All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
PeopleRussian (remove)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti
An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaIndrikИндрик-зверь
A legendary Russian beast said to rule all animals from a sacred mountainBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreJean de l'Ours
A half-bear folk hero who rescues princesses from an underworld giant.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaShishigaшишига
A female swamp spirit of Russian and Komi folklore that brings misfortune and death.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreBevis of HamptonПовесть о Бове-королевиче
A medieval chivalric romance about a hero's exile and return across Europe and the Near EastText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreNew IsraelНовый Израиль
A Russian sectarian movement that established a farming commune in UruguayTradition Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreKuma LisaКума Лиса
A trickster fox from Slavic folklore who outwits other animalsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jean de l'Ours: Édouard François Zier (1856–1924), illustrator, Public domain, source
- Bevis of Hampton: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source