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
🇪🇬 EgyptTheurgyθεουργία
A Neoplatonic ritual path to unite the soul with the divine through sacred actsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir
Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreĒostre
An Anglo-Saxon goddess linked to spring and the dawn, whose name became Easter.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore
The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 morePersian mythologyاسطورهشناسی ایرانی
Ancient Iranian myths of cosmic struggle between light and darknessBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenKvinneby amulet
An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion)
A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso and 5 moreCosmic egg
A mythological motif where the universe or a creator emerges from a primordial egg.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity
A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen
A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreDioneΔιώνη
An ancient Greek oracular goddess and Titaness, mother of Aphrodite.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements
Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceNymphνύμφη
A nature spirit from Greek myth, tied to specific places like springs or trees, often seen as a maiden.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCaduceus
A herald's staff entwined with two serpents and wings, linked to commerce and peace.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo
The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLou DrapéLo drapet
A legendary white horse from southern France that abducts wandering children.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenNumbers in Germanic paganism
The sacred role of three and nine in ancient Germanic ritual and mythBelief · Power and authority 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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element)
A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptHermanubisἙρμανοῦβις
A Graeco-Egyptian god who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 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
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir
Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreĒostre
An Anglo-Saxon goddess linked to spring and the dawn, whose name became Easter.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore
The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 morePersian mythologyاسطورهشناسی ایرانی
Ancient Iranian myths of cosmic struggle between light and darknessBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenKvinneby amulet
An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion)
A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso and 5 moreCosmic egg
A mythological motif where the universe or a creator emerges from a primordial egg.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity
A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen
A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreDioneΔιώνη
An ancient Greek oracular goddess and Titaness, mother of Aphrodite.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements
Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceNymphνύμφη
A nature spirit from Greek myth, tied to specific places like springs or trees, often seen as a maiden.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCaduceus
A herald's staff entwined with two serpents and wings, linked to commerce and peace.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo
The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLou DrapéLo drapet
A legendary white horse from southern France that abducts wandering children.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenNumbers in Germanic paganism
The sacred role of three and nine in ancient Germanic ritual and mythBelief · Power and authority 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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element)
A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptHermanubisἙρμανοῦβις
A Graeco-Egyptian god who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 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
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
- Nymph: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
- She-wolf (Roman mythology): Unknown author, CC0, source
- Ēostre: Johannes Gehrts (1855–1921), Public domain, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Numbers in Germanic paganism: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cosmic egg: James Basire, 1730–1802 (engraver), Public domain, source
- Dione: Phidias, CC BY 2.5, source
- Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Caduceus: Providence Painter, Public domain, source
- Lou Drapé: Morburre, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hermanubis: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Persian mythology: Raphael, Public domain, source