All entries
2,212 entries so far, best known first. 3,117 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
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology
A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreZduhaćздухаћ
A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBrown Lady of Raynham Hall
A famous English ghost story and photograph from a Norfolk country houseBeing Historical
🇯🇵 JapanCurse of the Colonelカーネルサンダースの呪い
A Japanese sports superstition blaming a baseball team's losses on an offended fast-food mascot.Belief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of the Bambino
A sports superstition linking a long championship drought to a player saleBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreTennin天人
Heavenly beings in Japanese Buddhism, often depicted as beautiful women with feathered scarves.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft
Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 GreecePeleiadesΠελειάδες
Sacred women of the Oracle at Dodona, linked to doves and ZeusBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPig dragon玉豬龍
A coiled Neolithic jade amulet from Hongshan culture, possibly an early dragon imageCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreTalismanic shirttılsımlı gömlek
A worn textile inscribed with sacred verses and symbols for protection in the Muslim worldCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son
A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAstrometeorology
A historical belief that celestial positions forecast weather and climateBelief · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇫🇷 FranceLarzac tablet
A lead curse tablet from southern France invoking a goddess against a group of womenText · Cursing and harm Historical
🇭🇺 HungaryCurse of TuranTuráni átok
A Hungarian belief that a historic spell causes national misfortune and personal despairBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanUshi no toki mairi丑の時参り
A Japanese ritual of cursing performed at a shrine during the early morning hours.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot
The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLouviers possessions
A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreHypocephalus
An ancient Egyptian disk placed under the head of the dead for protection and rebirthCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇫🇷 FranceChamalières tabletPlomb de Chamalières
A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaI Ching divination
A Chinese oracle using hexagrams derived from yarrow stalks or coinsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть
A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai
An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandVäki
A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 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
🇮🇪 IrelandEarly Irish astrology
The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreHercules' ClubHerkuleskeule
A club-shaped amulet worn in the Roman Empire and by Germanic peoples as a protective charm.Charm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyIatromathematics
A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaIndrajalaइन्द्रजाल
A Sanskrit term for illusion and conjuring, linking stage magic to Hindu philosophy.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaChronomancy
A divination method to find lucky days and the best times for action.Oracle · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian)
A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPodomancy
A divination method that reads the lines and shapes of the soles to reveal character and fateOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelJewish astrologyמַזָּלוֹת (mazzālôt)
A belief system within Judaism that celestial bodies influence earthly affairs and human destiny.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy
Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam
Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreScarab
An ancient Egyptian amulet and seal shaped like a dung beetleCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLorica
A Hiberno-Scottish monastic prayer for protection against evilText · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptBirth tusk
Ivory rods inscribed with protective figures for childbirth and infant safety in ancient Egypt.Charm · Protection Historical
🇯🇵 JapanAkisutozenekoあきすとぜねこ
A Shōwa-era Japanese game that turns lovers' names into a predicted relationship outcomeBelief · Love and attraction Historical
🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda
A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇷 IranʿIlm al-Ḥurūfعِلْم الْحُرُوف
A system of Arabic numerology that assigns numerical values to letters to reveal hidden meanings in the Quran.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча
A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesDavid Copperfield's laser illusion
A stage trick where a magician appears to be sliced by a beam of light and reassembled.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zduhać: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astrometeorology: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Brown Lady of Raynham Hall: Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Curse of the Colonel: Ogiyoshisan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Curse of the Bambino: National Photo Company, Public domain, source
- Tennin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pig dragon: Prof. Gary Lee Todd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Larzac tablet: Pankratos, Public domain, source
- Chamalières tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hypocephalus: rob koopman, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Talismanic shirt: Ibrahim Husain Meraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- I Ching divination: A.Davey, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hercules' Club: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indrajala: Abishekrl15156, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
- Podomancy: Eyefive45, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
- Birth tusk: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Scarab: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
- The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source