News
Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this monthWitch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month
EveryJaadu

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

馃嚚馃嚘 Canada 67馃嚞馃嚤 Greenland 11馃嚭馃嚫 United States 259
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 1 moreEstonian mythologyeesti m眉toloogia The pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Estonian peopleTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoAztec religion The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical 馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreHiisi A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 2 moreHaltija A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGhost shirt A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚞馃嚤 GreenlandAnguta A Greenlandic Inuit figure who guides the dead and fathered the sea goddess SednaBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCurse of the Boulder Valley A legend attributed to Chief Niwot about the valley's beauty and its futureBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaPinga An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreV盲in盲m枚inen An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesChepi A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreThe Teachings of Don Juan A 1968 book presenting an apprenticeship with a Mexican sorcerer as anthropological fieldwork.Text 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

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.