All entries
2,660 entries so far, best known first. 2,250 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
🇭🇹 HaitiErzulieÈzili
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou representing love, beauty, and protective fury.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba
A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇧🇷 BrazilPomba Gira
An Afro-Brazilian spirit of love and desire worshipped in Umbanda and QuimbandaBeing · Love and attraction · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreEzili DantorÈzili Dantò
A fierce mother spirit in Haitian Vodou who protects the marginalized and demands loyalty.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇭🇹 HaitiBoum'ba Maza
A family of water spirits in Haitian Vodou ritesBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Living
🇨🇺 CubaInleErinlẹ
The Orisha of healing and the estuary in Santería and CandombléBeing · Healing Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa
A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇲 DominicaBelie Belcan
A loa of justice and protection in Dominican Vudú, linked to Saint Michael.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Candomblé Jeje: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rada lwa: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Erzulie: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Inle: Happycheetha32, CC BY-SA 4.0, source