All entries
2,679 entries so far, best known first. 2,212 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
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreDiyu地獄
The underworld realm of trial, atonement, and rebirth in Chinese mythologyBelief · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreTantraतन्त्र
Esoteric Hindu and Buddhist paths of mantra, ritual and yoga from first-millennium IndiaTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense
Aromatic plant material that releases scent when heated or burnedSubstance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOfudaお札/御札 (ofuda)
Paper and wooden talismans from Japanese Shinto shrines and Buddhist templesCharm · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMisogi禊
A Shinto rite of full-body purification using cold waterRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇼 Taiwan and 1 moreOng Yah王爺 (Ông-iâ)
Royal Lord deities of Fujian and Taiwan who tour the land, driving out diseaseBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功
A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanŌnusa大幣
A wand with paper streamers waved in Shinto rites to carry off impuritiesCharm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFangxiangshi方相氏
An official Chinese exorcist who cleared demons from houses and tombsRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇯🇵 JapanGohei御幣
A wooden wand with two paper streamers, used by Shinto priests to purify and blessCharm · Cleansing and purification · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Misogi: Ds13 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ōnusa: 教派研究, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fangxiangshi: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Ong Yah: Suzuki1314 at Chinese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Tantra: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ofuda: 教派研究 (Sectarian research), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
- Diyu: ScribblingGeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source