All entries

1,141 entries so far, best known first. 5,007 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

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreGreen Man A carved face made of leaves, used as a decorative motif in architecture and art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Revived

🇬🇧 United KingdomJack in the Green A foliate figure worn in English May Day processions to celebrate summerIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Revived

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake charming A street performance using a gourd flute to make snakes swayIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Fading

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreHobby horse A costumed character made from wood or cloth used in seasonal folk customs and processions.Illusion · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreInternational Brotherhood of Magicians A global organization for professional and amateur magicians founded in 1922.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChung Ling Soo程連蘇 An American stage magician who performed as a Chinese man and died during a bullet catch illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreBrocken spectreBrockengespenst A giant shadow cast by an observer onto clouds, often surrounded by a rainbow halo.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesPenn & Teller A long-running American magic duo known for comedy acts and skeptical advocacyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇳🇴 NorwaySteilneset Memorial A 2011 monument in Norway marking the 1621 Vardø witch trials and their victims.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇮🇳 IndiaIndian rope trick A legendary stage illusion involving a levitating rope and a disappearing boy assistantIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean-Eugène Robert-Houdin A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire eating A performance art of extinguishing flames in the mouthIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCard throwing The performance art of launching playing cards with speed and precision as stage magic.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreSword swallowing A dangerous stage skill where a performer guides a blade down the throat into the stomachIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePhantasmagoria A horror theatre using magic lanterns to project frightening images in the darkIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSawing a woman in half A stage illusion where an assistant appears to be cut into pieces inside a box or on a tableIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesSociety of American Magicians A global professional group for magicians that preserves the art and ethics of stage illusionIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomEgyptian Hall A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇧🇪 BelgiumServais Le Roy A Belgian magician who designed classic illusions and performed in a famous trio act.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChing Ling Foo金陵福 (Jīn Língfú) A Chinese stage magician who toured the United States and Europe in the late nineteenth centuryIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomIsaac Fawkes An English conjurer who moved magic from the fairground to fashionable London society.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreEusapia Palladino An Italian medium whose séances were investigated by leading scientists and magicians in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomDavid Devant English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMentalism A stage art that mimics psychic powers using psychology and sleight of handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 morePepper's ghost A stage illusion using angled glass to project hidden actors as visible ghostsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇮🇳 IndiaStreet magic Public performance of illusions for passersby, from traditional busking to impromptu guerrilla tricksIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreCups and balls A classic stage illusion where objects vanish and reappear under inverted coversIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBullet catch A stage illusion where a magician appears to catch a fired bullet in their mouth or handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇺🇸 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample) A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed

🇺🇸 United StatesBed of nails A wooden platform studded with nails used in magic acts and physics demonstrationsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed 🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreGuillotine (magic trick) A stage illusion where a blade passes through a neck or finger without harmIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇺🇸 United StatesDavid Copperfield's laser illusion A stage trick where a magician appears to be sliced by a beam of light and reassembled.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Brocken spectre: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Green Man: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Guillotine (magic trick): Reginald Scott, Public domain, source
Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Indian rope trick: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source
Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Misdirection: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
Fire eating: Arvind Jain, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Card throwing: Felbify, CC BY 3.0, source
Sword swallowing: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Phantasmagoria: Alphonse de Neuville or A. Jahandier, Public domain, source
Sawing a woman in half: Jasper Maskelyne, Public domain, source
Society of American Magicians: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Isaac Fawkes: William Hogarth, Public domain, source
Eusapia Palladino: Baldi., Public domain, source
Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
David Devant: Simon Edwards Esq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jack in the Green: SiGarb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Snake charming: Paris75000, Public domain, source
Hobby horse: Timkevan at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Penn & Teller: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CC BY 2.0, source
Steilneset Memorial: Stylegar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pepper's ghost: The original uploader was Wapcaplet at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mentalism: The U.S. Printing Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati & New York., Public domain, source
Bullet catch: Dave Fayram, CC BY 2.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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