All entries
256 entries so far, best known first. 6,345 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
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMatsyendranathMacchindranāth, Mīnanātha
A yogi and rain deity revered across Hindu and Buddhist traditions in South Asia.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth
A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreKey of SolomonClavicula Salomonis
A Renaissance grimoire attributed to King Solomon, detailing ritual preparations and invocations.Text · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEbers Papyrus
An ancient Egyptian medical scroll detailing herbal remedies and bodily theories from around 1550 BCE.Text · Healing Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDendera zodiac
A carved Egyptian sky map now held in a Paris museumText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम्
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley
English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede
A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreTantraतन्त्र
An esoteric yogic tradition from India focusing on ritual, mantra, and body-based spiritual practices.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomRune casting (sample)
Carved signs drawn from a bag.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Revived
🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample)
A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · 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.
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tantra: William Clark, Public domain, source
- Matsyendranath: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ebers Papyrus: PEbers_c41.jpg : Einsamer Schütze derivative work: Photohound ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dendera zodiac: Shonagon, CC0, source