Skip to content

FestivalsVista Día de Muertos Festival 2026 | Day of the Dead Celebration MuseumsWealthy widow in England's biggest witch trial remembered Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings FestivalsWho Is La Catrina? Meet the Iconic Skeleton of Mexico’s Day of the Dead Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death FestivalsVista Día de Muertos Festival 2026 | Day of the Dead Celebration MuseumsWealthy widow in England's biggest witch trial remembered Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings FestivalsWho Is La Catrina? Meet the Iconic Skeleton of Mexico’s Day of the Dead Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death

EveryJaadu

Magic in Southeast Asia

Spirit houses and the animist layer beneath Buddhism and Islam: protective tattoos, bomoh and pawang, nat and phi. 96 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

🇮🇩 IndonesiaPenjorᬧᬾᬜ᭄ᚚᚚᭀᬃ A curved bamboo pole marking prosperity in Balinese Hindu ceremonyTradition · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang) Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇭 ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์ The Thai solar New Year marked by water rituals and sand pagodasTradition · Cleansing and purification · Luck and prosperity Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 morePalad khikปลัดขิก A Thai phallic amulet believed to bring luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇭 ThailandSihuhataแมงสี่หูห้าตา A legendary creature from northern Thai folklore associated with wealth and divine testingBeing · Luck and prosperity · 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.

Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Palad khik: deror_avi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Sihuhata: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Penjor: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source

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.