Entries beginning with M
37 entries under M.
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreMami Wata
A water spirit of beauty and wealth in African folklore and the Atlantic diasporaBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaMamlambo
A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMani stone
Carved stones inscribed with Buddhist mantras, placed as offerings along paths in the Himalayas.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम्
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari
A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyMarsilio Ficino
A Renaissance priest and philosopher who revived Plato and blended astrology with Christian theology.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing 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
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMatsyendranathMacchindranāth, Mīnanātha
A yogi and rain deity revered across Hindu and Buddhist traditions in South Asia.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins
The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypoleMaibaum
A tall wooden pole raised for European spring festivals, accompanied by dance and celebration.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια
A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreMediumship
The practice of mediating communication between the living and spirits of the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesMenehune
A legendary race of tiny builders in Hawaiian folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis
A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot
A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreMichael SendivogiusMichał Sędziwój
A Polish alchemist who discovered oxygen and wrote on the 'food of life'Text · Power and authority · Change and initiation Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMidsummerJāņi; Joninės; Jaanipäev; Enyovden; Litha; Juhannus
A summer solstice festival marked by bonfires, maypole dancing, and feasting across Europe.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMisogi禊
A Shinto rite of full-body purification using cold waterRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir
The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A cloth pouch holding charms for protection, luck, or love in the Hoodoo tradition.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemokèlé-mbèmbé
A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇦🇺 AustraliaMokoi
An evil spirit in Yolngu mythology that kills sorcerers and kidnaps childrenBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl
The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMoon blocks筊杯
Two crescent blocks thrown to a deity for a yes or noOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial
A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause
A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts
The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMyomancy
A divination practice that reads omens in the actions of rats and miceOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMyrddin Wyllt
A wild prophet of Welsh legend who inspired the wizard MerlinFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Myomancy: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Matsyendranath: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Moon blocks: Hsiung/d6478coke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Misogi: Ds13 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mani stone: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mami Wata: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Corpus Hermeticum: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Michael Sendivogius: Łuszczkiewicz, Public domain, source
- Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Myrddin Wyllt: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
- Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
- Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
- Menehune: D. Howard Hitchcock, Public domain, source
- Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- Mokele-mbembe: Charles Robert Knight, Public domain, source