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.

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

🇺🇸 United StatesExorcism of Roland Doe A 1940s American case of alleged demonic possession and the exorcisms performed on the boyRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRegional forms of shamanism A global overview of indigenous spirit-interaction practices across Asia and the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 2 moreKromanti A ritual language spoken by ancestral spirits in Jamaican Maroon ceremoniesBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇵🇰 PakistanShamanism in Pakistan A shamanic tradition of the Hunza region where spirit guides select healers who enter trance states through music and riTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇷 GreeceAornumἌορνον A Greek cave oracle said to be a gateway to the underworldOracle · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaApeswari sabha An Assamese healing rite where village women invoke a goddess to cure illnessRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreBuddhist coin charm佛教品壓勝錢 Amulets shaped like coins that bear Buddhist symbols and prayers for protection.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaVelichappaduവെളിച്ചപ്പാട് A Hindu temple oracle in Kerala who channels deities through trance and danceBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇵 JapanMisaki御先 Japanese spirit-like entities that serve gods or possess humans with illness and calamityBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 1 moreHaitian Vodou in CubaVodú Haitiano A Caribbean religious tradition brought by migrants and maintained in eastern CubaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaSynoptical astrology An astrological system that overlays tropical, sidereal and constellational zodiacsText · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreAngelמלאך A supernatural messenger or intermediary spirit found in many religious traditions.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreTawûsî Melekتاوسی مەلەک The central angel of Yazidism, known as the Peacock Angel and leader of the Seven Mysteries.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇷 GreeceEmpusaἜμπουσα A shape-shifting phantom of Greek myth with a single brass leg, sent by Hecate to seduce and devour young men.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreYazata𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 A Zoroastrian term for divine beings worthy of worship and venerationBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 IranFravashi A personal spirit in Zoroastrian belief that guides the living and protects the dead.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAeonαἰών Emanations of the divine source in Gnostic cosmologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesFive-Percent Nation A New York movement teaching that Black people are the original gods and earth of civilizationTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreIriyВырай A mythical Slavic realm where souls and birds gather for the winterBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇲🇱 MaliNommo Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRinging Cedars' Anastasianismдвижение «Анастасия» A Russian new religious movement based on books about a Siberian mystic and nature worshipTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWestern Sufism Adaptations of Islamic mysticism in Europe and North AmericaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreNuo folk religion傩 (Nuó) A Chinese exorcistic tradition using wooden masks and ancestor worship to drive away malevolent forcesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreYehowistsильинцы A Russian Spiritual Christian group founded by Nikolai Ilyin in the 1840sTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇲🇽 MexicoWerejaguar A supernatural figure from Olmec art, blending human and jaguar traits.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇰🇷 South KoreaSuunism수운교 A Korean ethnic religion focused on the Great Jade Emperor of Heaven and spiritual reconnection.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreKélé An Afro-Saint Lucian faith rooted in Yoruba traditions and secret practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMinoan Genius A composite creature from Bronze Age Crete, often shown as a libation bearer or sacrificial attendant.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaPanhu盤瓠 A dragon-dog origin myth of the Yao and She peoples in ChinaFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 moreSalige Frau A blissful Alpine spirit who guides farmers and guards mountain gameFigure · Protection · Healing Legendary 🇲🇽 MexicoVelada A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreHaitian Vodou and homosexuality The place of LGBTQ people in Hait Vodou practice and beliefTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomTyphonian Order A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇹🇷 TurkeyHittite sun disk An ancient Anatolian bronze symbol used in Hattian and Hittite religious ceremoniesCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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.

Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gede: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
Haitian Vodou in Cuba: Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo, NOAA NODC, Public domain, source
Buddhist coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
Synoptical astrology: Constellarius, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Tawûsî Melek: Bernd Schwabe in Hannover, CC BY 3.0, source
Fravashi: Hooman Mallahzadeh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Angel: Unknown author, CC0, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aeon: Jacques Matter, Public domain, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nuo folk religion: Wikiwikiyarou, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source
Werejaguar: Ruben Charles, ( http://www.rubencharles.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
Minoan Genius: Zde, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hittite sun disk: Noumenon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Salige Frau: various, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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