All entries
2,105 entries so far, best known first. 3,329 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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
PeopleGreeks (remove)
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana
The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion
Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCapnomancy
Divination by reading the shapes and movements of smoke from fires or incenseOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSibylΣίβυλλα (Sibylla)
Ancient Greek prophetesses who spoke divine counsel at holy shrinesFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreAugury
A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOmen
A sign believed to foretell the future and signal coming changeBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle
A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceCoscinomancy
A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy
Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Augur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
- Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capnomancy: Tigerzeng, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sibyl: Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), Public domain, source
- Omen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
- Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
- Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source