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.
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
🇮🇶 Iraq and 4 moreAstrology
A system of divination that links human affairs to the positions of celestial bodiesTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇱 MaliDogon religion
The traditional spiritual beliefs of the Dogon people of MaliTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreHmong folk religionKev Dab Qhuas
The ethnic religion of the Miao and Hmong peoples, centered on spirit worship and shamanic healing.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreTzolkʼinAj Ilabal Qʼij
A 260-day cycle used by the Maya for divination and ritual timingTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreOjibwe religion
The traditional spiritual practices of the Ojibwe people of North AmericaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇽 MexicoNagualnāhualli
A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHopi mythology
The creation stories and spirit traditions of the Hopi people of the American SouthwestTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu
A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreMutiumuthi
Traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa using plants, animals and mineralsTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho
Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Xtabay: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Hopi mythology: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Muti: Nicholas Roux, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tzolkʼin: Lacambalam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Ojibwe religion: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hmong folk religion: Thomas Riccio, CC BY 4.0, source