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
🇬🇧 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
🇮🇪 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
🇷🇺 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
🇸🇪 SwedenÁlfablót
A late autumn homestead ritual to elves and ancestors in pagan ScandinaviaRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source