All entries

2,216 entries so far, best known first. 3,110 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

🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomCain bairns A Scottish folk belief that witches took children as a tax to the DevilBelief Historical 🇮🇸 IcelandSelkolla A seal-headed woman from Icelandic folklore who clashed with a medieval bishop.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyOmen (ancient Rome)omen A sign in ancient Rome believed to reveal the future, good or bad.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBooks of secrets Early modern European compilations of recipes and formulae framed as hidden knowledgeText · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇦 PanamaPanama Creature A decomposing sloth carcass mistaken for a monster in PanamaBeing Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 3 moreThe Swan Queen A Lithuanian fairy tale about a bird maiden who becomes human and returns to the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical 🇺🇸 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 StatesBelled buzzard A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法 An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreInsufflation A ritual breath used in Christian rites to drive out evil or invite the spirit.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaMien shiang面相 A Chinese practice of reading character and fate through facial featuresBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesChepi A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 morePardesפרד״ס A four-level method for interpreting Jewish scriptureText · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenStentoften Runestone A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreKlabautermann A North Sea ship kobold that aids sailors and signals a vessel's doom.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 PolandFrankenstein town gravediggers scandal A 1606 witchcraft trial in Silesia that may have inspired Mary Shelley's novelBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelEisheth Zenunimאֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie A foundational treatise on ritual magic by Éliphas Lévi, structured around the tarot.Text · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreKyöpelinvuori A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePalladium A sacred image or object believed to guarantee the safety of a city or nationCharm · Protection Historical 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 3 moreCurse of TimurПроклятие Тамерлана A rumor that disturbing the conqueror's tomb brings invasion and calamity.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAstral body A subtle vehicle of emotion and dream said to travel beyond the physical formBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptMenatmnj.t A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesZelph A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical

🇩🇿 AlgeriaTassili Mushroom Figure Neolithic cave art in Algeria interpreted by some as depicting psychedelic mushroom use.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBogle A Northumbrian and Scots household spirit or ghost known for perplexing people.Being · Cursing and harm · 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.

Zelph: HotWheels53, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Tassili Mushroom Figure: I redrawn the rock art written by ancient people., Public domain, source
Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
Astral body: Rad el Baluvar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Frankenstein town gravediggers scandal: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
Klabautermann: Anton von Werner, Public domain, source
Pardes: Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingstone), Public domain, source
Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Panama Creature: Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl, CC BY 2.5, source
Martian Monkey: Tim Farley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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