All entries
2,635 entries so far, best known first. 2,304 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
🇪🇬 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for harm, often backed by ritual or divine authorityBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDendera zodiac
A carved Egyptian sky map now held in a Paris museumText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp
An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAnubis𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣
The jackal-headed god who guides souls and oversees mummification in ancient Egypt.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnkh
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for life and the amulet that carries its meaningCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt
A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreFoundation deposit
Ritual burial of objects under buildings to protect them from ruinRite · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreShen ring
An ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal protection, shaped like a rope looped around a stick.Charm · Protection Historical
🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion
Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa focused on celestial bodies and local spiritsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptOpening of the mouth ceremonywpt-r (Egyptian)
An ancient Egyptian rite to restore a deceased person's senses for the afterlifeRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptKhaemwesetḫꜥ m wꜣst
A prince and priest remembered for restoring ancient Egyptian monuments.Figure Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptUshabtiwšbtj
Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptDemon
A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing · Cursing and harm · 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
🇪🇬 EgyptPlummet amulet
An Ancient Egyptian charm shaped like a plumb bob to ensure balance in the afterlifeCharm Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptSet animalsha
A mysterious creature from ancient Egypt, linked to the god Set and chaos.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptHermanubisἙρμανοῦβις
A Graeco-Egyptian god who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty
A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptBenben
The primeval mound of Egyptian creation myth and the stone cap of a pyramidBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptWadj amulet
A papyrus-shaped charm for eternal youth in the afterlifeCharm · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇹🇳 TunisiaOmek Tannou
A Tunisian rainmaking ritual using a sculpted head or stick to call for water during droughts.Rite · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptScatomancy
A divination method that reads fortunes by examining bodily excrement or animal waste.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptSolar barque
The mythological vessels used by the sun god Ra to travel across the sky and through the underworld in ancient Egypt.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptUnlucky Mummy
A painted wooden coffin lid from ancient Egypt that became famous for myths of misfortune.Charm · 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.
- Dendera zodiac: Shonagon, CC0, source
- Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Demon: Martin Schongauer, Public domain, source
- Plummet amulet: The Art Institute of Chicago, CC0, source
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Unlucky Mummy: amanderson2, CC BY 2.0, source
- Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
- Anubis: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Benben: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Birth tusk: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Foundation deposit: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Akhty: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shen ring: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
- Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Khaemweset: No machine-readable author provided. Neithsabes assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Solar barque: Guillaume Blanchard , uploaded to Commons by User:Borislav, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Hermanubis: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source