All entries

1,167 entries so far, best known first. 4,973 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

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍 A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal An ancient judicial test where guilt or innocence was decided by surviving a painful physical trial.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling 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 🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · 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

🇪🇸 SpainBasque witch trials A seventeenth-century Inquisition campaign against alleged witches in the Basque Country.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 KingdomSamlesbury witches Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection 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

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyEtruscan religion The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection 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 🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 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

🇮🇹 ItalyLectisternium An ancient Roman ritual where couches were draped and meals served to gods.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇬🇧 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 KingdomCharmer English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing 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

🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity 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 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇶 IraqKispu An ancient Mesopotamian ritual to feed and honour the dead ancestorsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection 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

🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling 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 🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇹 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomGiles Corey An English-born farmer pressed to death for refusing to plead during the Salem witch trialsFigure Historical

🇸🇪 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 🇷🇺 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

🇮🇪 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.

Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Bamberg witch trials: Berthold Werner, Public domain, 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
Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, 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
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
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
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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