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
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreTurquoise
An opaque blue-green gemstone prized for its color since ancient timesSubstance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreJinnجِنّ
Supernatural beings in Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian belief, capable of shapeshifting and living in society.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies
Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreMandaic lead rolls
Lead sheets inscribed with Mandaic incantations, rolled and worn as protective talismans by Mandaeans.Charm · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnra scarab
Ancient Egyptian-style seals bearing an undeciphered glyph sequence found across the Levant and Egypt.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreExecration texts
Ancient Egyptian magical texts inscribed on objects to be destroyed, targeting enemies of the state.Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Turquoise: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Gilgamesh: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
- Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anra scarab: Temerarius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Execration texts: Naunakhte, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wild rue: Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0, source