Historical practices
Documented in the past; no continuous living tradition today.
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
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
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyFortunaFort奴na
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 ChinaOracle bone鐢查
Divination using heated ox bones and turtle shells in ancient ChinaRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenTemple at Uppsala
A Norse religious centre described in medieval texts and debated by modern scholarsTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreCapnomancy
Divination by reading the shapes and movements of smoke from fires or incenseOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty
State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomFumsup
A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula
Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBuccabocka
A Cornish sea-spirit and mine-dweller who receives fish offerings from coastal communities.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBiast Bhealach Odail
A shapeshifting spirit of a Scottish mountain passBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwayTycho Brahe daysTycho Brahes-dage
Scandinavian folklore dates believed to be unlucky for magic and businessBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanYosuzume澶滈泙
A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚨馃嚟 PhilippinesTigmamanukan
A pre-colonial Tagalog omen bird believed to guide journeys and aid creationBeing 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty
The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAstrology and astronomy
Two disciplines that shared a history before splitting into science and divinationTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada L贸pez de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capnomancy: Tigerzeng, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Oracle bone: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
- Bucca: Frederick Whymper, Public domain, source
- Tigmamanukan: Illustrator and uploader Dragonbite ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Astrology and astronomy: anonymous, Public domain, source