All entries
2,216 entries so far, best known first. 3,111 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 States and 1 moreMuut
A Cahuilla spirit who guides souls, often shown as an owlBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesKrotona
A historic Theosophical center and intentional community in CaliforniaTradition · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesOpen Source Order of the Golden Dawn
A modern magical order using open-source principles to adapt ceremonial ritualsTradition · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesPele's Curse
A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇦 CanadaSt. Louis Light
A bright beam of light seen moving along an abandoned railway in Saskatchewan.Belief Fading
🇺🇸 United StatesSecond-term curse
A belief that U.S. presidents face greater trouble in their second term than their first.Belief Historical
🇬🇱 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife
A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan
A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives
Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker
An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇲🇽 MexicoOtomitl
A giant son of Aztec myth who settled the land after a great flood.Being Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreOrigami (magic trick)
A stage illusion where a person vanishes into and reappears from a folding paper boxIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreFortune telling fraud
A confidence trick where a grifter invents a curse to extract money from a vulnerable client.Belief · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesMedicine man
A traditional healer and spiritual leader within Indigenous communities of the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇱 GreenlandAnguta
A Greenlandic Inuit figure who guides the dead and fathered the sea goddess SednaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of the Boulder Valley
A legend attributed to Chief Niwot about the valley's beauty and its futureBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 3 more11:11
A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Occult: A History
A 1971 survey of occult figures and latent human powers by Colin WilsonText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreVäinämöinen
An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesJoy of Satan Ministries
An occult movement combining theistic Satanism with esoteric and extraterrestrial loreTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇦 CanadaChasse-galerieLa Chasse-galerie
A French-Canadian folktale about lumberjacks who fly a canoe to visit lovers on New Year's EveFigure · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesChristian views on magic
A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings
A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum
A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesChurch of Light
An esoteric organization teaching astrology, alchemy, and magic as a way of life.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇦 CanadaOak Island mystery
A centuries-old legend of buried treasure and unexplained engineering on a Canadian island.Belief · Luck and prosperity 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
🇺🇸 United StatesNew England vampire panic
A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief · Protection · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBlack-eyed children
A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey
A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBaseball superstition
Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGonakadet
A mythical sea creature of the Pacific Northwest believed to bring wealth and luck.Being · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesLaw of attraction
A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ
An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesTsul 'KaluᏧᏓᎦᎳ
A Cherokee hunting deity and legendary giant of the Appalachian mountainsFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge
A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBelled buzzard
A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesChepi
A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreKyöpelinvuori
A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesKrotona
A historic Theosophical center and intentional community in CaliforniaTradition · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesOpen Source Order of the Golden Dawn
A modern magical order using open-source principles to adapt ceremonial ritualsTradition · Change and initiation Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesPele's Curse
A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇦 CanadaSt. Louis Light
A bright beam of light seen moving along an abandoned railway in Saskatchewan.Belief Fading
🇺🇸 United StatesSecond-term curse
A belief that U.S. presidents face greater trouble in their second term than their first.Belief Historical
🇬🇱 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife
A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan
A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives
Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker
An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇲🇽 MexicoOtomitl
A giant son of Aztec myth who settled the land after a great flood.Being Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreOrigami (magic trick)
A stage illusion where a person vanishes into and reappears from a folding paper boxIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreFortune telling fraud
A confidence trick where a grifter invents a curse to extract money from a vulnerable client.Belief · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesMedicine man
A traditional healer and spiritual leader within Indigenous communities of the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇱 GreenlandAnguta
A Greenlandic Inuit figure who guides the dead and fathered the sea goddess SednaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of the Boulder Valley
A legend attributed to Chief Niwot about the valley's beauty and its futureBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 3 more11:11
A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Occult: A History
A 1971 survey of occult figures and latent human powers by Colin WilsonText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism
A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreVäinämöinen
An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesJoy of Satan Ministries
An occult movement combining theistic Satanism with esoteric and extraterrestrial loreTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇦 CanadaChasse-galerieLa Chasse-galerie
A French-Canadian folktale about lumberjacks who fly a canoe to visit lovers on New Year's EveFigure · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesChristian views on magic
A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings
A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum
A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesChurch of Light
An esoteric organization teaching astrology, alchemy, and magic as a way of life.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇦 CanadaOak Island mystery
A centuries-old legend of buried treasure and unexplained engineering on a Canadian island.Belief · Luck and prosperity 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
🇺🇸 United StatesNew England vampire panic
A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief · Protection · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBlack-eyed children
A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey
A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBaseball superstition
Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGonakadet
A mythical sea creature of the Pacific Northwest believed to bring wealth and luck.Being · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesLaw of attraction
A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ
An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesTsul 'KaluᏧᏓᎦᎳ
A Cherokee hunting deity and legendary giant of the Appalachian mountainsFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge
A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBelled buzzard
A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesChepi
A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreKyöpelinvuori
A Finnish mountain where dead women are said to gather after deathBelief Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Quviasukvik: Jodie Wilson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baseball superstition: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY 4.0, source
- Christian views on magic: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Väinämöinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
- Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
- Martian Monkey: Tim Farley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Second-term curse: Achille Beltrame, Public domain, source
- Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source
- Fortune telling fraud: Simon Vouet, Public domain, source
- Medicine man: Smallbones, Public domain, source
- Joy of Satan Ministries: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chasse-galerie: Henri Julien, Public domain, source
- Oak Island mystery: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- New England vampire panic: no credited author, Public domain, source
- Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source