All entries

1,644 entries so far, best known first. 4,293 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇺🇸 United StatesFeri Tradition An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekersTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇧🇷 BrazilPro-VidaPró-Vida, Integração Cósmica An occultist group founded in Brazil that promises cosmic consciousness and earthly paradise.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇦🇷 Argentina and 1 moreSpiritual mapping A Christian practice of mapping locations to identify and pray against territorial demonsBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFalun Gong法轮功 A Chinese cultivation practice blending meditative exercises with moral principlesTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBrahma Kumarisप्रजापिता ब्रह्माकुमारी ईश्वरीय विश्वविद्यालय A meditation-based spiritual movement that teaches soul identity and global peaceTradition · Cleansing and purification · Change and initiation Living 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreAMORCAntiquus Mysticusque Ordo Rosae Crucis A US-based Rosicrucian order with global lodges and a focus on correspondence study.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇨🇳 ChinaPeaches of Immortality仙桃 Legendary Chinese fruits said to grant eternal life to deities and mortalsSubstance · Luck and prosperity · Change and initiation Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaSuunism수운교 A Korean ethnic religion focused on the Great Jade Emperor of Heaven and spiritual reconnection.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇲🇽 MexicoVelada A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChurch of Satan An atheistic religious body founded in 1966 that practices ritual magicTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaVamacharaवामाचार A Hindu tantric tradition using unorthodox rituals for spiritual growthTradition · Change and initiation Living 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreThe Teachings of Don Juan A 1968 book presenting an apprenticeship with a Mexican sorcerer as anthropological fieldwork.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreIlluminates of Thanateros An international group dedicated to practical chaos magic and experimental ritual workTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRobert the Devil A medieval legend of a knight born to Satan who seeks redemptionFigure · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDeity yoga A Vajrayana meditation on embodying a chosen Buddha figure to realize emptinessTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomTyphonian Order A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition · Change and initiation · 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.

Robert the Devil: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Vamachara: painting by an Indian artist. Date [between 1800 and 1899?], Public domain, source
Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Falun Gong: longtrekhome, CC BY 3.0, source
Brahma Kumaris: Tamasin Ramsey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Peaches of Immortality: Anonymous ( China ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Deity yoga: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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