good and bad qiTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇯🇵 JapanMagatama勾玉 A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLuopan罗盘 (luó pán) A Chinese magnetic compass with concentric rings for feng shui practiceCharm · Power and authority Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kau chim: No machine-readable author provided. 9old9 assumed (based on copyright, Public domain, source
Neidan: A16898, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fukusuke: Nesnad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feng shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Daejongism: Berghendorf, CC0, source
Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source
Misogi: Ds13 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Vajravarahi: Foto: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
Okiagari-koboshi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Money tree: Pratyeka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Power spot: ccfarmer, CC BY 3.0, source
Kṣitigarbha: སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།, Public domain, source
Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, source
Flying Star Feng Shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Luopan: Pcae18 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source