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

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RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
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OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living 🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreZduhaćздухаћ A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇱 Mali and 3 moreGris-gris A small pouch or charm from West Africa used for protection and luck.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇬🇳 Guinea and 2 moreTaboo on rulers Restrictions placed on kings and priests to manage fear and hostilityBelief · Protection Historical 🇲🇿 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition · Healing · Protection Living

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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.