All entries

2,635 entries so far, best known first. 2,304 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm 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

🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient letter values.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambresיניס וימבריס Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreSibylline Oracles A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān) A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient numerologyBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSolomonשְׁלֹמֹה A biblical king of Israel known for wisdom and temple building, later viewed as a magician.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBiblical numerology A system of interpreting numbers in sacred texts as carrying symbolic meaning beyond their mathematical valueBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreNehushtanנְחֻשְׁתָּן A bronze serpent on a pole from the Hebrew Bible, once worshipped for healing before its destruction.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreLots of the ApostlesSortes Apostolorum A Christian divination text based on casting lots to seek guidance from the apostles.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSerpent seed A fringe belief that Cain was the offspring of Eve and the Serpent, creating two distinct human lineages.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Lotan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Serpent seed: David Roberts, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, Public domain, source
Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
Solomon: Simeon Solomon, CC0, source
Nehushtan: Michelangelo, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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