All entries
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.
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
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚨馃嚫 Palestine and 1 moreRachel's TombQever Ra岣l; Qabr R膩岣ツ玪
A shared holy site near Bethlehem revered by Jews, Christians, and MuslimsTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luria讬执爪职讞指拽 讘谉 砖诇诪讛 讗砖讻谞讝讬 诇讜旨专职讬指讗
A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreIbn Arabi賲丨賷賷 丕賱丿賷賳 兀亘賵 毓亘丿 丕賱賱賴 賲丨賲丿 亘賳 毓賱賷 亘賳 毓乇亘賷 丕賱丨丕鬲賲賷 丕賱胤丕卅賷
A medieval Andalusian mystic and philosopher whose teachings shaped Sufi metaphysics across the Islamic world.Text 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 2 moreLag BaOmer诇址状讙 讘指旨注讜止诪侄专
A Jewish holiday marking the end of a mourning period with bonfires and outdoor playTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚥馃嚞 Madagascar and 4 moreGeomancy
A cross-cultural system of divination using earth, sand, and landforms to read the future or align spaces.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 4 moreAstrology in the medieval Islamic world毓賱賲 丕賱賳噩賵賲 (Ilm an-Nuj奴m)
The study of celestial influences on earthly affairs within the medieval Islamic traditionTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology
A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚲馃嚜 Yemen and 1 moreDor Daim讚讜专 讚注讛
A Yemenite Jewish movement promoting rational theology and opposing Kabbalistic mysticismTradition Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 4 moreAlchemy in the medieval Islamic world
The study of matter and spirit by scholars in the early Islamic CaliphateTradition 路 Change and initiation 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚪 IranPersian mysticism
A spiritual tradition in Iran blending ancient beliefs with Sufi practice and poetic thought.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
- Lag BaOmer: Yoninah, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
- Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world: An Islamic artist 739H/1339, probably in Baghdad, Public domain, source
- Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rachel's Tomb: Lane-Poole, Stanley, Public domain, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source