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FestivalsDay of the Dead Festival Divination"Divining with the Elements: A Conversation about Astrology" with KL Mays and Alice Sparkly Kat Stage magicWhat Was Halloween Like 100 Years Ago?DivinationThe GPT Oracle: 1 in 10 Americans are reviving the pagan practice of prophecy Living traditionsVoodoo and the School System in Haiti FestivalsFour Delightful Children’s Books About Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead FestivalsCasa de México in Madrid unveils 2026 Day of the Dead altar inspired by Michoacán and Agustín Lara FestivalsDay of the Dead in Chicago: a celebration of (after) life CharmsHow Christian Amulets Preserved Ancient Roman Traditions Despite Religious Change Witch-huntsEverything you need to know about Halloween season in Salem FestivalsDay of the Dead Festival Divination"Divining with the Elements: A Conversation about Astrology" with KL Mays and Alice Sparkly Kat Stage magicWhat Was Halloween Like 100 Years Ago?DivinationThe GPT Oracle: 1 in 10 Americans are reviving the pagan practice of prophecy Living traditionsVoodoo and the School System in Haiti FestivalsFour Delightful Children’s Books About Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead FestivalsCasa de México in Madrid unveils 2026 Day of the Dead altar inspired by Michoacán and Agustín Lara FestivalsDay of the Dead in Chicago: a celebration of (after) life CharmsHow Christian Amulets Preserved Ancient Roman Traditions Despite Religious Change Witch-huntsEverything you need to know about Halloween season in Salem

EveryJaadu

All entries

466 entries so far, best known first. 6,026 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

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading

🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaChinese alchemy煉丹術 A Taoist pursuit of longevity through elixirs and internal cultivationTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreGe Hong葛洪 A Jin dynasty scholar and alchemist who wrote key texts on Taoist immortality and early medicine.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦 A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism) A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean shamanism무속 A Korean folk religion centered on ritual specialists who mediate between humans and spiritsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreZārزار A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة Moroccan ritual music blending West African heritage with Islamic practice for healing and tranceTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 ChinaNeidan内丹 A Taoist practice using the body as a cauldron to refine inner energies for longevity and immortalityTradition · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHoodoo A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreCurandero A folk healer in Latin America and the United States who blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo medicine Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
San La Muerte: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Siberian shamanism: Аркадий Зарубин, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese alchemy: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
Korean shamanism: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
Neidan: A16898, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ge Hong: Hannah, Public domain, source
Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.