All entries
2,158 entries so far, best known first. 3,227 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
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚚馃嚟 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚫 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft
A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujer铆a
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreAsian witchcraft
A broad overview of magical practices and persecution across Asian culturesTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreNeopagan witchcraft
Modern pagan traditions that practice magic and draw on historical witch beliefs.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Asian witchcraft: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Public domain, source