All entries

2,680 entries so far, best known first. 2,210 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesBabaylan Spiritual leaders of pre-colonial Philippines who mediated with the unseen world.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇷 FranceChamalières tabletPlomb de Chamalières A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇫🇮 FinlandVäki A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian) A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical 🇲🇽 MexicoTeotlaqualli A hallucinogenic paste used by Aztec priests and healers in the pre-Columbian era.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptScatomancy A divination method that reads fortunes by examining bodily excrement or animal waste.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇹🇼 Taiwan and 3 moreHanitu A spirit concept from the Bunun people of Taiwan, found in all living and non-living things.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇨🇦 CanadaPinga An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTagalog religion The pre-colonial spiritual system of the Tagalog people in the Philippines.Tradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomNine sorceressesnaw chwaer A group of nine magical women in Welsh and Arthurian legendFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptWadj amulet A papyrus-shaped charm for eternal youth in the afterlifeCharm · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreShatiqatu𐎌𐎓𐎚𐎖𐎚 (šʿtqt) A Ugaritic healing figure created from clay to cure the king KirtaBeing · Healing Historical

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Candomblé Jeje: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Chamalières tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Xtabay: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Babaylan: Hptina24, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Shatiqatu: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest