All entries

2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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 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 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

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

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

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

🇮🇳 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 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 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 🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMagic A performance art using natural means to create the appearance of impossible featsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreOrigami (magic trick) A stage illusion where a person vanishes into and reappears from a folding paper boxIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed 🇨🇦 CanadaBalzac Billy A groundhog-costumed mascot that forecasts the weather on Groundhog Day in Alberta.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreZombie walk A public gathering where people dress as zombies to walk through city streets for entertainment or charityIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living 🇺🇸 United StatesKa-Bala A 1967 talking board game that claims to tell the future with a spinning marble and tarot cards.Illusion · Seeing and foretelling · 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.

Street magic: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
Society of American Magicians: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Penn & Teller: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CC BY 2.0, source
Zombie walk: tangi bertin, CC BY 2.0, source
Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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