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

🇬🇧 United KingdomWirry-cow A Scottish folk figure representing a frightening object or spiritBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇵 JapanUkehi誓 A Japanese divination ritual using oaths and sortition to seek the will of the kamiRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenKvinneby amulet An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm · Protection Historical

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

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreHorse coin馬錢 (mǎ qián) A Chinese numismatic charm depicting horses, used as game pieces or gambling tokensCharm · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

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

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese burial money瘞錢 (yì qián) Imitations of currency placed in Chinese graves to serve the deceased in the afterlife.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇷 IranʿIlm al-Ḥurūfعِلْم الْحُرُوف A system of Arabic numerology that assigns numerical values to letters to reveal hidden meanings in the Quran.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptKitab al-Kanuzكتاب الكنوز A lost Arabic treasure guide linked to Zerzura and the SphinxText · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptPlummet amulet An Ancient Egyptian charm shaped like a plumb bob to ensure balance in the afterlifeCharm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiji ru lüling急急如律令 A Taoist incantation demanding immediate action from spiritsText · Cursing and harm · 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 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLock charms家锁 / 锁片 (jiā suǒ / suǒ piàn) A Chinese metal pendant shaped like a lock to protect children from harm and death.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceAornumἌορνον A Greek cave oracle said to be a gateway to the underworldOracle · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomMadam Pigott A White Lady ghost of Shropshire who haunts roads and rides on horsesBeing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreBuddhist coin charm佛教品壓勝錢 Amulets shaped like coins that bear Buddhist symbols and prayers for protection.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaPancar Merah An engraved Islamic talisman from South Borneo used for protection and charismaCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLei Ting curse charm符咒钱 A numismatic charm invoking the thunder god to banish evil spirits.Charm · 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

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm道教品壓生錢 Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreCurse of 1940 A superstition explaining a long championship drought for the New York RangersBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreConfucian coin charms Amulets bearing Confucian moral teachings and historical storiesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreVault protector coin鎮庫錢 (zhèn kù qián) Large Chinese numismatic charms cast to guard mint treasuries and attract wealth.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaSynoptical astrology An astrological system that overlays tropical, sidereal and constellational zodiacsText · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 4 moreBelgian Tarot A standard tarot deck printed in the Low Countries, mislabeled as Swiss.Tradition · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇰🇷 South KoreaDongti동티 Divine punishment in Korean mythology, often manifesting as sudden illness or death.Belief · Cursing and harm 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 🇯🇵 JapanTanukitsuki狸憑き (たぬきつき) A Japanese folk belief where a tanuki spirit possesses a human, causing illness and strange behavior.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫婦和合花錢 Coin-shaped amulets from East Asia that celebrate marriage, fertility, and conjugal harmonyCharm · Protection · 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

🇪🇬 EgyptWeres An Egyptian amulet shaped like a headrest for mummiesCharm · Protection Historical

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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusjꜥrt An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMakaraमकर A legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology and a symbol of water and thresholdsBeing · Protection · 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

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreYazata𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 A Zoroastrian term for divine beings worthy of worship and venerationBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso and 5 moreCosmic egg A mythological motif where the universe or a creator emerges from a primordial egg.Belief · Wonder and entertainment 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

Photo credits on this page

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

Vault protector coin: 风之清扬, 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
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Chinese burial money: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Horse coin: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
Pancar Merah: Stameni011, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse of 1940: Trophy: Unknown Photo: Alexey Chernyadyev Derivative work: J . delanoy, CC BY 3.0, source
Buddhist coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Confucian coin charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Belgian Tarot: PATLECOQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Uraeus: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Weres: Unknown author, CC0, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, 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
Lock charms: Scott Semans World Coins (CoinCoin.com)., CC BY 3.0, source
Cosmic egg: James Basire, 1730–1802 (engraver), Public domain, source
Makara: Subbhashinee S, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ghost of Kyiv: Андрій Данкович / Andriy Dankovych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Plummet amulet: The Art Institute of Chicago, CC0, source
Synoptical astrology: Constellarius, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jiji ru lüling: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Lei Ting curse charm: Donald_Trung, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Historical practices

Photo credits on this page

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