All entries
1,100 entries so far, best known first. 5,053 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
🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art
Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き
A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇪🇬 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
🇫🇮 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
🇿🇦 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
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa
A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇭 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 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
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesKahuna
A Hawaiian expert or priest, keeper of hidden knowledge in craft and spiritTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה
A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر
Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi
Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost DanceNanissaanah
A circular movement seeking spiritual renewal and reunion with ancestorsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印
A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl
The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreWild rueاسپند
A desert plant whose seeds hold psychoactive alkaloids and serve as incense in the Middle East.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 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
🇨🇱 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
🇨🇩 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
🇱🇰 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
🇺🇸 United StatesRing shout
A sacred circle dance of African American origin using rhythmic movement and call-and-response singingRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekersTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dhikr: Eugène Baugnies, Public domain, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ghost Dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wild rue: Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
- Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Marabout: Jan Broekhuijse, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cultrun: Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kabbalah: Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Paulus Riccius, Leonhard Beck, Public domain, source
- 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
- Ring shout: Attributed to John Rose, Public domain, source
- Vodun art: Fraipont, Gustave (1849-1923), Public domain, source