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
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה
A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇱🇻 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology
A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreSerbian folkloreСрпски фолклор
The folk traditions and epic poetry of the Serbs, blending pre-Christian customs with Orthodox faith.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos
An antlered Celtic deity associated with nature and fertilityBeing · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenTemple at Uppsala
A Norse religious centre described in medieval texts and debated by modern scholarsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle
A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies
The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice
The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir
The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandVäki
A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev
A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology
A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandUkonvasara
The hammer of the Finnish thunder god Ukko, a symbol of lightning and powerBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreImitation of sounds in shamanism
Shamanic vocal and musical mimicry of nature to invoke spirits or transform identityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος
An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇸 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula
Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreSwastika (Germanic Iron Age)
A four-armed symbol found on Germanic artefacts from the Migration to Viking periods.Belief · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı)
Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων
A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection
An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇪🇸 SpainLamialamiak
River and sea spirits of Basque folklore, known for their beauty and magical labour.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος
The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Serbian folklore: Uroš Predić, Public domain, source
- She-wolf (Roman mythology): Unknown author, CC0, source
- Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
- Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
- Swastika (Germanic Iron Age): No machine-readable author provided. Bloodofox~commonswiki assumed (ba, Public domain, source
- Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
- Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada López de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
- Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lamia: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
- Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source