All entries

797 entries so far, best known first. 5,589 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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking A method used to locate a witch's mark during early modern European witch trialsRite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇨🇳 ChinaGu蛊 A venom-based poison and black magic practice from south ChinaSubstance · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived

🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 IndiaWitch-hunts in India Violent persecution of people accused of witchcraft, mostly women, in rural IndiaBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample) A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceBaba Yaga (sample)Баба-яга A witch of Slavic tales who lives in a hut on legs.Figure · Change and initiation Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Witch-hunts in India: Granger, Public domain, source
Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
Dhikr: Eugène Baugnies, Public domain, source
Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest