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
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWild Hunt
A spectral chase across Europe led by a mythic figure and ghostly riders.Belief · Cursing and harm 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceCoscinomancy
A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp
A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch ball
A glass sphere hung in windows to trap spirits and ward off evilCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal
An ancient judicial test where a dangerous physical trial determined guilt or innocenceRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic
A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreWitches' Sabbath
A legendary gathering of witches described in early modern trial records and folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomAgnes Sampson
A Scottish healer executed for witchcraft during the North Berwick trials.Figure Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBuilders' rites
Ceremonies performed during construction to ensure stability and mark progress.Rite · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomHob
A small household spirit of Northern England and the Anglo-Scottish border.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir
Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority 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 KingdomGhillie DhuGille Dubh
A solitary Scottish fairy known for protecting forests and guiding lost childrenBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer
A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChurch grim
A guardian spirit of Christian churchyards, often appearing as a black dog or lamb.Being · Protection 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck
A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAeromancy
Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento
A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone
A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi
A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreEusapia Palladino
An Italian medium whose séances were investigated by leading scientists and magicians in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreNeed-fireNotfeuer
A ritual fire lit by friction to protect livestock and people from disease and witchcraftRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification 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
🇷🇺 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology
The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreSaturnalia
An ancient Roman winter festival of role reversal and feasting in honor of SaturnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing 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
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Builders' rites: U.S. Government, Public domain, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Caul: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agnes Sampson: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hob: Jo Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Church grim: Inès Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
- Eusapia Palladino: Baldi., Public domain, source
- Witches' Sabbath: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witch ball: John W. Schulze, CC BY 2.0, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
- Wild Hunt: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, source