All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
馃嚡馃嚥 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreManbo
A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 moreOungan
A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚬馃嚞 TogoAkodessawa Fetish MarketMarch茅 des F茅ticheurs
A market in Togo selling ritual objects for Vod煤n practiceTradition 路 Power and authority 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreHoodoo
A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime
A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreMarie Laveau
A New Orleans priestess and herbalist who led Louisiana Voodoo in the nineteenth centuryTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 2 moreCandombl茅
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujer铆a
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚦馃嚞 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)If谩
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreManbo
A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 moreOungan
A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚬馃嚞 TogoAkodessawa Fetish MarketMarch茅 des F茅ticheurs
A market in Togo selling ritual objects for Vod煤n practiceTradition 路 Power and authority 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreHoodoo
A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime
A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreMarie Laveau
A New Orleans priestess and herbalist who led Louisiana Voodoo in the nineteenth centuryTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 2 moreCandombl茅
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujer铆a
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚦馃嚞 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)If谩
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Candombl茅: Andr茅 Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oungan: Anthony Karen, CC BY 4.0, source
- Palo: Burkhard M眉cke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akodessawa Fetish Market: Alexander Sarlay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marie Laveau: E. W. Kemble, Public domain, source