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
🇦🇷 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba
A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 5 moreLoogaroo
A shapeshifting vampire of Caribbean folklore, feared for its blood-drinking habits.Being · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇱 ChileBasilisco Chilote
A rooster-crested serpent said to hatch from an egg and feed on the people above itBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Camahueto: Rjcastillo, CC BY 4.0, source
- La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Boitatá: The ponta cabeça, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Loogaroo: A.F.Pannemaker, Public domain, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source