News
Witch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25DivinationThe Secret Romani History of TarotLiving traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's StorytellingDivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magicFestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the graveHistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzleCharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin StoryWitch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween SeasonWitch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25DivinationThe Secret Romani History of TarotLiving traditionsMalou Beauvoir Introduces OUR VODOU Book 2, Celebrating Haiti's Heritage Through Children's StorytellingDivinationInside Seattle's witchy side: Tarot, crystals and a little local magicFestivalsMoreno family’s Day of the Dead celebration returns to the Village Green Nov. 1Stage magicThe Houdini Séance, once a Petaluma tradition, rises from the graveHistoryThe more archaeologists examine this temple find, the less it looks like ritual gear: inside the Thracian bronze puzzleCharmsA Man Took a Hidden Prayer to Jesus to His Grave—It Could Rewrite Christianity’s Origin StoryWitch-huntsFive Places Worth Visiting In Salem This Halloween Season

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.

🇰🇮 Kiribati and 4 moreMicronesian mythology The traditional belief systems and legends of the island peoples in the southwest Pacific.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming A worldview of ancestral creation and eternal law in Australian Aboriginal cultureTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea Mob attacks on people, mostly women, accused of sanguma sorcery in Papua New GuineaBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇹🇴 Tonga and 5 moreTabootapu A cultural prohibition that marks something as forbidden or sacredBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇫🇯 FijiFijian mythology The traditional beliefs and stories of the indigenous people of FijiTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 3 moreMana A spiritual force of power and authority in Oceanic culturesBelief · Power and authority Living 🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.