Entries beginning with W
28 entries under W.
🇨🇳 ChinaWaidan外丹
An early Chinese alchemical practice focused on compounding mineral elixirs for immortalityTradition Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht
A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaWelcome to Country
A ceremony performed by Aboriginal elders to welcome visitors to their landRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf
A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady
A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede
A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreWild rueاسپند
A desert plant whose seeds hold psychoactive alkaloids and serve as incense in the Middle East.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly
A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp
A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt
A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaWitch-hunts in India
Violent persecution of people accused of witchcraft, mostly women, in rural IndiaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea
Violent attacks on people accused of sorcery, mainly women and girlsBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark
A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland
A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England
A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreWitch trials in Finland
A historical record of legal persecution for magic in a region where men were common targets.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France
A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary
A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia
Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayWitch trials in Norway
A wave of executions and legal persecution for sorcery in early modern Norway.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland
A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitch trials in the Holy Roman Empire
A wave of executions across Central Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands
A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Wild rue: Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witch-hunts in Papua New Guinea: The original uploader was Dr. Blofeld at English Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- White Lady: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
- Witch-hunts in India: Granger, Public domain, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Waidan: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
- Welcome to Country: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au, source
- Witch hunt: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source