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
🇮🇳 IndiaParashuramaपरशुराम (Paraśurāma)
The warrior sage of Hinduism who wields a divine axe to restore cosmic balance.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaKaliकाली
A fierce Hindu goddess of time and destruction, worshipped as a protective mother.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession
A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePishachaपिशाच (piśāca)
A flesh-eating demon from Indian religions, feared for possession and madness.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBhairavaभैरव
A fierce manifestation of Shiva and a Buddhist protector deity worshipped across South and East Asia.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBrahmarakshasaब्रह्मराक्षसः
A cursed Brahmin spirit in Hindu lore, feared for harm and venerated in temples.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNavagrahaनवग्रह
A group of nine celestial deities in Hinduism that govern fate and astrologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYoginiयोगिनी
A female master of yoga and tantra, or a fierce goddess aspect in Indian temples.Tradition · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshiniयक्षिणी
Some guard, some haunt: female nature spirits of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain loreBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreDakiniḍākinī
A goddess figure in Hinduism and Buddhism, ranging from flesh-eating demoness to enlightened energy.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAlakshmiदेवी अलक्ष्मी
A Hindu goddess of misfortune and the shadow opposite to LakshmiBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन
A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 6 moreChurel
A female revenant of South Asian folklore, feared for luring men awayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreHoliहोली
A Hindu spring festival marked by coloured powders and bonfires to celebrate love and virtue.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBhootभूत
A restless spirit of the dead in South Asian belief and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAsian witchcraft
A broad overview of magical practices and persecution across Asian culturesTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaIndrajalaइन्द्रजाल
A Sanskrit term for illusion and conjuring, linking stage magic to Hindu philosophy.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRavanaरावण (Rāvaṇa)
A ten-headed demon king of Lanka and a devoted follower of Shiva in Hindu tradition.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaMahishasuraमहिषासुर
A bovine asura slain by the goddess Durga in Hindu myth and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaKroniகுறோணி
A primordial evil spirit in Ayyavazhi mythology, split into fragments across ages.Being · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 IndiaHingchabiꯍꯤꯡꯆꯥꯕꯤ
A giantess figure from Meitei folklore who feeds on raw fleshBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaVyatipāta
An astrological moment in India marking a sun-moon alignment believed to signal calamity.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaJvarasuraज्वारासुर
A fever demon in Hindu lore who serves the pox goddess Shitala.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaKuttichathanകുട്ടിചാത്തൻ
A guardian spirit of Malabar folklore known for illusions and household pranksBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation
A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreKala paniकाला पानी
A Hindu taboo against crossing the sea that threatens caste status and spiritual purity.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBlack Orlov
A black diamond linked to a legend of theft and tragic deathsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇵 NepalChhechu
An eleven-day Tamang ceremony in Nepal featuring ritual plays and exorcismsRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jvarasura: Suraj Belbase, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kali: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Indrajala: Abishekrl15156, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhoot: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pishacha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bhairava: Saankav, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mahishasura: Prakashsubbarao at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Brahmarakshasa: Chaitnyags, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yakshini: Brihaspati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Dakini: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Churel: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vyatipāta: Krishnachandranvn, CC0, source
- Asian witchcraft: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Public domain, source
- Ravana: Gita Press Gorakhpur, CC0, source
- Kala pani: =This media: Fconaway ( talk ) ( Uploads ); Original work: ; Subject w, Public domain, source
- Shamanism in Ayyavazhi: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hingchabi: Bemni, N, CC0, source
- Parashurama: Unknown author, Public domain, source