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
🇬🇧 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 1 moreKnocker
A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing · 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
🇮🇹 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion
Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCapnomancy
Divination by reading the shapes and movements of smoke from fires or incenseOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa
A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTsukumogami付喪神
Household objects that gain a spirit after reaching their hundredth year in Japanese folklore.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope
A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火
Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity 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
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 JapanHyakumonogatari Kaidankai百物語怪談会
An Edo period Japanese parlour game where ghost stories extinguish candles one by oneRite · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSpiritualism
A nineteenth-century religious movement focused on communicating with the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть
A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanAkisutozenekoあきすとぜねこ
A Shōwa-era Japanese game that turns lovers' names into a predicted relationship outcomeBelief · Love and attraction Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaChronomancy
A divination method to find lucky days and the best times for action.Oracle · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTrow
Nocturnal spirits of the Orkney and Shetland islands, known for mischief and musical abduction.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLou DrapéLo drapet
A legendary white horse from southern France that abducts wandering children.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitchcraft in early modern Walesdewiniaeth
A historical look at the rare witch trials and executions in Wales from the 1500s to the 1700sBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen
A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude
A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreThree on a match
A wartime taboo against three people lighting cigarettes from one flameBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert
An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomQueen of Elphame
The elfin queen of Faerie from Lowland Scotland and Northern England folkloreFigure · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCrithomancy
Divination by reading barley cakes and scattered cereal grains for omensOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreCromniomancy
Divination by onions to reveal health, love, weather and distant newsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHobgoblin
A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyLunula
A crescent-shaped amulet worn by girls in ancient Rome for protection.Charm · Protection Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection 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
- Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kitsunebi: Abasaa, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in early modern Wales: Joan Blaeu / Joan Blaeu, Public domain, source
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Capnomancy: Tigerzeng, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tsukumogami: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
- Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heliotrope: Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
- Lunula: Anonymous ( Category:Roman Empire ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Lou Drapé: Morburre, CC BY-SA 3.0, source