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 StatesCotton Mather
A Puritan minister and writer known for his role in the Salem witch trials and promotion of smallpox inoculationFigure Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל
A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cotton Mather: Peter Pelham, Public domain, source
- Warlock: John Faed RSA. 1855., Public domain, source
- Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Marie Laveau: E. W. Kemble, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Lucifer: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, Public domain, source
- Wilgefortis: Hieronymus Bosch, Public domain, source
- Solomon: Simeon Solomon, CC0, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source