All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiBois Ca茂man
The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoNagualn膩hualli
A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiBizango
Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚚馃嚤 Chile and 3 moreGualichu
An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoNagualn膩hualli
A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiBizango
Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚚馃嚤 Chile and 3 moreGualichu
An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Palo: Burkhard M眉cke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source