All entries

2,000 entries so far, best known first. 3,529 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGardnerian Wicca An initiatory neopagan tradition tracing its lineage to Gerald Gardner and the New Forest covenTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇺🇸 United StatesDianic Wicca A female-only pagan tradition honoring the Goddess and women's experienceTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 JapanNoro祝女 Ryukyuan village priestesses who tend sacred hearths and utaki shrinesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Fading

🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女 A Shinto shrine priestess and traditional female medium in JapanTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ A Tibetan funerary rite where human remains are offered to scavenging birdsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBonབོན། The indigenous religion of Tibet and the Himalayas, preserving ancient rituals alongside Buddhist teachings.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道 A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSpiritual Baptist An Afro-Caribbean Christian faith blending African traditions with Baptist worshipTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇵 JapanOmamori (sample)お守り A small shrine charm in a brocade pouch.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living 🇮🇳 IndiaNew moon cleansing (sample) Smoke and water used to mark a lunar month.Rite · Cleansing and purification Fading

🇮🇳 IndiaSanamahismꯁꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ ꯂꯥꯏꯅꯤꯡ The polytheistic ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, IndiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇧🇯 BeninMawu-Lisa A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩 Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese shamanism巫教 (Wūjiào) Spirit-mediums of China who dance and trance to carry messages between people and godsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇬🇷 GreecePeleiadesΠελειάδες Sacred women of the Oracle at Dodona, linked to doves and ZeusBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreBirkat haMinimברכת המינים A Jewish liturgical curse against apostates and Christians within the daily standing prayerRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 1 moreDominican VudúVudú Dominicano A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion on Hispaniola with its own spirit lineages and titles.Tradition · Protection · Love and attraction Living 🇺🇸 United StatesExorcism of Roland Doe A 1940s American case of alleged demonic possession and the exorcisms performed on the boyRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiji ru lüling急急如律令 A Taoist incantation demanding immediate action from spiritsText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇷 IranSkandolasikina ḏ-aula An iron talismanic seal used by Mandaeans to ward off evil and mark life transitions.Charm · Protection Living

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇦🇷 Argentina and 1 moreSpiritual mapping A Christian practice of mapping locations to identify and pray against territorial demonsBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusjꜥrt An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion) A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreYazata𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 A Zoroastrian term for divine beings worthy of worship and venerationBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 IranFravashi A personal spirit in Zoroastrian belief that guides the living and protects the dead.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 IndiaSnow Lionགངས་སེང་གེ་ A celestial mountain guardian of Tibet embodying fearlessness, bliss, and the DharmaBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSaint Michael A Christian archangel who defends the faithful and weighs soulsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇾🇪 Yemen and 1 moreSimthud Durarسمط الدّرر A poem praising the Prophet Muhammad, recited in ritual gatherings across the Indian Ocean.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePalladium A sacred image or object believed to guarantee the safety of a city or nationCharm · Protection Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChurch of Satan An atheistic religious body founded in 1966 that practices ritual magicTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing 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

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法 An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection 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

🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMahanam Sampradayaমহানাম সম্প্রদায় A Bengali Krishnaite monastic order focused on chanting and humanitarian serviceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter waterמֵי הַמָּרִים (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Sanamahism: Kayia N, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mahanam Sampradaya: Neehar Haldar, CC0, source
Ordeal of the bitter water: Charadron, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Jiji ru lüling: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Chinese shamanism: No machine-readable author provided. +上帝+ assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gardnerian Wicca: Midnightblueowl ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dianic Wicca: Jean-Baptiste Tuby I (Italy, active France, Paris and Versailles, 1635, Public domain, source
Miko: Chris Gladis, Flickr user MShades, CC BY 2.0, source
Sky burial: FishOil at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Bon: Jialiang Gao (peace-on-earth.org), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Spiritual Baptist: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Skandola: Akamanda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
Vahana: Unknown Nepali, Public domain, source
Fravashi: Hooman Mallahzadeh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Uraeus: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Snow Lion: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saint Michael: Francesco Botticini, Public domain, source
Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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