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.
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
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 5 moreChinese fortune telling绠楀懡 (Su脿nm矛ng)
Reading faces, palms, birth hours and places to map a person's luck through lifeTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 2 moreOnomancy
Divination based on the letters, numbers, or written strokes of a person's nameOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanOmikuji銇娿伩銇忋仒
Paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples to reveal luck and life adviceOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceCartomancy
Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 3 moreTasseography
A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanD艒butsu uranai鍕曠墿鍗犮亜
A Japanese divination system that sorts people into animal types based on birthdate and personality axes.Oracle 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalySmorfia
A Neapolitan dream book that turns visions into lottery numbersOracle 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚚馃嚦 ChinaFlying Star Feng Shui
A Chinese feng shui school that charts a building's nine squares for good and bad qiTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Omikuji: C121749n, Public domain, source
- Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
- Chinese fortune telling: Lai Afong, Public domain, source
- Onomancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Flying Star Feng Shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source