All entries

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

🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceMeilichiosΜειλίχιος An ancient Greek chthonic spirit linked to Zeus and appeased through fire offerings.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesBell Witch A Tennessee legend of a shapeshifting spirit that tormented the Bell family in the early nineteenth century.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomChained Oak A Staffordshire oak bound in chains by a local legend of a curse and an earl.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇱 GreenlandIdlirvirissong A sky spirit who tests the dead with a dance and punishes laughter by disembowelling them.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇺 AustraliaPortal (magic trick) A stage illusion where the magician and a volunteer vanish to appear in a distant location.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyBologna bottle A glass vessel that withstands hammer blows but shatters from an internal scratchCharm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesPolka-dot paint A stage magic trick and a real paint product that creates dotted patternsSubstance · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreChain letterFukou no Tegami A message that demands copying and forwarding to avoid bad luck or gain fortuneBelief · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇱🇹 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomGorsedd stonesCerrig yr Orsedd Stone circles built for the National Eisteddfod of Wales to host druidic ceremonies.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇷🇺 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

🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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 🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Rocky Colavito A baseball superstition linking a 1960 player trade to decades of team failureBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreImitation of sounds in shamanism Shamanic vocal and musical mimicry of nature to invoke spirits or transform identityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary 🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망 A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomBiast Bhealach Odail A shapeshifting spirit of a Scottish mountain passBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyMagic Circle of the German Democratic RepublicMagischer Zirkel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik A national association for stage magicians in East Germany from 1956 to 1990.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇦🇹 AustriaMagic Club of ViennaMagischer Klub Wien Austrian association for stage magicians founded in 1908Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 moreSalige Frau A blissful Alpine spirit who guides farmers and guards mountain gameFigure · Protection · Healing Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandDeath coachcóiste bodhar A spectral carriage that signals an unavoidable death in European folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreGrim Reaper A hooded skeleton with a scythe, representing death in Western art and story.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaTarakeshwaraतारकेश्वर (Tārakeśvara) A form of Shiva who guides souls to liberation through sacred mantrasFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCurse of BraganzaMaldição dos Braganças A historical myth about premature deaths in the Portuguese and Brazilian royal housesBelief Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇱🇾 LibyaMachlyes A legendary Libyan tribe described in ancient texts as warriors and hermaphrodites.Figure Legendary 🇾🇪 YemenʿAnāqأناق بنت آدم A monstrous daughter of Adam in Islamic extra-Quranic traditionFigure · 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.

Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Curse of Braganza: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
Grim Reaper: Jaroslav A. Polák, CC BY 4.0, source
Akhty: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Loudun possessions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Salige Frau: various, Public domain, source
Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Gorsedd stones: Robin Drayton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Chained Oak: Gary Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Bell Witch: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Meilichios: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, 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

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Photo credits on this page

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