All entries

957 entries so far, best known first. 5,249 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

🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreVoodoo doll A pin-stuffed figure linked to magic in popular culture, not Haitian VodouCharm · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreFig sign A hand gesture used to ward off the evil eye or as an insult in many culturesBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇱 IsraelUrim and Thummimהָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים Sacred lots used by the ancient Israelite High Priest to reveal divine judgment.Charm · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu) A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample) A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Fig sign: Harald the Bard, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Urim and Thummim: Rijksmuseum, CC0, source
Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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