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Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month DivinationCan AI Tell Your Fortune? How Chinese Divination Is Going Digital FestivalsIran celebrates Nowruz, festival of life, in times of war Stage magicFox Nation Docuseries Uses AI-Generated Imagery to Reanimate Harry Houdini Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month DivinationCan AI Tell Your Fortune? How Chinese Divination Is Going Digital FestivalsIran celebrates Nowruz, festival of life, in times of war Stage magicFox Nation Docuseries Uses AI-Generated Imagery to Reanimate Harry Houdini

EveryJaadu

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.

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

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomDavid Devant English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreNart sagaНарты кадджытæ A collection of epic tales from the North Caucasus about a legendary group of heroes.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇹🇴 Tonga and 2 moreTongan mythologytala-ē-fonua The myths and legends of the Polynesian island nation of TongaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇰🇮 Kiribati and 4 moreMicronesian mythology The traditional belief systems and legends of the island peoples in the southwest Pacific.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCount of St. GermainComte de Saint Germain An 18th-century European adventurer known for alchemy, music, and claims of immortality.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNorse mythology The mythic tales of the North Germanic peoples and their ancient gods.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreWelsh mythologyY Chwedlau The ancient legends of Wales and the Celtic Britons, preserved in medieval manuscripts.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreJabir ibn Hayyanجابِر بِن حَيّان A legendary Islamic alchemist and philosopher whose writings shaped medieval magic and chemistryText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreEdward Kelley An English occultist and scryer who worked with John Dee to contact angels and practice alchemy.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇪🇸 SpainMaslama al-Majritiأبو القاسم مسلمة بن أحمد المجريطي A tenth-century scholar of alchemy and astronomy in Islamic Spain.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanHyakumonogatari Kaidankai百物語怪談会 An Edo period Japanese parlour game where ghost stories extinguish candles one by oneRite · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomEgyptian Hall A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChing Ling Foo金陵福 (Jīn Língfú) A Chinese stage magician who toured the United States and Europe in the late nineteenth centuryIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePietro d'Abano A medieval physician and astrologer accused of heresy and magic.Text · Healing · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇧🇪 BelgiumServais Le Roy A Belgian magician who designed classic illusions and performed in a famous trio act.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomHarry Price A British psychic researcher and conjurer who investigated paranormal claims and exposed fraudulent mediums.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreSaturnalia An ancient Roman winter festival of role reversal and feasting in honor of SaturnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇳🇴 NorwaySteilneset Memorial A 2011 monument in Norway marking the 1621 Vardø witch trials and their victims.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreApollonius of TyanaἈπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς A first-century philosopher and miracle worker whose life became a legend of divine power.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomIsaac Fawkes An English conjurer who moved magic from the fairground to fashionable London society.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean-Eugène Robert-Houdin A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanGazu Hyakki Yagyō画図百鬼夜行 A 1776 Japanese woodblock book of yōkai illustrations by Toriyama SekienText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChung Ling Soo程連蘇 An American stage magician who performed as a Chinese man and died during a bullet catch illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePhantasmagoria A horror theatre using magic lanterns to project frightening images in the darkIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLuoshu Square洛書 An ancient Chinese three-by-three magic square linked to geomancy and numerologyTradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreViracochaWiraqucha The supreme creator deity of the Andes, associated with the sea and civilization.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanNoppera-bōのっぺらぼう A faceless spirit from Japanese folklore that mimics human appearanceBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreEusapia Palladino An Italian medium whose séances were investigated by leading scientists and magicians in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火 Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaElemental Mythic beings linked to earth, water, air, and fire in Renaissance occultism.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇦 CanadaSpoon bending A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaIndrajalaइन्द्रजाल A Sanskrit term for illusion and conjuring, linking stage magic to Hindu philosophy.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Cursing and harm Historical

🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDavid Copperfield's laser illusion A stage trick where a magician appears to be sliced by a beam of light and reassembled.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Elemental: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
Spoon bending: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Harry Price: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
Apollonius of Tyana: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
Indrajala: Abishekrl15156, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
Viracocha: Pattych ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kitsunebi: Abasaa, Public domain, source
Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
Steilneset Memorial: Stylegar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Irish folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Noppera-bō: 芥川龍之介, Public domain, source
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
David Devant: Simon Edwards Esq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pietro d'Abano: Marco Chemello (Wikimedia Italia), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Eusapia Palladino: Baldi., Public domain, source
John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Isaac Fawkes: William Hogarth, Public domain, source
Jabir ibn Hayyan: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Luoshu Square: An unknown Tibetan artist, Public domain, source
Phantasmagoria: Alphonse de Neuville or A. Jahandier, Public domain, source
Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
Norse mythology: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Edward Kelley: Thomas Pennant, Public domain, source
Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.