News
Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this monthWitch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month
EveryJaadu

Magic in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ifa divination and the orisha, sangomas and inyangas, nkisi figures, masquerades, spirit possession and the fear of witchcraft. 102 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Gambaga 2Kukuo 2Matopo Hills 2Osogbo 2Ajido 1Akodessawa 1Akwa Ibom State 1Anรฉho 1Bonyasi 1Clarens 1Cross River State 1Dar es Salaam 1Ficksburg 1Fouriesberg 1Ghanzi 1Gnani 1Harar 1Harper 1Hogsback 1Horn of Africa 1Ile-Ife 1Kaya 1Khartoum 1Khetlhakone 1Kingdom of Dahomey 1Kinshasa 1Kpatinga 1KwaZulu-Natal 1Land of Frankincense 1Matatane 1

Rites of the region

Ifa divinationEgungun masqueradeSangoma calling and bone-throwingLibation to the ancestorsNkisi nkondi power figuresMami Wata devotionBori possessionFamadihana, the turning of the bonesDebtera amulet scrollsRainmaking and the Rain Queen

Countries

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola 7๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin 19๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana 3๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso 2๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi 1๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon 6๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde 1๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic 3๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo 6๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrea 5๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini 2๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia 26๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon 4๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia 5๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana 21๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea 2๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Ivory Coast 2๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya 10๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho 3๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia 2๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar 11๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi 1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali 15๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania 1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius 1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique 3๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger 5๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria 35๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Republic of the Congo 4๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda 1๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal 8๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone 5๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia 4๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa 30๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan 3๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania 9๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo 8๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda 4๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia 2๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe 8
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana and 1 moreAkan religionAkom Traditional beliefs of the Akan people, centered on a distant creator and nature spirits.Tradition ยท Protection ยท Healing Living ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniแปŒdแป‹nanแป‹ The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBรฒรฒrรญรญ A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition ยท Healing ยท Luck and prosperity Living ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ MaliDogon religion The traditional spiritual beliefs of the Dogon people of MaliTradition ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition ยท Protection ยท Healing Living ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น EthiopiaPlanetary hours A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition ยท Power and authority ยท Cursing and harm Historical ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa and 1 moreMutiumuthi Traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa using plants, animals and mineralsTradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt and 5 moreZฤrุฒุงุฑ A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition ยท Healing ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition ยท Healing ยท Luck and prosperity Living ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyแƒฅแƒแƒ แƒ—แƒฃแƒšแƒ˜ แƒ›แƒ˜แƒ—แƒแƒšแƒแƒ’แƒ˜แƒ The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition ยท Protection ยท Seeing and foretelling Historical ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaOsun-Osogbo Sacred GroveOsun-Osogbo A sacred forest in Nigeria dedicated to the river goddess Osun, celebrated with an annual festival.Tradition ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead ยท Protection Living ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ MaliBinouba-binu A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

Photo credits on this page

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

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.