News
Living traditionsMexican principal questions progressive and shamanic content in public school materialsStage magicMaster illusionist Leon Etienne is bringing his Magic Rocks! show to The Grand at UW-OshkoshFestivalsElgin's Day of the Dead walk is more than just a 5KMuseumsHans Baldung GrienLiving traditions‘Mystical shaman’ plans Wānaka templeFestivalsWhere to celebrate Day of the Dead in San AntonioFestivalsSIPA to hold Samhain at Gaia House on Oct. 24Living traditions5 ancient bathing rituals across the worldFestivalsMidtown venue hosts Day of the Dead dinnerWitchcraftPaul Carus’ *The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil* (1899)Living traditionsMexican principal questions progressive and shamanic content in public school materialsStage magicMaster illusionist Leon Etienne is bringing his Magic Rocks! show to The Grand at UW-OshkoshFestivalsElgin's Day of the Dead walk is more than just a 5KMuseumsHans Baldung GrienLiving traditions‘Mystical shaman’ plans Wānaka templeFestivalsWhere to celebrate Day of the Dead in San AntonioFestivalsSIPA to hold Samhain at Gaia House on Oct. 24Living traditions5 ancient bathing rituals across the worldFestivalsMidtown venue hosts Day of the Dead dinnerWitchcraftPaul Carus’ *The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil* (1899)
EveryJaadu

All entries

2,046 entries so far, best known first. 3,431 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreNeed-fireNotfeuer A ritual fire lit by friction to protect livestock and people from disease and witchcraftRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyLemuriaLemuralia An ancient Roman festival to send restless ghosts away from the homeRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaKirtimukhaकीर्तिमुख A swallowing face motif in Hindu and Buddhist temple architecture across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Protection · Cleansing and purification Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

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.