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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
PeopleRomans (remove)
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 3 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye
A curse caused by an envious look and the charms used to block itBelief 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 3 moreCleromancy
A divination method that uses random chance to reveal divine willOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore
Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity
A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being 路 Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cleromancy: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source