All entries
1,713 entries so far, best known first. 4,164 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.
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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 KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne
A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic
A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 IndiaStreet magic
Public performance of illusions for passersby, from traditional busking to impromptu guerrilla tricksIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample)
A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Misdirection: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
- John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source