All entries
1,144 entries so far, best known first. 5,003 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
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
PeopleGermans (remove)
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreBamberg witch trials
A mass execution campaign in a German prince-bishopric that killed around one thousand people between 1623 and 1632.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg
A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau dåk
A North American custom using a burrowing rodent to forecast the end of winterTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary
A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht
A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypoleMaibaum
A tall wooden pole raised for European spring festivals, accompanied by dance and celebration.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer
A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreNachzehrer
A German revenant believed to consume the living from beyond the graveBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp
A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreStraw bearStrohbär
A carnival figure wrapped in straw that visits homes for gifts and marks the turning of seasons.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone
A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreKrampus
A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure · Cursing and harm Living
🇩🇪 GermanyPied Piper of Hamelinder Rattenfänger von Hameln
A medieval legend about a piper who leads children away from the town of HamelinFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreEaster FireOsterfeuer
Bonfires lit at Easter to mark the Resurrection and spring renewalRite · Cleansing and purification · Power and authority Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreFaust
A German legend of a scholar who trades his soul for knowledge and pleasureFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 GermanyWürzburg witch trials
A mass execution of hundreds in a German Catholic principality during the Thirty Years WarBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyTrier witch trials
A series of mass executions in the Holy Roman Empire between 1581 and 1593.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAnthroposophy
A spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner to explore the intellectual side of the unseen worldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreAnimal TarotTiertarock
A family of playing card decks featuring animal imagery instead of traditional tarot scenesTradition · Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bamberg witch trials: Berthold Werner, Public domain, source
- Anthroposophy: Wladyslaw, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Animal Tarot: Cards: anonymous; Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pied Piper of Hamelin: Edmund Evans, Public domain, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter Fire: Jürgen Eissink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Faust: Earthsphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Würzburg witch trials: Sweet Chily, Public domain, source