All entries
1,694 entries so far, best known first. 4,196 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
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFulu符籙
Taoist talismans with cryptic symbols used for healing and protectionCharm · Healing · Protection Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo
A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreObsidian
Volcanic glass used for sharp tools, mirrors, and ritual divinationSubstance · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreTattoo
A permanent mark made by placing pigment under the skin to form a design.Tradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm 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
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气
A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism)
A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 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
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies
The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神
A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇿🇦 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luriaיִצְחָק בן שלמה אשכנזי לוּרְיָא
A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa
A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 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
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer
A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreIbn Arabiمحيي الدين أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن عربي الحاتمي الطائي
A medieval Andalusian mystic and philosopher whose teachings shaped Sufi metaphysics across the Islamic world.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation 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
🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei
A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHoodoo
A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreFlorida Water
A citrus perfume used in spiritual cleansing and folk healing across the Americas.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreCurandero
A folk healer in Latin America and the United States who blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo medicine
Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesKahuna
A Hawaiian expert or priest, keeper of hidden knowledge in craft and spiritTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה
A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر
Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún
A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFortune-telling
A practice of predicting future events or personal details through various methods and tools.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaChödགཅོད
A Tibetan Buddhist ritual that uses fear and self-offering to sever attachment to the selfTradition · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Living
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 5 moreKallawaya
An itinerant group of traditional Andean healers known for their medicinal plant knowledge and ritual practicesTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi
Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost DanceNanissaanah
A circular movement seeking spiritual renewal and reunion with ancestorsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印
A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇵🇭 PhilippinesWitchcraft in the Philippinespangkukulam
Indigenous beliefs about sorcery and malevolent magic in the PhilippinesTradition · Cursing and harm · Healing Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fulu: Youle26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tattoo: Muyayo tattoo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inugami: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Florida Water: Unknown artist(s), Public domain, source
- Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
- Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dhikr: Eugène Baugnies, Public domain, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fortune-telling: Taras Shevchenko, Public domain, source
- Chöd: Christopher J. Fynn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kallawaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ghost Dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source