All entries

2,158 entries so far, best known first. 3,227 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

🇯🇵 JapanOnmyōdō陰陽道 A Japanese system of divination and calendar science rooted in yin-yang philosophyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Revived 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 ChinaWaidan外丹 An early Chinese alchemical practice focused on compounding mineral elixirs for immortalityTradition Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaChen Tuan陳摶 A Chinese Taoist sage known for internal arts and sleep cultivation methodsFigure · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanTsukumogami付喪神 Household objects that gain a spirit after reaching their hundredth year in Japanese folklore.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角 A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreZi Wei Dou Shu紫微斗數 A Chinese natal astrology system mapping stars across twelve life palacesTradition · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇯🇵 JapanYōkai妖怪 A vast class of supernatural spirits and entities in Japanese folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaChinese alchemy煉丹術 A Taoist pursuit of longevity through elixirs and internal cultivationTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇯🇵 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

🇨🇳 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

🇨🇳 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 2 moreCoin-sword辟邪劍 (bì xié jiàn) A Chinese numismatic talisman made of cash coins strung on a rod to ward off evil spiritsCharm · Protection Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù) A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm 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

🇮🇷 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

🇯🇵 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Waidan: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Tsukumogami: Unknown author, Public domain, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Yōkai: Kyosai Kawanabe (河鍋暁斎), Public domain, source
Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Coin-sword: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Chinese alchemy: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
Jiang Ziya: Wang Qi, Public domain, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

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