All entries
2,660 entries so far, best known first. 2,250 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
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye
A curse caused by an envious look and the charms used to block itBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreTetragrammatonיהוה
The four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written as YHWH.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל
A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל
A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān)
A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelJewish astrologyמַזָּלוֹת (mazzālôt)
A belief system within Judaism that celestial bodies influence earthly affairs and human destiny.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreAngelמלאך
A supernatural messenger or intermediary spirit found in many religious traditions.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreRahabרַהַב
A Hebrew mythic sea monster and symbol of chaos, later used as a poetic name for Egypt.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMicah's Idol
A carved image and silver idol from the Book of Judges, stolen by the Tribe of Dan.Belief · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution
Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreJewish views on astrologyחָכְמַת הַמַּזָּלוֹת
A long-standing debate within Jewish thought about the influence of stars and planetsBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelSeder hishtalshelusסדר השתלשלות
A Kabbalistic cosmology mapping the descent of divine light through spiritual realms to the physical world.Belief · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreUnclean spiritπνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (pneuma akatharton)
A spirit of impurity in biblical belief, driven out by breath, smoke and wordsBeing · Cleansing and purification · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇱 IsraelMatzevahמַצֵּבָה
A standing stone used as a sacred marker or grave monument in ancient and Jewish traditionCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי
A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreReligious restrictions on the consumption of pork
A dietary rule found in several faiths that bars people from eating pig meat.Belief · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreNehushtanנְחֻשְׁתָּן
A bronze serpent on a pole from the Hebrew Bible, once worshipped for healing before its destruction.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBiblical numerology
A system of interpreting numbers in sacred texts as carrying symbolic meaning beyond their mathematical valueBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelShekhinahשְׁכִינָה
The divine presence of God dwelling among people in Jewish and Islamic thoughtBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
- Tetragrammaton: Lakisletter.gif : derivative work: Filii Henoch ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lotan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
- Unclean spirit: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Micah's Idol: Avner, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
- Seder hishtalshelus: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Angel: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
- Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nehushtan: Michelangelo, Public domain, source
- Matzevah: Gilslovik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source