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.
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
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBaphomet
A name from medieval trials and a symbol of occult equilibriumFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇩🇪 GermanyVril Society
A fictional secret society from conspiracy theories about Nazi Germany and occult energy.Belief · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAgartha
A legendary underground kingdom said to rule the world from within the EarthFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat
A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cao Guojiu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
- Left-Hand and Right-Hand Paths: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Vril Society: John Martin, Public domain, source
- Japanese dragon: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Agartha: Louis Jacolliot, Public domain, source