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2,266 entries so far, best known first. 3,044 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

🇯🇵 JapanTosa Obake Zōshi土佐お化け草紙 An Edo-period illustrated scroll of yōkai tales from Tosa ProvinceText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreWeiße Frauen Elven spirits of sunlight and water in Germanic folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesJewett City vampires A 19th-century New England family's belief in undead plague and their violent response to it.Belief · Protection Historical 🇦🇱 AlbaniaLugat A shadow-dwelling vampire of Albanian folklore that attacks sleepers and hides in ruins.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNavaratnaनवरत्न A nine-gem talisman set in gold or silver, linked to Hindu astrology and planetary worshipCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇷 IranAkvan Divاکوان دیو A shape-shifting demon from Persian mythology that disguises itself as a wild horse.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyWinged lion A mythological creature combining a lion's body with bird wings, used in heraldry and art.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇵 JapanYosuzume夜雀 A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTigmamanukan A pre-colonial Tagalog omen bird believed to guide journeys and aid creationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreBerkanan A runic letter representing the birch tree across Germanic writing systems.Text 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

🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇯🇵 JapanLooking taboo A mythic rule forbidding a gaze that would bring disasterBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreHoly ChaliceSanto Cáliz A cup believed to have held the blood of Jesus at the Last SupperCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaHingchabiꯍꯤꯡꯆꯥꯕꯤ A giantess figure from Meitei folklore who feeds on raw fleshBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreFiery flying serpentשָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף (sārāf mə‘ōfēf) A biblical creature described as a venomous winged snake in the Book of IsaiahFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomColt pixie A scruffy pony spirit from English folklore that leads travellers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇦🇱 AlbaniaBardha An Albanian mythological figure of good luck and fateFigure · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomLazy Laurence A mischievous English pixie who makes orchard workers lazy and gives them indigestionBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm 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 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDouen A faceless creature with backwards feet from Trinidad and Tobago folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalySatyress A female mythological creature with a human upper body and goat lower half, invented by later artists.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaStihistihí A fire-breathing storm demon from Albanian folkloreBeing Legendary

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreThe Teachings of Don Juan A 1968 book presenting an apprenticeship with a Mexican sorcerer as anthropological fieldwork.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 3 moreThe Swan Queen A Lithuanian fairy tale about a bird maiden who becomes human and returns to the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreShatiqatu𐎌𐎓𐎚𐎖𐎚 (šʿtqt) A Ugaritic healing figure created from clay to cure the king KirtaBeing · Healing Historical 🇫🇮 FinlandEtiäinen A Finnish belief in a premonitory apparition that precedes a person's arrivalBelief · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaMien shiang面相 A Chinese practice of reading character and fate through facial featuresBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaSuperstitions in Sikh societies Folk beliefs and rituals observed by some Sikhs despite theological prohibitions.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇴 RomaniaMuma Pădurii A forest spirit in Romania who protects nature and punishes those who harm itBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī) A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living 🇺🇸 United StatesBeaman Monster A Missouri cryptid said to be a giant ape or wolf-like creature from the early 1900sBeing Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇸🇪 SwedenStentoften Runestone A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSuperman curse An urban legend linking misfortunes to actors and creators in Superman adaptationsBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandEllén Trechend A three-headed creature from Irish myth that terrorized the landBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Navaratna: Pradeep717, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
Tigmamanukan: Illustrator and uploader Dragonbite ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Looking taboo: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hingchabi: Bemni, N, CC0, source
Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Superstitions in Sikh societies: jjron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Weiße Frauen: Wojciech Gerson, Public domain, source
Winged lion: Rjcastillo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source
Satyress: art_traveller, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
Holy Chalice: Vitold Muratov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons: The original uploader was Ke4roh at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
Shatiqatu: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
Fiery flying serpent: דוד דוד.. Original uploader was Androctonus at he.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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