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.

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 moreAinu religion The animist spiritual beliefs and ritual practices of the Ainu people of Japan and RussiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreMediumship The practice of mediating communication between the living and spirits of the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau dåk A North American custom using a burrowing rodent to forecast the end of winterTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United StatesDianic Wicca A female-only pagan tradition honoring the Goddess and women's experienceTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreOjibwe religion The traditional spiritual practices of the Ojibwe people of North AmericaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇲🇽 MexicoAztec religion The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesHopi mythology The creation stories and spirit traditions of the Hopi people of the American SouthwestTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSpiritualism A nineteenth-century religious movement focused on communicating with the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekersTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United StatesFeri Tradition An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChurch of Satan An atheistic religious body founded in 1966 that practices ritual magicTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hopi mythology: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
Ojibwe religion: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ainu religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dianic Wicca: Jean-Baptiste Tuby I (Italy, active France, Paris and Versailles, 1635, Public domain, source
Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source

Magic in North America

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

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