Magic in North America
Hoodoo and conjure, Appalachian folk magic, Indigenous ceremony (some of it closed to outsiders), modern Paganism and the stage magic of Houdini to Las Vegas. 187 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
New Orleans 6Salem 4Boston 2Chicago 2Harlem 2Liverpool 2Los Angeles 2San Francisco 2Adams 1Alaska 1Alberta 1Albuquerque 1Alexian Brothers Hospital 1Atlanta 1Balzac 1Beaman 1Bell Witch Cave 1Berks County 1Big Horn County 1Blythe 1Boulder Valley 1Braddock Heights 1Brisbane 1Bristol 1Broadway 1Brownsville 1Buffalo 1Central Park 1Chattanooga 1Chesapeake Bay 1
Rites of the region
Pennsylvania German powwowAppalachian charm for stopping bloodHoodoo mojo bagHoodoo floor washingCasting a Wiccan circleSpiritualist seanceThe Ouija boardSmudging, and who may do itNavajo sandpainting
Countries
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A flannel pouch holding charms for protection and luck in African American Hoodoo traditionCharm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreRainmaking
Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHex sign
Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols that range from folk art to talismansCharm 路 Protection 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBraucherei
A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Fading
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A hollowed vegetable carved with a face and lit from within, worn as a Halloween symbolCharm 路 Protection 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreRainmaking rites
Ceremonies performed to call rain through prayer, dance, or symbolic actsRite 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFolk healer
An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund
A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚘馃嚭 Australia and 2 moreTheatrical superstitions
Beliefs and rituals among actors to avoid bad luck and ward off spiritsBelief 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Gray Man
A coastal ghost from South Carolina said to warn of hurricanesBeing 路 Protection Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesWoman in Black
A spectral figure from Appalachian folklore said to punish men for moral failingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesNew England vampire panic
A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesJewett City vampires
A 19th-century New England family's belief in undead plague and their violent response to it.Belief 路 Protection Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 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.
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Hex sign: Smallbones, CC0, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Gray Man: Phoebe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New England vampire panic: no credited author, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source