Magic in South Asia

Mantra, yantra and tantra, the lemon and chillies hung against the evil eye, astrology, and temple healers and exorcists. 188 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

🇮🇳 IndiaChakraचक्र Meditation points in the subtle body used in Hindu and Buddhist yogaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreTantraतन्त्र An esoteric yogic tradition from India focusing on ritual, mantra, and body-based spiritual practices.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaChödགཅོད A Tibetan Buddhist ritual that uses fear and self-offering to sever attachment to the selfTradition · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaNaropa An Indian Buddhist master whose teachings shaped Tibetan Vajrayana practiceFigure · Change and initiation Historical

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreShivaशिव A principal Hindu deity of destruction and yoga, worshipped across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaKaliकाली A fierce Hindu goddess of time and destruction, worshipped as a protective mother.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreTilopa A tenth-century Buddhist tantric master who transmitted Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa.Figure · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAghoriअघोर An ascetic monastic order of Shaivite sadhus known for antinomian rituals in cremation groundsTradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreVajrayanaVajrayāna A Buddhist path using rituals and mantras for rapid awakeningTradition · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKalachakraདུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ། A Tibetan Buddhist tantric deity and system of yogic time cyclesTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBrahma Kumarisप्रजापिता ब्रह्माकुमारी ईश्वरीय विश्वविद्यालय A meditation-based spiritual movement that teaches soul identity and global peaceTradition · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element) A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaVamacharaवामाचार A Hindu tantric tradition using unorthodox rituals for spiritual growthTradition · Change and initiation Living 🇮🇳 IndiaCausal bodyKarana-Sarira A yogic and esoteric concept describing the highest innermost body that veils the true Self.Belief · Change and initiation Living 🇮🇳 IndiaTarakeshwaraतारकेश्वर (Tārakeśvara) A form of Shiva who guides souls to liberation through sacred mantrasFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDeity yoga A Vajrayana meditation on embodying a chosen Buddha figure to realize emptinessTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Chakra: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tantra: William Clark, Public domain, source
Vamachara: painting by an Indian artist. Date [between 1800 and 1899?], Public domain, source
Naropa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shiva: Indianhilbilly, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kali: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
Tilopa: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Aghori: Retratistadelsur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vajrayana: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Brahma Kumaris: Tamasin Ramsey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Deity yoga: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source
Kalachakra: Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Abhijñā: Gryffindor, Public domain, source
Chöd: Christopher J. Fynn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Magic in South Asia

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

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