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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.

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

🇵🇸 PalestineHekhalot literatureספרות ההיכלות והמרכבה Jewish visionary texts describing ascents to heavenly palaces and chariotsText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation 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

🇮🇱 IsraelUrim and Thummimהָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים Sacred lots used by the ancient Israelite High Priest to reveal divine judgment.Charm · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇾 SyriaMetoposcopy A divination method that reads personality and fate from forehead linesOracle · Seeing and foretelling 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 🇮🇱 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 2 moreSibylline Oracles A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇱 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 1 moreShimon bar Yochaiשמעון בר יוחאי A second-century sage of the Land of Israel and a central figure in Kabbalistic tradition.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambresיניס וימבריס Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreBirkat haMinimברכת המינים A Jewish liturgical curse against apostates and Christians within the daily standing prayerRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths 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 🇮🇱 IsraelAgrat bat Mahlatאגרת בת מחלת A demon in Jewish tradition who rules over destructive spirits and night hours.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelMelchom A demon of hell and former Ammonite idol described in the Dictionnaire InfernalBeing · Power and authority Historical 🇾🇪 Yemen and 1 moreDor Daimדור דעה A Yemenite Jewish movement promoting rational theology and opposing Kabbalistic mysticismTradition Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 morePardesפרד״ס A four-level method for interpreting Jewish scriptureText · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreRighteous Priest A messianic priestly figure in Jewish eschatology, identified with Shem and Melchizedek.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSolomonשְׁלֹמֹה A biblical king of Israel known for wisdom and temple building, later viewed as a magician.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇱 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 🇮🇱 IsraelEisheth Zenunimאֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelEphodאֵפוֹד A priestly apron of ancient Israel, worn for ritual and used to seek answersCharm · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreStaff of Mosesmaṭṭeh A walking stick with miraculous powers in Jewish and Islamic traditionCharm · Power and authority · Healing Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSe'irimשעירים Demons of Hebrew tradition linked to wild goats and ruined placesBeing · Cursing and harm 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 🇮🇱 IsraelQlippothקְלִיפּוֹת Impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, opposites of the holy sefirotBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMahalathמָחֲלַת A queen of demons in Jewish mysticism and the mother of AgratBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter waterמֵי הַמָּרִים (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇱 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Staff of Moses: John Everett Millais, Public domain, source
Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
Metoposcopy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Shimon bar Yochai: איתי פרץ, Attribution, source
Lotan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Hekhalot literature: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Ordeal of the bitter water: Charadron, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, Public domain, source
Micah's Idol: Avner, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
Urim and Thummim: Rijksmuseum, CC0, source
Melchom: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
Pardes: Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingstone), Public domain, source
Solomon: Simeon Solomon, CC0, source
Nehushtan: Michelangelo, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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