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
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇦 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSerpent seed
A fringe belief that Cain was the offspring of Eve and the Serpent, creating two distinct human lineages.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica
A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyMagic Circle of the German Democratic RepublicMagischer Zirkel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
A national association for stage magicians in East Germany from 1956 to 1990.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil
A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBiast Bhealach Odail
A shapeshifting spirit of a Scottish mountain passBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomCain bairns
A Scottish folk belief that witches took children as a tax to the DevilBelief Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा
A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreDrude
A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyOmen (ancient Rome)omen
A sign in ancient Rome believed to reveal the future, good or bad.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Book of Thoth
A guide to a tarot deck designed by an occultist and his collaboratorText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici
A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망
A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesZelph
A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars
A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey
A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇵🇦 PanamaPanama Creature
A decomposing sloth carcass mistaken for a monster in PanamaBeing Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Rocky Colavito
A baseball superstition linking a 1960 player trade to decades of team failureBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא
A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBelled buzzard
A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法
An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham
A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyThule SocietyThule-Gesellschaft
A German occult group that sponsored the early Nazi party and promoted racial mysticism.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreChain letterFukou no Tegami
A message that demands copying and forwarding to avoid bad luck or gain fortuneBelief · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesPolka-dot paint
A stage magic trick and a real paint product that creates dotted patternsSubstance · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyBologna bottle
A glass vessel that withstands hammer blows but shatters from an internal scratchCharm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaPortal (magic trick)
A stage illusion where the magician and a volunteer vanish to appear in a distant location.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomChained Oak
A Staffordshire oak bound in chains by a local legend of a curse and an earl.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMeilichiosΜειλίχιος
An ancient Greek chthonic spirit linked to Zeus and appeased through fire offerings.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLegend of the White Snake白蛇傳
A Chinese folktale about a snake spirit who becomes human to love a mortal manFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenGlemminge stone
A Viking Age runestone in Sweden bearing a Younger Futhark inscription and a curse.Text · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanHashihime橋姫
A Japanese bridge spirit linked to jealousy and demonic transformation in folklore and Noh theatre.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreInsufflation
A ritual breath used in Christian rites to drive out evil or invite the spirit.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaKhongjomnubi NonggarolKhongchomnupi Nongkalol
A Meitei puya with two stories of transformation and ascent to the sky.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise
A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇹🇳 TunisiaOmek Tannou
A Tunisian rainmaking ritual using a sculpted head or stick to call for water during droughts.Rite · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern
An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto
A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesChepi
A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreKarzełekСкарбник, Кладенец
A Slavic mine spirit that guards treasures and guides miners.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇬 UgandaKilling of disabled children in Uganda
The ritual murder of disabled children in parts of Uganda for body parts and perceived benefitsRite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 morePardesפרד״ס
A four-level method for interpreting Jewish scriptureText · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Glemminge stone: Jorchr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Zelph: HotWheels53, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Pardes: Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingstone), Public domain, source
- Karzełek: Krystian Hasterok, CC BY 2.5, source
- Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
- Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panama Creature: Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl, CC BY 2.5, source
- Martian Monkey: Tim Farley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Drude: Ramessos, Public domain, source
- Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
- Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Abhijñā: Gryffindor, Public domain, source
- Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
- Chain letter: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chained Oak: Gary Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Meilichios: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Airship of Clonmacnoise: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jack O'The Lantern: Bodrugan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Serpent seed: David Roberts, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Legend of the White Snake: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source