All entries
2,677 entries so far, best known first. 2,215 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope
A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch ball
A glass sphere hung in windows to trap spirits and ward off evilCharm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu)
A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRabbit's foot
A charm carried for luck, often linked to graveyards and strict folk rulesCharm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman
An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone
A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir
Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla
A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreHercules' ClubHerkuleskeule
A club-shaped amulet worn in the Roman Empire and by Germanic peoples as a protective charm.Charm · Protection Historical
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam
Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLock charms家锁 / 锁片 (jiā suǒ / suǒ piàn)
A Chinese metal pendant shaped like a lock to protect children from harm and death.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean numismatic charm열쇠패
Coin-shaped objects used as protective and decorative charms in Korean cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese burial money瘞錢 (yì qián)
Imitations of currency placed in Chinese graves to serve the deceased in the afterlife.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreVault protector coin鎮庫錢 (zhèn kù qián)
Large Chinese numismatic charms cast to guard mint treasuries and attract wealth.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreConfucian coin charms
Amulets bearing Confucian moral teachings and historical storiesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫婦和合花錢
Coin-shaped amulets from East Asia that celebrate marriage, fertility, and conjugal harmonyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomFumsup
A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreDerafsh Kavianiدرفش کاویانی
A legendary royal standard of pre-Islamic Iran, later adopted as a symbol of national identity.Charm · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇶 IraqBurney Relief
A Mesopotamian terracotta plaque depicting a winged goddess with owl companions and lion mounts.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇸🇾 SyriaArslan Tash amulets
Assyrian limestone charms found in Syria that ward off demons through inscribed prayersCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreHorse skulls
Concealed horse skulls found in buildings across Europe and North AmericaCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanHōko這子
A Japanese soft doll used as a protective talisman for mothers and childrenCharm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk heirloom of Clan MacLeod, said to hold fairy magic and ancient power.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenSigtuna rib
A runic bone amulet from medieval Sweden bearing a spell against diseaseCharm · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDried cat
A dried feline body hidden in walls to protect a home from harmCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇧🇷 BrazilCarranca
A carved figurehead for river boats, believed to ward off evil spiritsCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyLunula
A crescent-shaped amulet worn by girls in ancient Rome for protection.Charm · Protection Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayBergen rune charm
A four-sided wooden stick with runic verses for love and protection from medieval Norway.Charm · Love and attraction · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bergen rune charm: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Arslan Tash amulets: National Museum of Aleppo, Public domain, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chinese burial money: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Gilgamesh: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Lock charms: Scott Semans World Coins (CoinCoin.com)., CC BY 3.0, source
- Confucian coin charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rabbit's foot: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Horse skulls: Dr. Karl Rothe, Ferdinand Frank, Josef Steigl, Public domain, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
- Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kilili: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Derafsh Kaviani: CNG Coins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Hercules' Club: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caul: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Korean numismatic charm: Unknown author(s)., Public domain, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Heliotrope: Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch ball: John W. Schulze, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vault protector coin: 风之清扬, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sigtuna rib: Swedish National Heritage Board, CC BY 4.0, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dried cat: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, source
- Carranca: Glauco Umbelino, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lunula: Anonymous ( Category:Roman Empire ) Unknown author, Public domain, source