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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
PeopleHindus (remove)
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindiबिंदी
A dot worn on the forehead to mark spiritual focus and cultural identityCharm · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreŚrāddhaश्राद्ध
A Hindu rite of ancestor worship involving food offerings and fire ritualsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇳 IndiaAkshaya Tritiyaअक्षय तृतीया
A Hindu and Jain spring festival marking a day of inexhaustible merit and new beginnings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaHindu astrologyज्योतिष (Jyotiṣa)
A traditional Hindu system of astrology and timekeeping rooted in the VedasTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 7 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति
A solar festival marking the sun's northward shift and the winter harvest across South Asia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
A suffering spirit of insatiable hunger found in Asian religious traditionsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKautuka
A red or yellow ritual thread worn for protection in South Asian traditionsCharm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaMangalaमंगल (Maṅgala)
A Hindu deity of Mars, war, and the planet's red lightBeing · Power and authority · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePitru Pakshaपितृ पक्ष
A sixteen-day Hindu period for honoring ancestors through food offerings and death ritesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYoginiयोगिनी
A female master of yoga and tantra, or a fierce goddess aspect in Indian temples.Tradition · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreBhootभूत
A restless spirit of the dead in South Asian belief and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaMangala Dosha
A Hindu astrological belief that Mars causes marital trouble and the rituals used to address itBelief · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaVedic astrologyJyotiṣa
A traditional Hindu system of astrology rooted in Vedic study and timekeepingTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRavanaरावण (Rāvaṇa)
A ten-headed demon king of Lanka and a devoted follower of Shiva in Hindu tradition.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaMahishasuraमहिषासुर
A bovine asura slain by the goddess Durga in Hindu myth and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaVamacharaवामाचार
A Hindu tantric tradition using unorthodox rituals for spiritual growthTradition · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPranaप्राण
A Sanskrit concept of vital energy found in yoga and AyurvedaBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element)
A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements
Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreVarahiवाराही (Vārāhī)
A Hindu mother goddess with a sow face, worshipped in Tantric rites for protection and powerBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत
A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation
A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSuperstition in India
Common beliefs and rituals across India that influence daily life and major eventsBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNavaratnaनवरत्न
A nine-gem talisman set in gold or silver, linked to Hindu astrology and planetary worshipCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 IndiaUchchhishtaउच्छिष्ट
A Hindu concept of ritual impurity linked to saliva and food remnantsBelief · Cleansing and purification Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bhoot: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Vamachara: painting by an Indian artist. Date [between 1800 and 1899?], Public domain, source
- Mahishasura: Prakashsubbarao at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Vahana: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
- Ravana: Gita Press Gorakhpur, CC0, source
- Prana: Tamilmama, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
- Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Superstition in India: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navaratna: Pradeep717, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Śrāddha: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akshaya Tritiya: Fgndgndgnr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hindu astrology: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Uchchhishta: Ebenezergangmei, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Kautuka: Aditya.Asopa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vedic astrology: Freedomji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mangala: E. A. Rodrigues, Public domain, source
- Pitru Paksha: Firoz Shakir, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source