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
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore
The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well
A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreDruidry
A modern nature religion inspired by ancient Celtic priests and Romantic idealsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreDísdísir
Female spirits of fate and protection in Norse traditionBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreGreco-Roman mysteriesμυστήρια
Secret religious schools of the ancient Mediterranean for initiates onlyTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWheel of the Year
An annual cycle of eight seasonal festivals observed by modern pagans.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva
Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 12 moreSlavic Native FaithРодноверие
A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYulejól
A Germanic midwinter festival merged with Christmas and revived by modern pagansTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAlexandrian Wicca
A British Neopagan tradition founded in the 1960s by Alex and Maxine SandersTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGardnerian Wicca
An initiatory neopagan tradition tracing its lineage to Gerald Gardner and the New Forest covenTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived
🇬🇧 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
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMidsummerJāņi; Joninės; Jaanipäev; Enyovden; Litha; Juhannus
A summer solstice festival marked by bonfires, maypole dancing, and feasting across Europe.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter, observed on November 1st.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa
A Gaelic harvest festival marking the beginning of the grain gathering seasonTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft
Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNeopagan witchcraft
Modern pagan traditions that practice magic and draw on historical witch beliefs.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft
Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRinging Cedars' Anastasianismдвижение «Анастасия»
A Russian new religious movement based on books about a Siberian mystic and nature worshipTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓏥
An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇩🇪 GermanyThule SocietyThule-Gesellschaft
A German occult group that sponsored the early Nazi party and promoted racial mysticism.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles
A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreOdinic Rite
A UK-based Heathen group that restricts membership to people of European ancestry.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars
A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyGerman Faith MovementDeutsche Glaubensbewegung
A Nazi-era religious movement seeking to replace Christianity with Germanic paganism and state ideology.Tradition · 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.
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Magic in Anglo-Saxon England: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
- Kongo cosmogram: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Gardnerian Wicca: Midnightblueowl ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Druidry: TheJaySpearing, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Dís: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source
- Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Greco-Roman mysteries: Varrese Painter, Public domain, source
- Wheel of the Year: Sunblade1500, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source