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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 Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past 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 Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past

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

🇹🇭 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

🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house A small roofed shrine that shelters a place's protective spiritCharm · Protection Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn) A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇲 MyanmarNatနတ် Spirits venerated in Myanmar alongside Buddhism, including deified humans and nature guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyi Roro KidulRatu Laut Selatan The spirit queen of Java's southern coast and guardian of the Indian OceanBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇵🇭 PhilippinesAnito Indigenous Philippine spirits and the carved figures that represent themBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreGhosts in Thai cultureผี (phi) A wide range of spirits and ghosts found in Thai folklore and popular belief.Belief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreKrasueกระสือ A floating head with trailing organs from Southeast Asian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreNang Taniนางตานี A female spirit said to inhabit wild banana trees in Southeast Asian folklore.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaMarapu Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreJailangkung An Indonesian séance using a straw effigy to communicate with spirits of the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nat: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Krasue: Xavier Romero-Frias, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nang Tani: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nyi Roro Kidul: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Anito: Frederic H. Sawyer, Public domain, source
Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ghosts in Thai culture: Heinrich Damm ( User:Hdamm , Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org ), CC BY 2.0, 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.