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
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreDiyu地獄
The underworld realm of trial, atonement, and rebirth in Chinese mythologyBelief · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇪 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇷 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 States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba
A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa
A Gaelic harvest festival marking the beginning of the grain gathering seasonTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreEaster FireOsterfeuer
Bonfires lit at Easter to mark the Resurrection and spring renewalRite · Cleansing and purification · Power and authority Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime
A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝
The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense
Aromatic plant material that releases scent when heated or burnedSubstance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense
An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙
Paper burned as money and goods for ancestors, gods and the deadCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreKau chim求籤
A divination practice using numbered bamboo sticks to seek answers from deitiesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教
Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào)
Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神
A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites
A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSnow Lionགངས་སེང་གེ་
A celestial mountain guardian of Tibet embodying fearlessness, bliss, and the DharmaBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria
A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇻🇳 VietnamBà Chúa Xứ婆主處
A Mekong Delta goddess of prosperity, asked for trade, health and fertilityBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 ItalyWitchcraft in Italy
Inquisition trials, a fertility cult and love magic in early modern ItalyTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFangxiangshi方相氏
An official Chinese exorcist who cleared demons from houses and tombsRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKaruppannaswamyகருப்பண்ணசாமி, കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി
A fierce guardian deity worshipped as a village protector and ancestral enforcer of justice.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomGorsedd stonesCerrig yr Orsedd
Stone circles built for the National Eisteddfod of Wales to host druidic ceremonies.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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.
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fangxiangshi: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Snow Lion: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bà Chúa Xứ: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter Fire: Jürgen Eissink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gorsedd stones: Robin Drayton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
- Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Karuppannaswamy: GShas, CC0, source
- Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
- Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kau chim: No machine-readable author provided. 9old9 assumed (based on copyright, Public domain, source
- Diyu: ScribblingGeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source