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.

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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for harm, often backed by ritual or divine authorityBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga Suppression Act 1907 A New Zealand law banning traditional Māori healers and faith practitionersText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角 A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印 A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoAztec religion The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreInca religion The polytheistic beliefs and rites of the Inca Empire across the AndesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreEstonian mythologyeesti mütoloogia The pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Estonian peopleTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreShen ring An ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal protection, shaped like a rope looped around a stick.Charm · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnkh Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for life and the amulet that carries its meaningCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreDomovoyДомовой A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreFoundation deposit Ritual burial of objects under buildings to protect them from ruinRite · Protection Historical

🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

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

🇮🇶 IraqBabylonian astrology The first organized system of celestial divination in the ancient Near EastTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptScarab A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAnubis𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣 The jackal-headed god who guides souls and oversees mummification in ancient Egypt.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptBirth tusk Ivory rods inscribed with protective figures for childbirth and infant safety in ancient Egypt.Charm · Protection Historical 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm道教品壓生錢 Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

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

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇯🇵 JapanYosuzume夜雀 A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTagalog religion The pre-colonial spiritual system of the Tagalog people in the Philippines.Tradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreYellow shamanismШар бөө A Mongolian and Siberian shamanic tradition blended with Buddhist ritualsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Historical 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceEudaemonεὐδαίμων A benevolent Greek spirit offering guidance and protection to individuals.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaTunggal panaluan A carved magic staff of the Batak shamans in North SumatraCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇸🇩 SudanWitchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande A foundational anthropological study of Azande witchcraft, oracles, and magic in southern Sudan.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesGoofer dust A hoodoo powder used for hexes, protection and coercive love spells in the American South.Charm · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Candomblé Jeje: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gilgamesh: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Anubis: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Estonian mythology: Jeannette Berkowitz (illustrator), Public domain, source
Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Birth tusk: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
She-wolf (Roman mythology): Unknown author, CC0, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Foundation deposit: Unknown author, CC0, source
Eudaemon: WolfgangRieger, Public domain, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tunggal panaluan: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shen ring: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Inca religion: Chronicler Martín of Murúa (Cronista Martín de Murúa), Public domain, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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