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
🇺🇸 United StatesGoofer dust
A hoodoo powder used for hexes, protection and coercive love spells in the American South.Charm · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇱 Greenland and 1 moreTupilaqᑐᐱᓚᒃ
A carved monster from Inuit tradition, made to seek out and destroy an enemy.Being · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tupilaq: Louis Chemnitz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source