All entries
2,106 entries so far, best known first. 3,323 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreGe Hong葛洪
A Jin dynasty scholar and alchemist who wrote key texts on Taoist immortality and early medicine.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer
A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar
An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic
A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyLemuriaLemuralia
An ancient Roman festival to send restless ghosts away from the homeRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang)
Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreQimen Dunjia奇門遁甲
An ancient Chinese divination system mapping time and space for strategic decision-makingOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 3 moreToyoltuyul
An undead infant spirit in Southeast Asian folklore, invoked for theft and fortune.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer
English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceCirceΚίρκη
A Greek goddess and witch known for turning men into beasts with her potionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomGhillie DhuGille Dubh
A solitary Scottish fairy known for protecting forests and guiding lost childrenBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreTattoo
A permanent mark made by placing pigment under the skin to form a design.Tradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia
Māori recitations used for spiritual guidance, protection, and formal greetingsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta
A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomSpectral evidence
Court testimony based on visions of spirits during historical witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaKundaliniकुण्डलिनी
A dormant energy in Hinduism believed to rise through the spine for spiritual liberationBelief Living
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu
An Andean deity of abundance and prosperity, central to the Alasitas festival.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaSlavic folklore
The traditional beliefs and stories of the Slavic peoplesTradition Living
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreTurkish folkloreTürk halk kültürü
A rich body of oral tales, jokes, and rituals from Turkey and the Turkic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands
A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming
A worldview of ancestral creation and eternal law in Australian Aboriginal cultureTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇵🇭 PhilippinesTikbalang
A horse-headed spirit of Philippine forests that leads travelers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHomaहोम
A fire ritual found across Asian religions where offerings are burned as a votive exchange with the divine.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMyomancy
A divination practice that reads omens in the actions of rats and miceOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides
A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreSámi drumgoavddis
A ceremonial instrument used by Sámi noaidi for trance and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanShikigami式神
A conjured spirit from Japanese Onmyōdō, often bound to paper or animal form.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 IrelandBansheebean sí
A female spirit in Irish folklore who wails to herald the death of a family member.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreMandalaमण्डल
A sacred geometric design used in Indian religions for meditation and spiritual mapping.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 5 moreTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese lunisolar new year and the most important annual celebration in VietnamTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇹 ItalySibylline BooksLibri Sibyllini
Ancient Roman oracular texts consulted during state crises and disastersText · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa
A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRevenant
An animated corpse or spirit that returns from the grave to haunt the livingBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreZārزار
A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל
A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇵🇱 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
🇵🇸 PalestineHekhalot literatureספרות ההיכלות והמרכבה
Jewish visionary texts describing ascents to heavenly palaces and chariotsText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jewish mysticism: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wiedergänger: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ge Hong: Hannah, Public domain, source
- Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
- Circe: Wright Barker, Public domain, source
- Tattoo: Muyayo tattoo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kundalini: Pierjasi at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turkish folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Dreaming: September 1985, Public domain, source
- Noppera-bō: 芥川龍之介, Public domain, source
- Tikbalang: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Homa: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Myomancy: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
- Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Banshee: W.H. Brooke, Public domain, source
- Mandala: Marion Golsteijn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Sibylline Books: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Michael Sendivogius: Łuszczkiewicz, Public domain, source