News
HistoryMysterious Ancient Culture Made a 3,000-Year-Old Blade From a Fallen StarWitchcraft“Witchcraft is like tofu”: From folklore to TikTok, why witches still matterFestivalsFrumpy Mom: I’m going back to Mexico for Day of the DeadWitch-huntsSalem proves why it remains a fall favoriteMuseumsEl Paso Museum of History explores Mexican spiritual traditionWitch-hunts12 of the Creepiest Places Where History Meets FolkloreStage magicLegendary master magician Lance Burton to bring tricks to Fox Cities PACStage magicLegendary master magician Lance Burton to bring tricks to Fox Cities PACWitch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25HistoryMysterious Ancient Culture Made a 3,000-Year-Old Blade From a Fallen StarWitchcraft“Witchcraft is like tofu”: From folklore to TikTok, why witches still matterFestivalsFrumpy Mom: I’m going back to Mexico for Day of the DeadWitch-huntsSalem proves why it remains a fall favoriteMuseumsEl Paso Museum of History explores Mexican spiritual traditionWitch-hunts12 of the Creepiest Places Where History Meets FolkloreStage magicLegendary master magician Lance Burton to bring tricks to Fox Cities PACStage magicLegendary master magician Lance Burton to bring tricks to Fox Cities PACWitch-huntsWitching Hour in Salem and Beyond—The 12 Scariest Things to Do on Halloween NightMuseumsThis Week in Moab: Magic for Seekhaven and a New Museum Show, October 19–25
EveryJaadu

Results for "lead"

60 entries found.

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreMandaic lead rolls Lead sheets inscribed with Mandaic incantations, rolled and worn as protective talismans by Mandaeans.Charm · Protection Historical 🇫🇷 France 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 🇩🇪 GermanyPied Piper of Hamelinder Rattenfänger von Hameln A medieval legend about a piper who leads children away from the town of HamelinFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Jue張角 A Taoist leader who used healing magic to spark a major rebellion in ancient China.Figure · Healing · Power and authority Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreBardo Thodolབར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ (bar do thos grol) A Tibetan Buddhist guide for navigating the intermediate state between death and rebirth.Text Living 🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A lion-like spirit king of Balinese mythology who battles the witch-queen Rangda in ritual dance.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCurupira A backwards-footed forest guardian from Brazilian indigenous myth who punishes loggers and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇩 IndonesiaRangdaᬭᬗ᭄ᬤ A Balinese demon queen who leads witches in an eternal battle against good.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreMaraboutmurābiṭ A Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, often linked to Sufi brotherhoods.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical 🇦🇫 Afghanistan and 2 moreAbu Ma'shar al-Balkhiابومَعْشَر جعفر بن محمد بن عمر بلخی A Persian astrologer whose manuals shaped medieval European and Islamic celestial studiesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreLeshyлеший A forest spirit from Slavic folklore who guards the woods and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUpanayanaउपनयन A Hindu rite of passage marking a student's initiation into formal education and spiritual discipline.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇯🇵 JapanKamo no Yasunori賀茂 保憲 A Heian-era onmyōji and teacher of Abe no Seimei in Japanese esoteric artsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAlonso de Salazar Frías An inquisitor who used evidence to stop witch executions in SpainBelief Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaKundaliniकुण्डलिनी A dormant energy in Hinduism believed to rise through the spine for spiritual liberationBelief Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomGwyllion Welsh spirits that lead travellers astray and are feared in mountain folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLodestone A naturally magnetized mineral used for early navigation and divinationSubstance · Healing Historical 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTikbalang A horse-headed spirit of Philippine forests that leads travelers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreManbo A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇵🇭 PhilippinesBabaylan Spiritual leaders of pre-colonial Philippines who mediated with the unseen world.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomDavid Devant English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGiles Corey An English-born farmer pressed to death for refusing to plead during the Salem witch trialsFigure Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiBaron Samedi A Haitian Vodou spirit of the dead who also controls healing and resurrection.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomCŵn Annwn Spectral hounds of the Welsh otherworld that hunt souls and signal deathBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火 Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇳 India and 6 moreChurel A female revenant of South Asian folklore, feared for luring men awayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreEusapia Palladino An Italian medium whose séances were investigated by leading scientists and magicians in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luriaיִצְחָק בן שלמה אשכנזי לוּרְיָא A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreOungan A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical 🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga Suppression Act 1907 A New Zealand law banning traditional Māori healers and faith practitionersText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreFan death선풍기 사망설 A South Korean urban legend that running a fan in a sealed room causes fatal suffocationBelief Fading 🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Tippecanoe An urban legend linking US presidential deaths to election years ending in zero.Belief · Cursing and harm Fading 🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Перперуна A Balkan rainmaking rite performed by youths in greenery to invoke summer showersRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇫🇷 FranceLarzac tablet A lead curse tablet from southern France invoking a goddess against a group of womenText · Cursing and harm Historical 🇦🇫 AfghanistanCurse of 39 A number feared in Afghanistan for its link to prostitution and shameBelief Living 🇫🇷 FranceLouviers possessions A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaMangala Dosha A Hindu astrological belief that Mars causes marital trouble and the rituals used to address itBelief · Protection Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAsian witchcraft A broad overview of magical practices and persecution across Asian culturesTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇫🇷 FranceChamalières tabletPlomb de Chamalières A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇮🇩 IndonesiaPancar Merah An engraved Islamic talisman from South Borneo used for protection and charismaCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇷 FranceCurse of Vibia A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreTawûsî Melekتاوسی مەلەک The central angel of Yazidism, known as the Peacock Angel and leader of the Seven Mysteries.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFionn mac CumhaillFionn mac Cumaill A legendary Irish hero and leader of the Fianna warrior bandFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBishop-fish A legendary sea creature said to gesture like a cleric before vanishingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇱 IsraelAgrat bat Mahlatאגרת בת מחלת A demon in Jewish tradition who rules over destructive spirits and night hours.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSaint Michael A Christian archangel who defends the faithful and weighs soulsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSkogsrå A forest spirit in Swedish folklore who appears as a beautiful woman but hides a hollow back and animal feet.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaPitsen A shapeshifting forest spirit of the Siberian Tatars that brings luck or leads travelers astrayBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living 🇲🇽 MexicoTeotlaqualli A hallucinogenic paste used by Aztec priests and healers in the pre-Columbian era.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.