All entries
2,000 entries so far, best known first. 3,529 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
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga
A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇺🇸 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
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun
A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇩🇿 Algeria and 1 moreAhmad al-Buniأحمد البوني المالكي
A medieval Sufi scholar known for works on letter mysticism and talismansText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesHawaiian religion
The traditional spiritual practices of the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, centered on deities and ancestral guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga
A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreMaraboutmurābiṭ
A Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, often linked to Sufi brotherhoods.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreKongo religionBukongo
The animistic beliefs and ancestor veneration of the Bakongo people in Central AfricaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇧🇴 BoliviaThe Witches' MarketMercado de las Brujas
A La Paz market where Aymara women and yatiri sell ritual items for Pachamama offeringsTradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCultrunkultrung
A ceremonial drum central to Mapuche spiritual practice and identity in Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreKabbalahקַבָּלָה
An esoteric school of thought within Judaism focused on the hidden meanings of scripture and the divine.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreMutiumuthi
Traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa using plants, animals and mineralsTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇨🇫 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa
Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreKataragama templeකතරගම / கதிர்காமம் முருகன் கோயில்
A Sri Lankan shrine shared by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and VeddasTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship
Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMarie Laveau
A New Orleans priestess and herbalist who led Louisiana Voodoo in the nineteenth centuryTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art
Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreTattoo
A permanent mark made by placing pigment under the skin to form a design.Tradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 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
🇪🇬 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
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies
The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 3 moreSak Yantសាក់យ័ន្ត
A Southeast Asian tattoo tradition using sacred geometry for protection and powerTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo
A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm 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
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇿🇦 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luriaיִצְחָק בן שלמה אשכנזי לוּרְיָא
A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇩🇪 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreIbn Arabiمحيي الدين أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن عربي الحاتمي الطائي
A medieval Andalusian mystic and philosopher whose teachings shaped Sufi metaphysics across the Islamic world.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei
A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
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
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ahmad al-Buni: Khalili Collections, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
- Sak Yant: Mikhailovich, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
- Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Marabout: Jan Broekhuijse, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Witches' Market: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cultrun: Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kabbalah: Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Paulus Riccius, Leonhard Beck, Public domain, source
- Muti: Nicholas Roux, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kataragama temple: Ghostface Buddha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burmese folk religion: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marie Laveau: E. W. Kemble, Public domain, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Vodun art: Fraipont, Gustave (1849-1923), Public domain, source
- Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tattoo: Muyayo tattoo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source