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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreLilithלִילִית A feminine figure from Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, often depicted as a night demon or spirit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBehemothבְּהֵמוֹת A primeval land-monster from the Book of Job and later Jewish legendBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇪🇬 EgyptWadjetwꜢḏyt The green cobra goddess who protected Lower Egypt and the pharaohs.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptHekaḥkꜣw The ancient Egyptian deification of magic, medicine, and primordial creative powerBeing · Healing · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreIsisꜣst (Egyptian) Egyptian goddess of magic, mourning and kingship, mother of HorusBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAmunjmn (Old/Middle Egyptian); Amoun (Coptic) The hidden creator god of ancient Egypt, later fused with the sun deity Ra.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAnubis𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣 The jackal-headed god who guides souls and oversees mummification in ancient Egypt.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptDemon A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusjꜥrt An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇹 EthiopiaCatoblepas A legendary beast from ancient texts with a heavy head and a lethal gaze or breath.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇬 EgyptAeonαἰών Emanations of the divine source in Gnostic cosmologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptSet animalsha A mysterious creature from ancient Egypt, linked to the god Set and chaos.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptCelestial Ferryman An ancient Egyptian god who guides souls and judges sins in the underworld.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreZuhriزوهري A human-djinn hybrid child in North African folklore, sought for treasure ritualsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Fading 🇪🇬 EgyptAkhekh A winged desert creature of Egyptian myth linked to chaos and royal powerBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇪🇬 EgyptHermanubisἙρμανοῦβις A Graeco-Egyptian god who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Behemoth: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Wadjet: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Isis: Ägyptischer Maler um 1360 v. Chr., Public domain, source
Amun: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Demon: Martin Schongauer, Public domain, source
Uraeus: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Catoblepas: Jan Jonston, Public domain, source
Anubis: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Akhty: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hermanubis: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aeon: Jacques Matter, Public domain, source
Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Lilith: Photographs by Ardon Bar Hama, author of original document is unknown., Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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