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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη
A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά
A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion
Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptKhaemwesetḫꜥ m wꜣst
A prince and priest remembered for restoring ancient Egyptian monuments.Figure Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyEtruscan religion
The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreFoundation deposit
Ritual burial of objects under buildings to protect them from ruinRite · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptUshabtiwšbtj
Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth
A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyAlp
A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins
The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreApollonius of TyanaἈπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς
A first-century philosopher and miracle worker whose life became a legend of divine power.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu
A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool
A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos
A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου
A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient letter values.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptCurse of the pharaohs
A belief that disturbing ancient Egyptian tombs brings illness or death to the living.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya mythology
The reconstructed tales of the Maya people about gods, heroes, and the creation of the world.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial
A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreKnocker
A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayVardø witch trials
A major Scandinavian persecution of women accused of sorcery in 17th-century NorwayBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin
A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment 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
🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark
A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRabbit's foot
A charm carried for luck, often linked to graveyards and strict folk rulesCharm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyJohannes Junius
Mayor of Bamberg executed in the witch trials, known for a letter to his daughterFigure 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
🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSomaसोम
A sacred ritual drink of the ancient Vedic religion and its Iranian counterpartSubstance · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope
A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaKapalikaकापालिक
A medieval Indian Shaivite ascetic order known for wearing skulls and transgressive ritualsTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs
A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck
A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaWaidan外丹
An early Chinese alchemical practice focused on compounding mineral elixirs for immortalityTradition Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל
A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomGiles Corey
An English-born farmer pressed to death for refusing to plead during the Salem witch trialsFigure Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking
A method used during European witch trials to locate a supposed insensitive mark on an accused person.Rite · 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.
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kaula: Joshua Jonathan, CC0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Amniomancy: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curse of the pharaohs: Jerzy Strzelecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Witch trials in England: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Soma: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Heliotrope: Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Waidan: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khaemweset: No machine-readable author provided. Neithsabes assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
- Apollonius of Tyana: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
- Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Foundation deposit: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Rabbit's foot: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source