Historical practices

Documented in the past; no continuous living tradition today.

Living
Revived
Fading
Historical
Legendary
Performed

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

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇫🇷 FranceLouviers possessions A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 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 🇮🇹 ItalyIatromathematics A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition · Healing Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandEarly Irish astrology The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 FinlandVäki A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreHercules' ClubHerkuleskeule A club-shaped amulet worn in the Roman Empire and by Germanic peoples as a protective charm.Charm · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandLorica A Hiberno-Scottish monastic prayer for protection against evilText · Protection Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomMadam Pigott A White Lady ghost of Shropshire who haunts roads and rides on horsesBeing Historical 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWirry-cow A Scottish folk figure representing a frightening object or spiritBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenKvinneby amulet An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm · Protection Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceAornumἌορνον A Greek cave oracle said to be a gateway to the underworldOracle · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBirthing girdle A medieval charm worn during pregnancy to ensure a safe deliveryCharm · Protection Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇫🇷 FranceCurse of Vibia A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreShamanism in Europe Scholarly theories on shamanic elements in European folk beliefs and witch trialsTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 4 moreBelgian Tarot A standard tarot deck printed in the Low Countries, mislabeled as Swiss.Tradition · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomFumsup A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇦 UkraineGhost of KyivПривид Києва A wartime legend of a mythical fighter pilot who rallied Ukrainian morale.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion) A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreChortчёрт A Slavic demon spirit with horns and hooves, known in folklore as a trickster or minor evil force.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreDietrich von Bern A legendary Germanic hero based on the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the GreatFigure · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrixστρίξ A classical bird of ill omen that evolved into a term for witches and vampires across Europe.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇫🇷 FranceTitivillus A medieval demon who collects scribal errors and liturgical mistakes in a sack.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomEnfield poltergeist A disputed 1970s case of alleged supernatural activity in a London homeBelief Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAllocer A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpentsогненный змей A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 FranceDictionnaire Infernal A French demonology book cataloguing spirits and their hierarchies with engravings.Text · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Birthing girdle: Sarah Fiddyment , Natalie J. Goodison , Elma Brenner , Stefania Signor, CC BY 4.0, source
Order of the Solar Temple: George Stock derivative work: thumperward ( talk ), Public domain, source
Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
Curse of Vibia: Franz Bücheler, Public domain, source
Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Chamalières tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Hercules' Club: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Belgian Tarot: PATLECOQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Dietrich von Bern: Workshop of Diebolt Lauber, Hagenau 1444-1448, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Strix: Prosthetic Head, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Enfield poltergeist: Mx. Granger, CC0, source
Titivillus: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Dictionnaire Infernal: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
Chort: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
Ghost of Kyiv: Андрій Данкович / Andriy Dankovych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Historical practices

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest