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
🇮🇶 Iraq and 4 moreAstrology
A system of divination that links human affairs to the positions of celestial bodiesTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGorakhnathगोरक्षनाथ
A Hindu yogi and saint who founded the Nath monastic order in India.Figure · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम्
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreYantraयन्त्र
A geometric diagram from Indian traditions used for worship and meditationCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshaयक्ष (Sanskrit), ยักษ์ (Thai)
Nature spirits and guardian deities in South and Southeast Asian traditionsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNakshatraनक्षत्रम् (Nakṣatram)
A system of lunar mansions used in Hindu and Buddhist astrology to map the sky.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 2 moreBurmese zodiacဇာတာ ရာသီခွင်
A traditional Burmese system of astronomy and astrology with lunar mansions and weekday signs.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePlanets in astrology
Seven celestial bodies used to map human character and destinyBelief · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaTaraतारा (Sanskrit), তারা (Bengali)
A fierce Hindu goddess of protection and wisdom, central to the Mahavidya tradition.Being · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSiddhiसिद्धि
Magical powers and spiritual attainments in Indian religionsBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn)
A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 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 2 moreKalachakraདུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།
A Tibetan Buddhist tantric deity and system of yogic time cyclesTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKundaliniकुण्डलिनी
A dormant energy in Hinduism believed to rise through the spine for spiritual liberationBelief Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang)
Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAmritaअमृत (Sanskrit)
A Sanskrit concept of immortality and the nectar that grants it across Indian religionsBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaMuhurtamuhūrta
A Hindu unit of time used to select auspicious moments for rituals and daily practiceBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaHindu astrologyज्योतिष (Jyotiṣa)
A traditional Hindu system of astrology and timekeeping rooted in the VedasTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity 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 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
🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths
Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇲🇬 Madagascar and 4 moreGeomancy
A cross-cultural system of divination using earth, sand, and landforms to read the future or align spaces.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气
A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMatsyendranathMacchindranāth, Mīnanātha
A yogi and rain deity revered across Hindu and Buddhist traditions in South Asia.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 morePersonifications of death
Figures from many cultures that embody the end of life and guide soulsFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNeotantraनवतन्त्र (navatantra)
A Western movement blending Tantra with modern views on sacred sexualityTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 IndiaVedic astrologyJyotiṣa
A traditional Hindu system of astrology rooted in Vedic study and timekeepingTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity
A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaVahanaवाहन
The animal or mythical creature that carries a Hindu deityTradition · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù)
A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSamatonꯁꯃꯗꯣꯟ ꯑꯌꯥꯡꯕ (Shamadon Ayangba)
A winged divine horse from Meitei mythology and ancestor of the Manipuri ponyBeing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaCausal plane
A high spiritual realm in Theosophy and New Age cosmologyBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation
A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKroniகுறோணி
A primordial evil spirit in Ayyavazhi mythology, split into fragments across ages.Being · Cursing and harm Living
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 1 moreGanga Sagarਗੰਗਾ ਸਾਗਰ
A 17th-century copper urn linked to Guru Gobind Singh and the Rai family of RaikotCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaCausal bodyKarana-Sarira
A yogic and esoteric concept describing the highest innermost body that veils the true Self.Belief · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPranaप्राण
A Sanskrit concept of vital energy found in yoga and AyurvedaBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarYadayaယတြာ
Rituals in Myanmar to avert misfortune using astrology and numerologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gorakhnath: Anandanath, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Hindu astrology: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Left-Hand and Right-Hand Paths: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Matsyendranath: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Yantra: Photo by Daniel Conrad (Chromacon), artwork by Daniel Conrad under dir, Public domain, source
- Yaksha: Gunkarta ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nakshatra: Kishorekumar 62, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burmese zodiac: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Planets in astrology: Jan van Loon, Public domain, source
- Tutelary deity: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Tara: Chore Bagan Art Studio, Public domain, source
- Samaton: Isabelm-h, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Personifications of death: No machine-readable author provided. Kirtap assumed (based on copyrigh, CC BY 2.5, source
- Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Prana: Tamilmama, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yadaya: Thai Government, CC BY 2.0, source
- Varahi: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
- Vedic astrology: Freedomji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kalachakra: Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kundalini: Pierjasi at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
- Shamanism in Ayyavazhi: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amrita: http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven, CC BY 3.0, source