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
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceKykeon魏蠀魏蔚蠋谓
An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 3 moreRowancaorann
A Northern Hemisphere tree believed to ward off witches and protect travellers.Substance 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWassail
A hot spiced drink and the twelfth-night customs of singing to trees or visiting homes for giftsTradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during s茅ances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Rowan: Taken by me, Jonik , on August 25, 2004., CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wassail: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source