All entries
2,635 entries so far, best known first. 2,304 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 StatesRing shout
A sacred circle dance of African American origin using rhythmic movement and call-and-response singingRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United StatesFeri Tradition
An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for personal growth outside traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ring shout: Attributed to John Rose, Public domain, source
- Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source
- Fortune-telling: Taras Shevchenko, Public domain, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source