Magic Folklore
Folk magic is the magic of the common people, usually without elaborate ritual or preparation. It is found in children's rhymes: "Rain, rain, go away ...", in casual acts such as throwing a pinch of spilled salt over the shoulder, and in gestures such as burying iron under the hearth of a new home. It is neither religion nor superstition, but a belief that the energy flowing through people and natural objects can cause positive change.
Top: Society: Folklore: Magic
See Also:
-
Issues in Ethnicity: The Demory Site Skull - Christopher Fennell, a University of Virginia anthropologist, describes a small X-marked clay skull, an article of malevolent conjuration buried beneath a Virginia farm house between 1780 and 1860, raising significant issues in ethnic studies, folk magic,
-
Dragon Spells - Information on spell workings and how magic works.
-
Lost Secrets - Information on various mystical secrets including Wicca, Druidism, channeling, ghost dancing, dream walking, spirit healing and shape shifting.
-
Gemstones and Crystals - Alphabetical list of stones used for magic and healing, with scientific description, variants, and associated magical properties.
-
Pow-Wows or The Long-Lost Friend - John George Hohman's 1820 German-American magical receipt-book: its continuing influence on Appalachian and African-American herb and root doctors, examples of spells from the text, and an extensive bibliographic publishing history.
-
The Evil Eye - Article in the e-zine Azerbaijan International, by Jean Patterson and Arzu Aghayeva describing the belief and available protection.
-
Black Cats and the Black Cat Bone - Essay contrasts fear of black cats in European-American folklore with African-American belief that a black cat bone acquired and prepared with proper ceremony can grant the bearer invisibility or force the return of an ex-lover.
-
Maneki Neko - The Beckoning Cat - Legends of the Japanese lucky cat and why statues of it are used by shop-keepers to draw in customers.
-
Lucky Mojo Spells Archive - A very large collection of folk-magic spells from various cultures contributed by hundreds of usenet posters since 1995, sub-divided by spell type, not by originating tradition; on-site search engine helps users locate information.
-
The alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic FAQ - Frequently asked questions from the APSHM usenet newsgroup containing introductory information on folk-magic and spell-casting.
-
Evil Eyes by Alev Bir - An essay on the blue glass "Nazar Boncugu" or "Eye Bead" worn for protection in Turkey, Cyprus, the Central Asian Turkic Republics, and among the Uigur Turks of China.
-
Symbolic Healing in Hungarian Ethnomedicine - Describes rituals involved in curing illness believed to be caused by magic. Includes examples and references.
-
Arabic Folk Medicine and Magic: 20th Century Amulets from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology - History, photos, cures and traditions surrounding curative amulets of the Middle East.
Click here to add, change or remove your listing
|
