All entries

571 entries so far, best known first. 5,894 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · 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 🇮🇪 IrelandBodach A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptDjedi A fictional magician from the Westcar Papyrus who resurrects animals and foretells a king's lineage.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaHe Xiangu何仙姑 A female immortal from Chinese Taoist legend known for divination and lotus magicFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomMyrddin Wyllt A wild prophet of Welsh legend who inspired the wizard MerlinFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceCassandraΚασσάνδρα A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceTiresiasΤειρεσίας A blind Greek seer who lived as both man and woman and spoke to the dead.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary

🇻🇪 Venezuela and 1 moreEl Silbón A Venezuelan and Colombian legend of a cursed spirit who carries his father's bones.Figure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandThe MorríganMórrígan An Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty who appears as a crow or shape-shifter.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
White Lady: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
He Xiangu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
Myrddin Wyllt: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
El Silbón: María Auxiliadora Ramírez Prato, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest