Living practices

Practised today by communities who hold it as their own.

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 States and 4 moreAMORCAntiquus Mysticusque Ordo Rosae Crucis A US-based Rosicrucian order with global lodges and a focus on correspondence study.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United StatesFive-Percent Nation A New York movement teaching that Black people are the original gods and earth of civilizationTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreKélé An Afro-Saint Lucian faith rooted in Yoruba traditions and secret practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreLady in Red A female ghost in a scarlet dress, often linked to tragic or violent deaths.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇺🇸 United StatesJoy of Satan Ministries An occult movement combining theistic Satanism with esoteric and extraterrestrial loreTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesChristian views on magic A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreZombie walk A public gathering where people dress as zombies to walk through city streets for entertainment or charityIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living 🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United StatesBaseball superstition Rituals and beliefs held by players and fans to influence game outcomesBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇺🇸 United StatesLaw of attraction A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreHaunted doll A doll claimed to be haunted or possessed, often linked to film and urban legend.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChurch of Satan An atheistic religious body founded in 1966 that practices ritual magicTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSuperman curse An urban legend linking misfortunes to actors and creators in Superman adaptationsBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United StatesQuviasukvikᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᕕᒃ An Arctic festival marking the new year with sunrise rituals and community gatherings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United StatesKrotona A historic Theosophical center and intentional community in CaliforniaTradition · Power and authority Living

🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMagic A performance art using natural means to create the appearance of impossible featsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇨🇦 CanadaBalzac Billy A groundhog-costumed mascot that forecasts the weather on Groundhog Day in Alberta.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇨🇦 CanadaMistapewmistâpêw (ᒥᐢᑖᐤ) A spirit-being of the Cree peoples, known as the Great Man or Bigfoot.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United StatesPele's Curse A belief that taking Hawaiian sand or rock brings bad luckBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreFortune telling fraud A confidence trick where a grifter invents a curse to extract money from a vulnerable client.Belief · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United StatesMedicine man A traditional healer and spiritual leader within Indigenous communities of the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇺🇸 United States and 3 more11:11 A clock time believed to signal spiritual alignment or synchronicity in numerology and New Age thoughtBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living 🇺🇸 United StatesChurch of Light An esoteric organization teaching astrology, alchemy, and magic as a way of life.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living 🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Street magic: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
Mistapew: Alarichall, CC0, source
Quviasukvik: Jodie Wilson, CC BY 2.0, source
Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Baseball superstition: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY 4.0, source
Christian views on magic: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Zombie walk: tangi bertin, CC BY 2.0, source
Haunted doll: Cayobo, CC BY 1.0, source
Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
Fortune telling fraud: Simon Vouet, Public domain, source
Medicine man: Smallbones, Public domain, source
Joy of Satan Ministries: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source

Living practices

Photo credits on this page

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