All entries
2,667 entries so far, best known first. 2,235 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
🇪🇹 EthiopiaPlanetary hours
A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHermetic Order of the Golden DawnOrdo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae
A late-19th-century British magical order that shaped modern Western occultismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptTheurgyθεουργία
A Neoplatonic ritual path to unite the soul with the divine through sacred actsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism
The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology
A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire
A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge
A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEnochian chess
A four-player chess variant used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for divination and playTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreAlpha et Omega
An occult order formed from the Golden Dawn schism, active in London and Paris before World War IITradition · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreOsirian Egyptian OrderOrdine Osirideo Egizio
An Italian esoteric society tracing its roots to 18th-century Naples and ancient Hermetic traditions.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSpiritualist art
Art produced during séances by mediums who claim spirits guide their hands or create images directly.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism
The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyUR Group
An Italian esoteric circle studying magic and traditional philosophy in the late 1920s.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesOpen Source Order of the Golden Dawn
A modern magical order using open-source principles to adapt ceremonial ritualsTradition · Change and initiation Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHermetic Order of the Golden DawnOrdo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae
A late-19th-century British magical order that shaped modern Western occultismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptTheurgyθεουργία
A Neoplatonic ritual path to unite the soul with the divine through sacred actsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism
The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology
A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire
A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge
A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEnochian chess
A four-player chess variant used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for divination and playTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreAlpha et Omega
An occult order formed from the Golden Dawn schism, active in London and Paris before World War IITradition · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreOsirian Egyptian OrderOrdine Osirideo Egizio
An Italian esoteric society tracing its roots to 18th-century Naples and ancient Hermetic traditions.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSpiritualist art
Art produced during séances by mediums who claim spirits guide their hands or create images directly.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism
The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyUR Group
An Italian esoteric circle studying magic and traditional philosophy in the late 1920s.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesOpen Source Order of the Golden Dawn
A modern magical order using open-source principles to adapt ceremonial ritualsTradition · Change and initiation Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
- Spiritualist art: Bodasia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
- UR Group: Gruppo di Ur, Public domain, source
- Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Order of the Solar Temple: George Stock derivative work: thumperward ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source