News
Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25DivinationThe Secret Romani History of TarotLiving traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's StorytellingDivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magicFestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the graveHistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzleCharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin StoryWitch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween SeasonWitch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25DivinationThe Secret Romani History of TarotLiving traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's StorytellingDivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magicFestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the graveHistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzleCharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin StoryWitch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season
EveryJaadu

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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreBatuque An Afro-Brazilian religion with spirit possession and a pantheon of Orixás and encantadosTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreBokorbòkò A Haitian Vodou practitioner said to serve spirits for both protection and harmTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreManbo A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreAbakuá A male-only Cuban religious fraternity with West African roots and strict secrecyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreOungan A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 1 moreDominican VudúVudú Dominicano A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion on Hispaniola with its own spirit lineages and titles.Tradition · Protection · Love and attraction Living 🇨🇺 Cuba and 1 moreHaitian Vodou in CubaVodú Haitiano A Caribbean religious tradition brought by migrants and maintained in eastern CubaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇦🇷 Argentina and 1 moreSan Baltasar A folk saint of African origin, honoured in Argentina with drums and dance on 6 JanuaryFigure · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇧🇷 BrazilIle Maroia LajiIlê Maroiá Lájié An old Candomblé house in Salvador, with roots traced to a Yoruba kingdomTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreHaitian Vodou and homosexuality The place of LGBTQ people in Hait Vodou practice and beliefTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇹 HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval A major Caribbean festival of music, dance, and satire leading to Mardi Gras in HaitiTradition · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living 🇭🇹 HaitiBizango Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living 🇧🇧 Barbados and 2 moreObeah and Wanga A Caribbean folk magic tradition and a Haitian charm packet, referenced in Western occult texts.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreCandomblé Angola A branch of Candomblé in Brazil honouring Nzambi and the divinities called NkisiTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreIjexá A Yoruba-derived rhythm central to Candomblé ritual and Brazilian carnival musicTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇧🇷 BrazilCasa das MinasQuerebentã Toi Zomadonu A historic Tambor de Mina temple in Brazil with roots in the Kingdom of DahomeyTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.