All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking
Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMedicine wheel
Circular stone formations built by Indigenous peoples of North America for ceremony and astronomy.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇦 CanadaNanabozhoᓇᓇᐳᔓ
A shapeshifting spirit and trickster in Anishinaabe storytelling from North AmericaBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHoodoo
A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.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
🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo medicine
Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreAinu religion
The animist spiritual beliefs and ritual practices of the Ainu people of Japan and RussiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇲🇽 MexicoAztec religion
The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreCalifornian white sage
A California shrub used by Indigenous peoples for food, healing, and ritual cleansingSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost DanceNanissaanah
A circular movement seeking spiritual renewal and reunion with ancestorsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreRainmaking rites
Ceremonies performed to call rain through prayer, dance, or symbolic actsRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnish mythology
The pre-Christian folklore and cosmology of the Finns and KareliansTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Revived
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem
A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo
An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreHiisi
A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesPele's Curse
A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ)
A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇦 CanadaPinga
An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ
An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreVäinämöinen
An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker
An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman
A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesChepi
A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇲🇽 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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreThe Teachings of Don Juan
A 1968 book presenting an apprenticeship with a Mexican sorcerer as anthropological fieldwork.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives
Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇺🇸 United StatesMedicine man
A traditional healer and spiritual leader within Indigenous communities of the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇱 GreenlandAnguta
A Greenlandic Inuit figure who guides the dead and fathered the sea goddess SednaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of the Boulder Valley
A legend attributed to Chief Niwot about the valley's beauty and its futureBelief · 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.
- Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Quviasukvik: Jodie Wilson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
- Hopi mythology: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Estonian mythology: Jeannette Berkowitz (illustrator), Public domain, source
- Finnish mythology: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Totem: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Väinämöinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- Medicine wheel: U.S. Forest Service Photo, Public domain, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ojibwe religion: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ainu religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source
- Californian white sage: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghost Dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Medicine man: Smallbones, Public domain, source