All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 morePunxsutawney Phil
A groundhog who serves as the central figure in an annual American weather prediction festival.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A flannel pouch holding charms for protection and luck in African American Hoodoo traditionCharm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers
A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFolk healer
An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreRainmaking rites
Ceremonies performed to call rain through prayer, dance, or symbolic actsRite 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFox sisters
Three sisters from New York who launched the Spiritualism movement with spirit rapping s茅ancesTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau d氓k
A North American custom using a burrowing rodent to forecast the end of winterTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A hollowed vegetable carved with a face and lit from within, worn as a Halloween symbolCharm 路 Protection 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBraucherei
A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Fading
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHex sign
Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols that range from folk art to talismansCharm 路 Protection 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th
A Western superstition marking a specific calendar date as unlucky.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesRing shout
A sacred circle dance of African American origin using rhythmic movement and call-and-response singingRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreMediumship
The practice of mediating communication between the living and spirits of the dead.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreRainmaking
Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreFortune-telling
A practice of predicting future events or personal details through various methods and tools.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreS茅ance
A gathering to communicate with spirits, ranging from religious services to stage performances.Rite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreNight hag
A supernatural being believed to sit on sleepers and cause paralysisBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 7 moreSatanic panic
A moral panic over unsubstantiated claims of Satanic cults abusing children in the late twentieth centuryBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreRabbit's foot
A charm carried for luck, often linked to graveyards and strict folk rulesCharm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚘 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem
A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund
A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreSpiritualism
A nineteenth-century religious movement focused on communicating with the dead.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBloody Mary
A mirror ritual to summon a spirit that reveals the future or brings harmBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCurse of Tippecanoe
An urban legend linking US presidential deaths to election years ending in zero.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBarnstar
A painted or carved star used to decorate barns in parts of the United States and Canada.Charm 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCurse of the Bambino
A sports superstition linking a long championship drought to a player saleBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreRougarou
A lycanthrope legend from French-speaking communities in North AmericaBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreJinx
A curse or attribute believed to attract bad luckBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFeri Tradition
An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th
A Western superstition marking a specific calendar date as unluckyBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLemon pig
A carved fruit figure made for amusement and later linked to New Year luckCharm 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Gray Man
A coastal ghost from South Carolina said to warn of hurricanesBeing 路 Protection Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesOinomancy
A divination method that reads the future in wine patterns and sedimentOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚘馃嚭 Australia and 2 moreTheatrical superstitions
Beliefs and rituals among actors to avoid bad luck and ward off spiritsBelief 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th
A Western superstition that a specific calendar alignment brings misfortuneBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBigfoot
A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy
A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreNew Thought
A spiritual philosophy linking mental states to physical health and prosperityTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites
A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesAshtar
A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church
A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBelled buzzard
A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreKy枚pelinvuori
A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesWoman in Black
A spectral figure from Appalachian folklore said to punish men for moral failingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Barnstar: Una Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bigfoot: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, Public domain, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Curse of the Bambino: National Photo Company, Public domain, source
- Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curse of Tippecanoe: Albert Gallatin Hoit, Public domain, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- S茅ance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Night hag: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
- Rabbit's foot: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Totem: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lemon pig: GenesisNZ, CC0, source
- Hex sign: Smallbones, CC0, source
- Ring shout: Attributed to John Rose, Public domain, source
- Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
- Punxsutawney Phil: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
- Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rougarou: XxxJohnDoExxxx, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Satanic panic: Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), Public domain, source
- Fortune-telling: Taras Shevchenko, Public domain, source
- The Gray Man: Phoebe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fox sisters: N. Currier (Firm), Public domain, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source
- New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source