All entries
224 entries so far, best known first. 6,399 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreVampire
An undead creature from folklore that feeds on the blood or life force of the livingBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur
A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreSphinx
A mythical hybrid with a human head and lion body, serving as guardian or riddler in Egyptian and Greek traditions.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf
A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreLilithלִילִית
A feminine figure from Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, often depicted as a night demon or spirit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇧🇪 Belgium and 2 moreHorseshoe
A metal shoe for a horse's hoof and a talisman of good fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal
A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePalmistry
A divination method that interprets the lines and shapes of the hand to predict fate or reveal character.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaChakraचक्र
Meditation points in the subtle body used in Hindu and Buddhist yogaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍
A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye
A curse believed to be cast by a jealous glare and the charms used to stop itBelief · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches
A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking
A method used to locate a witch's mark during early modern European witch trialsRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials
The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches
Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き
A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomDeath knell
A church bell rung to announce a person's death and mark the funeral.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos
An antlered Celtic deity depicted with torcs and serpents, known from Roman-era Gaul.Being · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight
A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyAlp
A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins
The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal
An ancient judicial test where guilt or innocence was decided by surviving a painful physical trial.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreKey of SolomonClavicula Salomonis
A Renaissance grimoire attributed to King Solomon, detailing ritual preparations and invocations.Text · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth
A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian rope trick
A legendary stage illusion involving a levitating rope and a disappearing boy assistantIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitch trials in the Holy Roman Empire
A wave of executions across Central Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat
A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion
Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism
The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary
A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial
A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands
A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France
A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBideford witch trial
The final English hangings for witchcraft in 1682.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaGu蛊
A venom-based poison and black magic practice from south ChinaSubstance · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreObsidian
Volcanic glass used for sharp tools, mirrors, and ritual divinationSubstance · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreBaetyl
A sacred stone, often a meteorite, believed to house a deity in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean traditions.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England
A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών
An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
- Trial by combat: Jörg Breu der Jüngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
- Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chakra: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Palmistry: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
- Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
- Lilith: Photographs by Ardon Bar Hama, author of original document is unknown., Public domain, source
- Horseshoe: Cgoodwin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
- Sphinx: Ipipipourax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Indian rope trick: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source
- Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Siberian shamanism: Аркадий Зарубин, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
- Baetyl: Jusepe de Ribera, Public domain, source
- Caul: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Death knell: Dougsim, CC BY-SA 4.0, source