All entries
2,683 entries so far, best known first. 2,203 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
🇲🇽 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
🇨🇺 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
🇨🇺 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
🇭🇹 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
🇧🇷 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
🇺🇸 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 · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇹🇬 TogoAkodessawa Fetish MarketMarché des Féticheurs
A market in Togo selling ritual objects for Vodún practiceTradition · Power and authority · Healing Living
🇧🇷 BrazilQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian spirit religion centred on exús and pombagirasTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · 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
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreKélé
An Afro-Saint Lucian faith rooted in Yoruba traditions and secret practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇧🇷 BrazilMãe-de-santo
A woman priest in Candomblé, Umbanda and QuimbandaTradition · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 HaitiBizango
Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths 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
🇧🇧 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
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreNew Orleans Voodoo Revival
A late-20th-century religious movement in New Orleans blending Haitian and Cuban traditions with local history.Tradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇧🇷 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
🇧🇷 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
🇭🇹 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
🇧🇷 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
🇹🇹 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
🇧🇷 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
🇺🇸 United StatesChurch of Lukumi Babalu Aye
A Santería congregation in Florida that won a landmark Supreme Court case on religious freedomTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kongo cosmogram: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mãe-de-santo: Antônio Milena/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br, source
- Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rada lwa: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Oungan: Anthony Karen, CC BY 4.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haitian Vodou in Cuba: Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo, NOAA NODC, Public domain, source
- Bokor: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
- Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New Orleans Voodoo Revival: Greg Willis, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Akodessawa Fetish Market: Alexander Sarlay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Candomblé Angola: autor desconhecido, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ijexá: Alex@Eddi ( Diskussion ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Casa das Minas: clecio muller frança leal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source