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Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween Night MuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25 DivinationThe Secret Romani History of Tarot Living traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's Storytelling DivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magic FestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1 Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the grave HistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzle CharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin Story Witch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween Night MuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25 DivinationThe Secret Romani History of Tarot Living traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's Storytelling DivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magic FestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1 Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the grave HistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzle CharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin Story Witch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season

EveryJaadu

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.

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

🇪🇹 EthiopiaPlanetary hours A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459 An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHermetica A collection of ancient texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, covering magic, alchemy and philosophy.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Change and initiation Historical

🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreIsisꜣst (Egyptian) Egyptian goddess of magic, mourning and kingship, mother of HorusBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority 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

🇫🇷 FranceÉliphas Lévi A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Figure · Power and authority · 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

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 morePicatrixغاية الحكيم A medieval Arabic handbook of talismanic magic and astrologyText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text · Power and authority 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

🇺🇸 United StatesThe Kybalion A 1908 book presenting seven principles of mental philosophy as ancient Hermetic wisdomText · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇪🇬 EgyptBarbarous name A magical word whose meaning is unknown or ignored, valued for its sound alone.Text · 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

🇯🇵 JapanAllocer A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaA Treatise on White Magic An esoteric textbook by Alice Bailey outlining fifteen rules for spiritual service and initiation.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie A foundational treatise on ritual magic by Éliphas Lévi, structured around the tarot.Text · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaWater (classical element) A classical substance linked to emotion and intuition in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditions.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandArbatel de magia veterum A 1575 Swiss grimoire focused on celestial spirits and Christian ethicsText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaEtheric body A subtle energy layer said to sustain the physical form and connect it to higher states.Being · 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

🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · 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

🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaQutbقطب A Sufi spiritual leader who acts as the unseen axis of a cosmic hierarchy.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element) A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaOccult Chemistry A Theosophical book claiming to reveal atomic structure through clairvoyanceText · Power and authority 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 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyDe Umbris Idearum A 1582 treatise by Giordano Bruno on memory, magic and philosophyText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Book of Thoth A guide to a tarot deck designed by an occultist and his collaboratorText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Daeva: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Barbarous name: Aktiophis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Isis: Ägyptischer Maler um 1360 v. Chr., Public domain, source
Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source
The Kybalion: American Libraries, Public domain, source
Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
Occult Chemistry: The Theosophical Society (Adyar, Madras, India), Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.