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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.

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

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreDiyu地獄 The underworld realm of trial, atonement, and rebirth in Chinese mythologyBelief · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGhost FestivalZhongyuan Festival; Yulanpen Festival A festival to feed wandering spirits and guide them home during the seventh lunar month.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇯🇵 JapanNoro祝女 Ryukyuan village priestesses who tend sacred hearths and utaki shrinesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Fading

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

🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAncestor worship Rites of respect for the dead that maintain family bonds and seek spiritual guidanceTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreOungan A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ A Tibetan funerary rite where human remains are offered to scavenging birdsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇲🇱 MaliDogon religion The traditional spiritual beliefs of the Dogon people of MaliTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreAncestor veneration in China中國傳統宗法性宗教 Rites for dead kin who are thought to watch over the familyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝 The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇵 Nepal and 3 moreGurung ShamanismTamu Cho The ancient shamanic beliefs and rituals of the Gurung people in NepalTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 HaitiChristian-Vodou The blending of Haitian Vodou and Roman Catholicism into a single spiritual practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oungan: Anthony Karen, CC BY 4.0, source
Sky burial: FishOil at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Diyu: ScribblingGeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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