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
🇺🇸 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
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing 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
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
A Kongo spirit, and the object a spirit is held to live inBeing · Protection · 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
🇧🇷 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
🇭🇹 HaitiErzulieÈzili
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou representing love, beauty, and protective fury.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreCowrie
A sea snail shell used as currency, divination tool, and charm across many culturesSubstance · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity 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
🇨🇺 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
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOpon IfáỌpọ́n Ifá
A carved wooden tray used by Yoruba diviners to read signs and consult spirits.Charm · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇹🇬 TogoAkodessawa Fetish MarketMarché des Féticheurs
A market in Togo selling ritual objects for Vodún practiceTradition · Power and authority · Healing Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇧🇯 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
🇭🇹 HaitiGedeGuédé
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou who guard the dead and grant fertility.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreEleguaÈṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára
A Yoruba deity of crossroads and messenger who opens all spiritual pathsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇭🇹 HaitiBaron Samedi
A Haitian Vodou spirit of the dead who also controls healing and resurrection.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇧🇷 BrazilPomba Gira
An Afro-Brazilian spirit of love and desire worshipped in Umbanda and QuimbandaBeing · Love and attraction · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè
Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇧🇯 BeninMawu-Lisa
A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing · Power and authority 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
🇧🇷 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
🇧🇯 Benin and 4 moreOshumareÒṣùmàrè
A Yoruba orisha of the rainbow, shown as a serpent and held to be both male and femaleBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHaint blue
A pale blue-green paint kept on porches to turn ghosts and boo hags awayCharm · Protection 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
🇧🇧 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
🇭🇹 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
🇭🇹 HaitiPotomitanpoto mitan
The painted centre post of a Haitian Vodou temple, said to be the spirits' way downCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇺 CubaPatakí
Teaching stories from the oral tradition of Santería and IfáText · 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
🇭🇹 HaitiRada lwa
A family of cool-tempered spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · 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 morePetwo
A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm 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
🇺🇸 United StatesHot foot powder
A hoodoo powder of chilli and minerals, sprinkled to make an unwanted person leave.Substance · Cursing and harm 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
🇺🇸 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
🇩🇲 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
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Oshumare: MarinaCriscuolo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haint blue: Lake Lou, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kongo cosmogram: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Baron Samedi: markbenecke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Espiritismo: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, 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
- Erzulie: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Cowrie: NOAA (Photo Collection of Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program), Public domain, source
- New Orleans Voodoo Revival: Greg Willis, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Opon Ifá: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Akodessawa Fetish Market: Alexander Sarlay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Elegua: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Casa das Minas: clecio muller frança leal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source