All entries
2,682 entries so far, best known first. 2,206 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
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreScapulimancy
Divination using animal shoulder blades, practiced across Asia and the Americas.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreCleromancy
A divination method that uses random chance to reveal divine willOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇲🇬 Madagascar and 4 moreGeomancy
A cross-cultural system of divination using earth, sand, and landforms to read the future or align spaces.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi
Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
A Kongo spirit, and the object a spirit is held to live inBeing · Protection · Healing 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
🇨🇺 Cuba and 4 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba spirits with Catholic saintsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreIfá
A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNechung Oracleགནས་ཆུང་ཏ་བླ་མ
The official prophetic medium and spiritual advisor to Tibet's Dalai LamaOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga
A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreCowrie
A sea snail shell used as currency, divination tool, and charm across many culturesSubstance · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun
A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇫 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa
Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOpon IfáỌpọ́n Ifá
A carved wooden tray used by Yoruba diviners to read signs and consult spirits.Charm · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaOrunmilaỌ̀rúnmìlà
Yoruba deity of wisdom and the creator of the Ifá divination systemBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦
A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination
Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇨🇲 Cameroon and 2 moreNggam
A divination practice in western Cameroon using spiders and crabs to answer questionsOracle · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇹🇬 Togo and 1 moreTchitcherik
A wooden statue representing the ancestors of the Moba people in Togo and Ghana.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele
A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaAfa
A divining art of the Igbo, cast by a dibia to name the cause of troubleOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇧🇯 BeninXeviosoXɛviosò
A Fon and Ewe thunder god held to judge wrongdoers with lightningBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Cleromancy: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
- Nggam: Amcaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xtabay: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Espiritismo: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tzolkʼin: Lacambalam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cowrie: NOAA (Photo Collection of Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program), Public domain, source
- Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Orunmila: unknown Yoruba artist, CC0, source
- Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Nechung Oracle: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Scapulimancy: Albert Peter Low, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Opon Ifá: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source