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
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreTennin天人
Heavenly beings in Japanese Buddhism, often depicted as beautiful women with feathered scarves.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 JapanAkuma悪魔(あくま)
An evil spirit in Japanese folklore, later used for Satan in ChristianityBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTesso鉄鼠
A Japanese yōkai born from a monk’s curse and the destructive power of ratsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanNingyo人魚
A Japanese water creature with a human head or torso and a fish's bodyBeing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOshiroibabā白粉ばばあ
A yōkai old woman from Nara folklore linked to white powder and mirrors.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shuten-dōji: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
- Denglong: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ubume: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tesso: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Ningyo: Author:, Public domain, source
- Kasha: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hachiman: SLIMHANNYA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sōjōbō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mogwai: Gisling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obake: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), Public domain, source
- Nuribotoke: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nine-tailed fox: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
- Tennin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
- Jeoseung Saja: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source
- Vajravarahi: Foto: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
- Kṣitigarbha: སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།, Public domain, source
- Datsue-ba: Fred Cherrygarden, CC BY-SA 4.0, source