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
馃嚙馃嚡 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba
A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚙馃嚡 BeninMawu-Lisa
A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican Republic and 1 moreDominican Vud煤Vud煤 Dominicano
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion on Hispaniola with its own spirit lineages and titles.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 morePetwo
A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa
A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚬馃嚬 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu
A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican Republic and 1 moreDominican Vud煤Vud煤 Dominicano
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion on Hispaniola with its own spirit lineages and titles.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 morePetwo
A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa
A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚬馃嚬 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu
A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 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.
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source