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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝 The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇨🇳 ChinaChen Tuan陳摶 A Chinese Taoist sage known for internal arts and sleep cultivation methodsFigure · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaHe Xiangu何仙姑 A female immortal from Chinese Taoist legend known for divination and lotus magicFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKamo no Yasunori賀茂保憲 A Heian-era onmyōji and teacher of Abe no Seimei in Japanese esoteric artsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAbe no Seimei安倍晴明 A historical court official turned legendary Japanese onmyōji and folk heroFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Guolao张果老 A Taoist immortal known for his white donkey and fish drum, said to be a bat spirit.Figure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTamamo-no-Mae玉藻前 A nine-tailed fox spirit from Japanese legend who possessed emperors and concubines across Asia.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角 A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaNüwa女媧 A Chinese mother goddess who created humanity and repaired the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人 The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJiang Ziya姜子牙 A historical strategist and war god who helped establish the Zhou dynastyFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanUchide no kozuchi打ち出の小槌 A legendary Japanese magic hammer that taps out desired items from thin airFigure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaMago Halmi마고할미 A giant creator goddess in Korean mythology associated with hemp weaving and the separation of heaven and earth.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFangxiangshi方相氏 An official Chinese exorcist who cleared demons from houses and tombsRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living

🇯🇵 JapanMomiji Legend紅葉伝説 A Japanese tale of a demoness defeated by a warrior on Mount TogakushiFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanNarigama鳴釜 A Japanese yōkai and Shinto divination ritual based on the sound of a heated pot.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreThree-legged crow三足烏 A mythological bird representing the sun in East Asian traditionsFigure · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanKuzunoha葛の葉 A kitsune spirit and mother of the famous onmyōji Abe no Seimei in Japanese folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaInterconnected-arm gibbon通臂猿 A mythical primate with linked arms that can extend one limb by pulling in the other.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanBanchō Sarayashiki番町皿屋敷 A Japanese ghost story about a servant who dies unjustly and haunts her murderer by counting plates.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Three-legged crow: Jinsha Site Museum. Original author: ancient Shu people., Public domain, source
Jiang Ziya: Wang Qi, Public domain, source
Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Fangxiangshi: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Momiji Legend: Tengoro, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
He Xiangu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
Zhang Guolao: Hong Zicheng, Public domain, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Uchide no kozuchi: Yashima Gakutei, CC0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kuzunoha: Print artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) Print artist: Utagawa Hiroshige, Public domain, source
Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
Tamamo-no-Mae: ウィキ太郎 Wiki Taro, Public domain, source
Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
Nüwa: 山胖z, CC BY 3.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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