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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

2,645 entries so far, best known first. 2,283 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceAeromancy Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreAugury A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇫🇷 FranceCartomancy Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTasseography A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomSt Mark's Eve An English folk custom to witness omens of death and future marriage on the eve of a saint's feast dayRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandFetch A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition · Seeing and foretelling · 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

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceCoscinomancy A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living 🇮🇪 IrelandBodach A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived 🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaCarromancy A divination method that reads the future from molten wax or candle flamesOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 12 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreLes LavandièresKannerez-Noz Supernatural washerwomen who wash shrouds or bloodstained clothes for those about to die.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCola Pesce An Italian merman legend about a boy cursed by his mother to live in the seaFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaVolkhovnikВолховник A lost Old Russian divination book of omens and signsText · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaAlkonostАлконост A woman-faced bird of Russian folklore whose song makes listeners forget everythingBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceNymphνύμφη A nature spirit from Greek myth, tied to specific places like springs or trees, often seen as a maiden.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAstrological symbols Glyphs used to map celestial bodies and their positions in horoscopesBelief · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇷🇺 RussiaBook of prophecieschrismologion A literary genre collecting prophecies and divination methodsText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇩🇪 GermanySuhl card reader case A 1956 East German trial of a psychic for favorable forecasts about leaving the countryBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Augur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Carromancy: Peter Becker, CC BY 2.0, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Alkonost: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Nymph: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Les Lavandières: Jean-Édouard Dargent, Public domain, source
Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Astrological symbols: Peter Presslein, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, 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.