All entries

2,636 entries so far, best known first. 2,296 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

🇸🇷 SurinameWinti An Afro-Surinamese tradition of spirit veneration and ancestral worshipTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreQuyllurit'iQoyllur Rit'i A syncretic Andean pilgrimage celebrating the Pleiades and the Lord of Star SnowTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance · Cleansing and purification · Healing 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

🇲🇽 MexicoNagualnāhualli A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing 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

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇭🇹 HaitiBois Caïman The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇪 PeruChakapa A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇵🇪 PeruYachay Peruvian Amazon phlegm said to hold a shaman's power as darts that harm or healSubstance · Cursing and harm · Healing Living 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical

🇲🇽 Mexico and 4 moreMirrors in Mesoamerican culture Reflective stones used for divination and elite status across ancient Mexico and Central AmericaCharm · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreKromanti dance A sacred Jamaican Maroon ceremony rooted in Asante traditions and ancestral possessionRite · Healing · Protection Living 🇨🇱 ChilePillan Respected male spirits in Mapuche mythology who govern natural forces and the afterlife.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇲🇽 MexicoVelada A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Yachay: Veton PICQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Xtabay: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Quyllurit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Palo Santo: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
Mirrors in Mesoamerican culture: Vassil, CC0, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chakapa: Mario Martín /Archivo Centro Takiwasi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

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