All entries
1,216 entries so far, best known first. 4,906 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
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreVampire
An undead creature from folklore that feeds on the blood or life force of the livingBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur
A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf
A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇧🇪 Belgium and 2 moreHorseshoe
A metal shoe for a horse's hoof and a talisman of good fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal
A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye
A curse believed to be cast by a jealous glare and the charms used to stop itBelief · Protection Living
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTarottarocchi
A set of playing cards used for games and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber
Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇩🇪 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 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
🇪🇸 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 KingdomCharmer
English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches
Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm 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
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomUp Helly Aa
A Shetland fire festival marking the end of Yule with a torchlit procession and burning of a Viking galleyRite · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyEtruscan religion
The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos
A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A monthly Wiccan ritual held at the full or new moon for worship and community.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Love and attraction Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice
The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomGreen Children of Woolpit
A medieval English legend about two green-skinned siblings who appeared in a Suffolk village.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWell dressing
A rural English custom of decorating water sources with natural designsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇹 ItalyLectisternium
An ancient Roman ritual where couches were draped and meals served to gods.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi
A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainBasque witch trials
A seventeenth-century Inquisition campaign against alleged witches in the Basque Country.Belief · Cursing and harm 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird
A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreDrekavacДрекавац
A South Slavic night creature born from unbaptised souls or sinnersBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomGlaistig
A Scottish shape-shifting spirit linked to cattle, deer, and haunted castles.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomPixie
A mischievous sprite of British folklore from the southwest countiesBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac
A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceEpimenides of CreteἘπιμενίδης
A semi-mythical Greek prophet and purifier from KnossosFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChaos magic
A modern magical system that treats belief as a flexible tool rather than a fixed truth.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis
A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy
Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral
A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing 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
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
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Beltane Fire Festival: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Up Helly Aa: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
- Celtic mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Well dressing: User:WhaleyTim, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pixie: John D. Batten, Public domain, source
- Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
- Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
- Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
- Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
- Horseshoe: Cgoodwin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source