folk beliefs
Old wives' tales
Folk beliefs are traditional ideas passed down informally within a community—superstitions, old wives' tales, and customary wisdom about luck, health, or the supernatural.
They persist through oral tradition rather than formal instruction: Folk beliefs about planting by moon phases still guide some gardeners.
The term often implies beliefs that lack scientific basis but remain culturally meaningful.
- shamanismMediation between worlds
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
- charmAttractive personal quality
- curseInvoked harm through words
- legendUnverified traditional tale
luck · creation story · evil eye · oral tradition · ceremony · incantation · omen · full moon · blood moon · herbalism · superstition · divine intervention · wise woman · taboo · talisman · prophecy · ancestral spirits · sacred grove
- Baltic paganismMara, thunder god, sun goddess, earth goddess, world tree
- cultural associationslucky colors, wedding traditions, religious icons, national symbols, superstitions
- folk culturetraditional patterns, traditional dress, traditional crafts, wedding customs, Christmas customs
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, fairy tale, folktale
- folk beliefssuperstition, superstitions, omens, good luck, bad luck
- folk collectionsproverbs, legends, myths, fairy tales, nursery rhymes
folk beliefsscientific knowledge
Facts established through research
scientific consensus · empirical evidence · scientific method · empirical research · skeptical analysis
folk beliefsreligious dogma
Fixed spiritual beliefs
professional expertise · orthodoxy · expert opinion · formal education