All entries
2,645 entries so far, best known first. 2,283 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 Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft
Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyWitchcraft in Italy
Inquisition trials, a fertility cult and love magic in early modern ItalyTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇹 ItalyDoñas de fuera
Sicilian fairies said to carry chosen women by night to a field at BeneventoBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Warlock: John Faed RSA. 1855., Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Magic in Anglo-Saxon England: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source