Magic in Latin America and the Caribbean

Vodou, Santeria, Candomblé and Obeah, curanderismo and brujeria, Andean offerings to the earth, and Amazonian plant healing. 145 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Limpia with an egg Day of the Dead ofrenda Santeria initiation (kariocha)Candomblé ebo offering Haitian Vodou service Andean despacho and pago a la Pachamama A curanderismo healing session Ayahuasca ceremony Obeah in Jamaica

Countries

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

🇭🇹 HaitiBois Caïman The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇧🇷 BrazilMacumba A term for Afro-Brazilian spiritual practices, often carrying negative connotations of sorceryBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoNagualnāhualli A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇴 ColombiaColombian folklore Beliefs and legends passed down through generations in ColombiaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreFolk saint Unofficially recognized holy figures venerated by local communities for intercession and miraclesBelief · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 2 moreKromanti A ritual language spoken by ancestral spirits in Jamaican Maroon ceremoniesBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇴 ColombiaMohan A forest spirit and ancestor soul in Colombian Indigenous folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Mohan: Sanjuan, Public domain, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Colombian folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source