All entries
1,018 entries so far, best known first. 5,156 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaChakraचक्र
Meditation points in the subtle body used in Hindu and Buddhist yogaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍
A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley
English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreRachel's TombQever Raḥel; Qabr Rāḥīl
A shared holy site near Bethlehem revered by Jews, Christians, and MuslimsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά
A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition Historical
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreLa Llorona
A vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who mourns drowned children near water.Figure · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 IndiaTaraतारा (Sanskrit), তারা (Bengali)
A fierce Hindu goddess of protection and wisdom, central to the Mahavidya tradition.Being · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAshtamangalaअष्टमङ्गल
A set of eight sacred symbols used in Indian religions to mark auspicious occasions and teach spiritual truths.Tradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt
A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomGiles Corey
An English-born farmer pressed to death for refusing to plead during the Salem witch trialsFigure Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTarottarocchi
A set of playing cards used for games and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos
A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBeltane Fire Festival
A modern Edinburgh performance celebrating the start of summer with fire and danceRite · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇪🇸 SpainBasque witch trials
A seventeenth-century Inquisition campaign against alleged witches in the Basque Country.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
A 1982 book proposing Jesus had a bloodline protected by a secret societyText · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland
A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTang-ki童乩 (tóngjī); 乩童 (jītóng)
A Chinese folk-religion medium whose body a deity is held to take overTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKalachakraདུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།
A Tibetan Buddhist tantric deity and system of yogic time cyclesTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇨🇱 ChileChilean mythology
The myths and legends of Chile, blending indigenous roots with colonial influences.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya mythology
The reconstructed tales of the Maya people about gods, heroes, and the creation of the world.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai
Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreNart sagaНарты кадджытæ
A collection of epic tales from the North Caucasus about a legendary group of heroes.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 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
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu
A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi
A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreBrocken spectreBrockengespenst
A giant shadow cast by an observer onto clouds, often surrounded by a rainbow halo.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg
A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio
A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches
A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇿 Algeria and 1 moreAhmad al-Buniأحمد البوني المالكي
A medieval Sufi scholar known for works on letter mysticism and talismansText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLuoshu Square洛書
An ancient Chinese three-by-three magic square linked to geomancy and numerologyTradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanGazu Hyakki Yagyō画図百鬼夜行
A 1776 Japanese woodblock book of yōkai illustrations by Toriyama SekienText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang)
Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches
Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम्
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials
The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland
A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandValais witch trials
The first systematic European witch-hunt, beginning in the Valais region of Switzerland in 1428.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreCeltic mythology
The mythic traditions of the Celtic peoples, preserved in Irish and Welsh textsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat
A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Rachel's Tomb: Lane-Poole, Stanley, Public domain, source
- Beltane Fire Festival: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tara: Chore Bagan Art Studio, Public domain, source
- Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Bamberg witch trials: Berthold Werner, Public domain, source
- Brocken spectre: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
- Basque witch trials: Alberto-g-rovi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tang-ki: Bunkichi Chang, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kalachakra: Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Celtic mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Ahmad al-Buni: Khalili Collections, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
- Luoshu Square: An unknown Tibetan artist, Public domain, source
- Gazu Hyakki Yagyō: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
- Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trial by combat: Jörg Breu der Jüngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
- Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Chakra: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
- Ashtamangala: Redtigerxyz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source