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.
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
🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal
A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaChen Tuan陳摶
A Chinese Taoist sage known for internal arts and sleep cultivation methodsFigure · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa
A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking
Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · 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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreCalifornian white sage
A California shrub used by Indigenous peoples for food, healing, and ritual cleansingSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 ChinaNeidan内丹
A Taoist practice using the body as a cauldron to refine inner energies for longevity and immortalityTradition · Healing · 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
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSerer religionA ƭat Roog
The traditional faith of the Serer people, centred on the supreme deity Roog and ancestral veneration.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAmritaअमृत (Sanskrit)
A Sanskrit concept of immortality and the nectar that grants it across Indian religionsBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreHaoma
A divine plant and spirit in Zoroastrianism, linked to healing and ancient rituals.Substance · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III
A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEbers Papyrus
An ancient Egyptian medical scroll detailing herbal remedies and bodily theories from around 1550 BCE.Text · Healing Historical
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه
A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦
A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气
A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope
A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
Moroccan ritual music blending West African heritage with Islamic practice for healing and tranceTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFulu符籙
Taoist talismans with cryptic symbols used for healing and protectionCharm · Healing · Protection Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean shamanism무속
A Korean folk religion centered on ritual specialists who mediate between humans and spiritsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPanchagavya
A fermented mixture of five cow products used in Hindu rituals and Ayurvedic traditions.Substance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral
A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga
A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer
English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo
A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRelic
An object or body part kept to honor a holy person and mark their connection to the divineCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance
Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo
An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber
Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer
An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun
A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFountain of Youth
A legendary spring said to reverse aging and cure illness, appearing in myths across the world.Belief · Healing · Change and initiation Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Guolao张果老
A Taoist immortal known for his white donkey and fish drum, said to be a bat spirit.Figure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight
A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou
An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism
The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePietro d'Abano
A medieval physician and astrologer accused of heresy and magic.Text · Healing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo
A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Serer religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pietro d'Abano: Marco Chemello (Wikimedia Italia), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
- Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Siberian shamanism: Аркадий Зарубин, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fulu: Youle26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Relic: MathieuGuy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amrita: http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fountain of Youth: Lucas Cranach the Elder, Public domain, source
- Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Zhang Guolao: Hong Zicheng, Public domain, source
- Californian white sage: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heliotrope: Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike ), 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
- Korean shamanism: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Ebers Papyrus: PEbers_c41.jpg : Einsamer Schütze derivative work: Photohound ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Neidan: A16898, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source