All entries

2,000 entries so far, best known first. 3,529 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

🇮🇳 IndiaAkshaya Tritiyaअक्षय तृतीया A Hindu and Jain spring festival marking a day of inexhaustible merit and new beginnings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshaयक्ष (Sanskrit), ยักษ์ (Thai) Nature spirits and guardian deities in South and Southeast Asian traditionsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshiniयक्षिणी Some guard, some haunt: female nature spirits of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain loreBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDiyaदीया A small oil lamp used in prayers and festivals across the Indian subcontinentTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 IndiaKautuka A red or yellow ritual thread worn for protection in South Asian traditionsCharm · Protection Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHomaहोम A fire ritual found across Asian religions where offerings are burned as a votive exchange with the divine.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindiबिंदी A dot worn on the forehead to mark spiritual focus and cultural identityCharm · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Yaksha: Gunkarta ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Yakshini: Brihaspati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Diya: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kautuka: Aditya.Asopa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Homa: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
Akshaya Tritiya: Fgndgndgnr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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