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
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreSatanism A modern set of beliefs using the figure of Satan as a symbol or deity.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreMedicine wheel Circular stone formations built by Indigenous peoples of North America for ceremony and astronomy.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority 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 馃嚚馃嚘 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreFortune-telling A practice of predicting future events or personal details through various methods and tools.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau d氓k A North American custom using a burrowing rodent to forecast the end of winterTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGhost DanceNanissaanah A circular movement seeking spiritual renewal and reunion with ancestorsRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 morePunxsutawney Phil A groundhog who serves as the central figure in an annual American weather prediction festival.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Wonder and entertainment Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th A Western superstition marking a specific calendar date as unlucky.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBloody Mary A mirror ritual to summon a spirit that reveals the future or brings harmBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreJinx A curse or attribute believed to attract bad luckBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th A Western superstition marking a specific calendar date as unluckyBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 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 States and 5 moreFriday the 13th A Western superstition that a specific calendar alignment brings misfortuneBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 more11:11 A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBaseball superstition Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesChristian views on magic A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Wonder and entertainment Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLaw of attraction A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreHaunted doll A doll claimed to be haunted or possessed, often linked to film and urban legend.Belief 路 Wonder and entertainment Living 馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreSuperman curse An urban legend linking misfortunes to actors and creators in Superman adaptationsBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHail Satan A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreFortune telling fraud A confidence trick where a grifter invents a curse to extract money from a vulnerable client.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesPele's Curse A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living

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.