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

🇺🇸 United StatesPukwudgie A short forest spirit from Algonquian lore, known for mischief and danger.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNight hag A supernatural being believed to sit on sleepers and cause paralysisBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRougarou A lycanthrope legend from French-speaking communities in North AmericaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇦 CanadaWechuge A man-eating spirit from Athabaskan legend born of taboo and excessive powerBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesGoatman A goat-human hybrid blamed for dog deaths in Maryland woodsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesSnallygaster A bird-reptile chimera from Maryland folklore, once used to frighten children and later the subject of newspaper hoaxes.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇲🇽 MexicoTlahuelpuchi A shape-shifting vampire witch from Tlaxcalan Nahua folklore that drains infants.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesKushtakaKóoshdaa káa A shape-shifting creature from Tlingit mythology that can appear as an otter or human.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇨🇦 CanadaQallupilluitᖃᓪᓗᐱᓪᓗᐃᑦ (Qalupalik) An Inuit water spirit said to snatch children near Arctic iceBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesBall-tailed cat A North American fearsome critter with a heavy ball on its tail for striking preyBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesBlack-eyed children A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesTsul 'KaluᏧᏓᎦᎳ A Cherokee hunting deity and legendary giant of the Appalachian mountainsFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesWoman in Black A spectral figure from Appalachian folklore said to punish men for moral failingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇬🇱 GreenlandIdlirvirissong A sky spirit who tests the dead with a dance and punishes laughter by disembowelling them.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesBell Witch A Tennessee legend of a shapeshifting spirit that tormented the Bell family in the early nineteenth century.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreHoop snake A legendary rolling serpent found in North American and Australian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreFlying Africans A legend of enslaved people returning to Africa by magic flightFigure · 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.

Flying Africans: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Night hag: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Goatman: Jack Boucher, Public domain, source
Ball-tailed cat: Fearsome Critters, Written by Henry H. Tryon • Illustrated by Margaret, CC0, source
Hoop snake: Fearsome Critters, Written by Henry H. Tryon • Illustrated by Margaret, CC0, source
Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Rougarou: XxxJohnDoExxxx, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bell Witch: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Snallygaster: Tripodero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Magic in North America

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

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