All entries
2,651 entries so far, best known first. 2,265 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCorn dolly
A woven straw figure made from the last sheaf of a European harvest to house the crop spirit.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος
A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAmulet MS 5236
A stamped gold amulet from ancient Greece invoking ApolloCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceNebrisνεβρίς
A fawn skin worn by Dionysus and his followers in ancient GreeceCharm · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
- Apollo: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Brísingamen: Nils Blommér, Public domain, source
- Hercules' Club: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
- Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Omphalos: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amulet MS 5236: Martin Schøyen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nebris: Brygos Painter, Public domain, source
- Caduceus: Providence Painter, Public domain, source
- Omphalos of Delphi: Yucatan ( Юкатан ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source