All entries

2,158 entries so far, best known first. 3,227 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

🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePunxsutawney Phil A groundhog who serves as the central figure in an annual American weather prediction festival.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChung Ling Soo程連蘇 An American stage magician who performed as a Chinese man and died during a bullet catch illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesSociety of American Magicians A global professional group for magicians that preserves the art and ethics of stage illusionIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSéance A gathering to communicate with spirits, ranging from religious services to stage performances.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreInternational Brotherhood of Magicians A global organization for professional and amateur magicians founded in 1922.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesPenn & Teller A long-running American magic duo known for comedy acts and skeptical advocacyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaStreet magic Public performance of illusions for passersby, from traditional busking to impromptu guerrilla tricksIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreCups and balls A classic stage illusion where objects vanish and reappear under inverted coversIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇺🇸 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample) A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed

🇨🇦 CanadaSpoon bending A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesBed of nails A wooden platform studded with nails used in magic acts and physics demonstrationsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed 🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreTheatrical superstitions Beliefs and rituals among actors to avoid bad luck and ward off spiritsBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇺🇸 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

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreZombie walk A public gathering where people dress as zombies to walk through city streets for entertainment or charityIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMagic A performance art using natural means to create the appearance of impossible featsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇨🇦 CanadaBalzac Billy A groundhog-costumed mascot that forecasts the weather on Groundhog Day in Alberta.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreOrigami (magic trick) A stage illusion where a person vanishes into and reappears from a folding paper boxIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed 🇺🇸 United StatesPolka-dot paint A stage magic trick and a real paint product that creates dotted patternsSubstance · 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.

Street magic: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
Spoon bending: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
Society of American Magicians: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Séance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Penn & Teller: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CC BY 2.0, source
Punxsutawney Phil: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
Zombie walk: tangi bertin, CC BY 2.0, source
Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

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