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
🇯🇵 JapanTorii鳥居
A traditional Japanese gate marking the boundary between the mundane and sacred spaces of Shinto shrines.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教
Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFeng Shan封禪
An imperial rite performed at Mount Tai to honor heaven and earth and confirm the mandate of rule.Rite · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ
Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇵 JapanKami神
Spirits and deities of Shinto, found in nature, ancestors, and placesBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese alchemy煉丹術
A Taoist pursuit of longevity through elixirs and internal cultivationTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 JapanKagura神楽
A Shinto ritual dance where performers embody deities to purify and welcome spiritsTradition · 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
🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き
A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙
Paper burned as money and goods for ancestors, gods and the deadCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君
The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 (Chuseok), 한가위 (Hangawi)
A Korean autumn harvest festival marked by ancestral rites and feasting on the full moon.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity 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
🇯🇵 JapanShinto shrine神社 (jinja)
A structure housing kami deities within the Shinto tradition of JapanTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring day for sweeping graves, feeding the dead and honouring ancestorsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女
A Shinto shrine priestess and traditional female medium in JapanTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道
A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇵 JapanItakoイタコ
Blind women in Japan who train to channel spirits and communicate with the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào)
Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiaobei筊杯 (jiǎobēi)
Wooden crescent blocks thrown in pairs to ask temple deities yes or no questionsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神
A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreNuo folk religion傩 (Nuó)
A Chinese exorcistic tradition using wooden masks and ancestor worship to drive away malevolent forcesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanKabura-ya鏑矢
A Japanese arrow with a whistling tip used in ritual archery and Shinto ritesSubstance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanSuzu鈴
A hollow Japanese bell with inner pellets, used in Shinto rites and shrines.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 ChinaSuperstition in China
A broad category for folk beliefs and rituals dismissed as backward by modern Chinese authoritiesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanGohei御幣
A wooden wand with two paper streamers, used by Shinto priests to purify and blessCharm · Cleansing and purification · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊
A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanMagatama勾玉
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanSeimei Shrine晴明神社
A Shinto shrine in Kyoto dedicated to the legendary onmyōji Abe no SeimeiTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanReikon霊魂
The Shinto soul: it joins the ancestors after funeral rites, or haunts as a yūreiBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm 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
- Superstition in China: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Jiaobei: Jnzl's Public Domain Photos, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Shinto shrine: No machine-readable author provided. Fg2 assumed (based on copyright c, Public domain, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Miko: Chris Gladis, Flickr user MShades, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Itako: User Geomr~commonswiki self upload, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feng Shan: Rolf Müller ( User:Rolfmueller ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nuo folk religion: Wikiwikiyarou, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kami: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese alchemy: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
- Kagura: Elstner Hilton, Public domain, source
- Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
- Ofuda: 教派研究 (Sectarian research), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
- Seimei Shrine: Naokijp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kabura-ya: urasimaru, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Jesa: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Torii: JordyMeow, CC BY-SA 3.0, source