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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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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
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🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home
A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ectoplasm: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
- Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
- Eusapia Palladino: Baldi., Public domain, source
- Fox sisters: N. Currier (Firm), Public domain, source