All entries
2,645 entries so far, best known first. 2,282 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
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki
A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination
Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho
Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source