All entries
2,682 entries so far, best known first. 2,206 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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy
A European spirit with magical powers and human form found in folklore and artBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreLeshyлеший
A forest spirit from Slavic folklore who guards the woods and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreValkyrievalkyrja
Female figures in Norse myth who select fallen warriors and guide them to Odin's hallBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCupidCupīdō
A Roman deity of desire and erotic love, often depicted with a bow and arrow.Being · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCeryneian HindΚερυνῖτις ἔλαφος
A swift deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves from Greek mythBeing Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceEmpusaἜμπουσα
A shape-shifting phantom of Greek myth with a single brass leg, sent by Hecate to seduce and devour young men.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandSalmon of KnowledgeAn Bradán Feasa
A mythical fish in Irish folklore that holds all the world's wisdom.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCancer (mythology)Καρκίνος
A giant crab from Greek myth that became a zodiac constellationBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreSupernatural beings in Slavic religion
Mythic entities of nature, death, and fate in Slavic folklore and belief.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇳🇴 NorwayEinherjar
Óðinn's host of warriors killed in battle, feasting in Valhalla until RagnarökBeing Legendary
🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 1 moreRübezahl
A mountain spirit of the Giant Mountains, kindly to some and vengeful to othersBeing · Protection · Healing Legendary
🇮🇶 IraqWinged genie
Winged guardians of Assyrian palace walls, read as the apkallu sagesBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreScyllaΣκύλλα
A sea monster from Greek tales who guards a perilous passage and devours sailors.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceArgoἈργώ
The mythic ship of Jason and the Argonauts, built with divine aid for a quest across the sea.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇷 GreecePolemosΠόλεμος
A Greek spirit of war and the personification of conflictBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyCacus
A fire-breathing giant of Roman myth who stole cattle and was slain by HerculesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreSleipnir
Odin's eight-legged horse in Norse myth, born of Loki and a stallionBeing Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector
A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreElf
A supernatural person of Germanic lore, linked to illness, beauty and magicBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreecePrometheusΠρομηθεύς
A Titan who took fire for humans and paid for itFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCentaurideΚενταυρίδε (Kentauride)
A female centaur from Greek mythology, depicted in art and literature as a hybrid of woman and horse.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceTalosΤάλως
A bronze automaton that guarded Crete from invaders and piratesBeing · Protection Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceAloadaeἈλωάδαι (Aloadai)
Twin giants of Thessaly who challenged the gods and built mountains to reach Olympus.Being Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceHarpyἅρπυια (hárpyia)
Half-human, half-bird creatures from Greek and Roman myth, often seen as storm winds or snatchers of food.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇸🇾 SyriaAscusἌσκος
A Greek giant flayed by Hermes after chaining DionysusBeing Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceMormoΜορμώ
A Greek bogey whose name adults spoke to frighten childrenBeing Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cacus: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Valkyrie: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Elf: Martin Brandenburg, Public domain, source
- Prometheus: No machine-readable author provided. Atoma assumed (based on copyright, Public domain, source
- Centauride: John La Farge, Public domain, source
- Talos: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Salmon of Knowledge: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Aloadae: No machine-readable author provided. Antars~commonswiki assumed (based, Public domain, source
- Cupid: Bertel Thorvaldsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cancer (mythology): Diosphos Painter, Public domain, source
- Harpy: Unknown, near the Tyrrhenian Group?, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Einherjar: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Rübezahl: User:Antosh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ceryneian Hind: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Winged genie: James Spurrier, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Leshy: Γραφέας, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scylla: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Argo: Konstantinos Volanakis, Public domain, source
- Sleipnir: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source