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
PeopleSwedish (remove)
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenTors氓ker witch trials
The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenMora witch trial
A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenKvinneby amulet
An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 2 moreHaltija
A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenStentoften Runestone
A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenSaleby Runestone
A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text 路 Protection Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden脜rsg氓ng
An archaic Swedish divination ritual performed on Christmas Eve to glimpse the coming year.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
- Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tors氓ker witch trials: Y-n盲smannen, CC0, source
- Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source