All entries
322 entries so far, best known first. 6,217 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
🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreEmanuel Swedenborg
An 18th-century Swedish scientist who became a mystic and claimed to visit the afterlife.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇯🇵 JapanGazu Hyakki Yagyō画図百鬼夜行
A 1776 Japanese woodblock book of yōkai illustrations by Toriyama SekienText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 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
🇪🇬 EgyptPapyrus Graecus Holmiensis
A third-century Egyptian manuscript of craft and alchemical recipes written in GreekText · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreLeyden papyrus X
A third-century Greek manuscript of alchemical and metallurgical recipesText · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III
A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHermetica
A collection of ancient texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, covering magic, alchemy and philosophy.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Change and initiation Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCorpus Hermeticum
A collection of Greek writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus that shaped Western esoteric thoughtText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Kybalion
A 1908 book presenting seven principles of mental philosophy as ancient Hermetic wisdomText · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459
An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreSibylline Oracles
A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptPapyrus of Ani
A decorated Egyptian scroll for the afterlife, held in LondonText · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum
A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly
A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇦🇫 Afghanistan and 2 moreAbu Ma'shar al-Balkhiابومَعْشَر جعفر بن محمد بن عمر بلخی
A Persian astrologer whose manuals shaped medieval European and Islamic celestial studiesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · 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
🇳🇵 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 3 moreBardo Thodolབར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ (bar do thos grol)
A Tibetan Buddhist guide for navigating the intermediate state between death and rebirth.Text Living
🇬🇧 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.
- Gazu Hyakki Yagyō: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
- 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
- Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
- Hermetica: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
- Corpus Hermeticum: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
- The Kybalion: American Libraries, Public domain, source
- Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
- Papyrus of Ani: Photographed by the British Museum; original artist unknown, Public domain, source
- Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
- Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi: User:Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Emanuel Swedenborg: Carl Frederik von Breda, Public domain, source