Belief contexts
Traditions index
Browse the named contexts used throughout the atlas. Labels may refer to religions, historical mythologies, regional folklore, or clearly identified modern spiritual interpretations.
208 named contexts
Afro-Caribbean sacred-tree traditions
Relational and sacred-place symbolism · Caribbean
1 reading
Ainu traditional religion
Ceremonial and relational spirituality · Northern Japan
1 reading
Akan and related Ananse traditions
Oral tradition and folklore · West Africa and African diaspora
1 reading
Ancient Chinese funerary tradition
Funerary and immortality symbolism · China
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian festival and sensory culture
Ritual and poetic symbolism · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian funerary tradition
Funerary and ritual symbolism · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian religion
Sacred-tree symbolism · Northeastern Africa
25 readings
Ancient Egyptian royal symbolism
Ritual and cosmic symbolism · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian royal tradition
Royal and geographic symbolism · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian scribal tradition
Sacred-text and knowledge symbolism · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Egyptian solar religion
Religious iconography · Northeastern Africa
1 reading
Ancient Gaulish religion in Roman accounts
Reported ritual symbolism · Ancient Gaul
1 reading
Ancient Greek and later European moral tradition
Fable and ethical symbolism · Mediterranean and Europe
1 reading
Ancient Greek and Roman religion
Funerary and mythic symbolism · Mediterranean
9 readings
Ancient Greek and Roman tradition
Mythic and funerary symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Ancient Greek mythology
Mythology · Mediterranean
4 readings
Ancient Greek religion
Cultic and mythic symbolism · Mediterranean
15 readings
Ancient Greek thought and art
Mythic and philosophical symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Ancient Greek tradition
Fertility and name symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Ancient Mediterranean Aphrodite tradition
Mythic and artistic symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Religious and royal symbolism · Mesopotamia
1 reading
Ancient Mesopotamian religion and epic
Mythic landscape symbolism · Mesopotamia
1 reading
Ancient Roman civic religion
Triumphal and protective symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Ancient Roman religion
Religious and civic legend · Mediterranean
2 readings
Ancient Roman religion and foundation myth
Mythic and civic symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Andean Indigenous traditions
Cosmological and ceremonial symbolism · Andes
1 reading
Arabian cultural and devotional poetry
Cultural-spiritual metaphor · Arabian Peninsula
1 reading
Aztec religion
Religious and agricultural symbolism · Central Mexico
12 readings
Aztec religious iconography
Creation and fertility symbolism · Central Mexico
1 reading
Balinese Hindu tradition
Offering and ceremonial symbolism · Bali, Indonesia
1 reading
Biblical ritual tradition
Ritual symbolism · Ancient Southwest Asia
1 reading
British and Irish churchyard tradition
Christian and folkloric symbolism · Britain and Ireland
1 reading
British and Irish folk tradition
Folklore · Britain and Ireland
1 reading
British and Irish folklore
Protective folklore · Britain and Ireland
1 reading
British folk tradition
Protective and medicinal folklore · Britain
1 reading
British seasonal folklore
Seasonal symbolism · Britain
1 reading
Buddhist Jātaka tradition
Moral and religious narrative · South and East Asia, South and Southeast Asia
2 readings
Buddhist narrative tradition
Moral and religious narrative · South Asia and global
1 reading
Buddhist teaching metaphor
Religious metaphor · Asia
1 reading
Buddhist traditions
Religious and pilgrimage symbolism · South, Southeast, and East Asia, South and Southeast Asia
8 readings
Celtic-language myth and heroic tradition
Mythic symbolism · Ireland and Britain
1 reading
Chan and Zen Buddhist interpretation
Contemplative symbolism · China and Japan
1 reading
Chinese auspicious and visual tradition
Auspicious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese auspicious tradition
Folk and visual symbolism · China
2 readings
Chinese Confucian and literati tradition
Moral and artistic symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese cosmological tradition
Cosmological and auspicious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese Daoist and visual tradition
Religious and auspicious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese Daoist tradition
Mythic and immortality symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese Duanwu tradition
Seasonal protective folklore · China
1 reading
Chinese folk and Buddhist-influenced tradition
Protective and compassionate symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese folk and Daoist tradition
Lunar and immortality symbolism · China
2 readings
Chinese folk and visual tradition
Auspicious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese folk religion and cosmology
Folk-religious and cosmological symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese folk religion and folklore
Folk-religious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese folk tradition
Lunar and fertility symbolism · China
5 readings
Chinese literati and Daoist-influenced tradition
Auspicious and philosophical symbolism · China
2 readings
Chinese literati tradition
Philosophical and moral symbolism · China
2 readings
Chinese New Year tradition
Auspicious seasonal symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese religious and literary tradition
Mythic-literary and folk-religious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese visual and folk tradition
Auspicious symbolism · China
1 reading
Chinese zodiac tradition
Astrological and folk symbolism · East Asia
2 readings
Christian and European heraldic tradition
Religious and royal symbolism · Europe
1 reading
Christian biblical tradition
Biblical narrative · Global
1 reading
Christian emblem tradition
Moral and religious emblem · Europe
1 reading
Christian folk tradition
Religious folklore · Europe
1 reading
Christian hagiographic tradition
Saint legend and religious symbolism · Europe
1 reading
Christian interpretive tradition
Biblical interpretation · Global
1 reading
Christian monastic and emblem tradition
Religious and moral symbolism · Europe
1 reading
Christian tradition
Religious art symbolism · Europe, Global
27 readings
Classic Maya religion
Religious and royal symbolism · Mesoamerica
2 readings
Coast Salish First Salmon traditions
Ceremonial and relational spirituality · Pacific Northwest Coast
1 reading
Contemporary Andean cultural symbolism
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · Andes
1 reading
Contemporary ceremonial cacao practice
Modern spiritual movement · Global
1 reading
Contemporary ecological spirituality
Modern spiritual interpretation · North America
1 reading
Contemporary ecological symbolism
Modern cultural-spiritual interpretation · Mexico and global conservation culture
1 reading
Contemporary folk spirituality
Modern folk interpretation · Europe and North America
1 reading
Contemporary memorial symbolism
Modern spiritual and civic interpretation · Japan and global
1 reading
Contemporary Mexican cultural symbolism
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · Mexico
1 reading
Contemporary nature spirituality
Modern spiritual interpretation · Europe and North America
1 reading
Contemporary New Age spirituality
Modern spiritual practice · North America and global
1 reading
Contemporary North American civic spirituality
Modern cultural symbolism · North America
1 reading
Contemporary ritual practice
Modern spiritual interpretation · Europe and global
1 reading
Contemporary spiritual movements
Modern spiritual practice · Global
1 reading
Contemporary spiritual symbolism
Modern spiritual interpretation · Global popular culture, Americas and global popular culture
12 readings
Contemporary Western spirituality
Modern spiritual interpretation · Western popular culture, North America
7 readings
Continental Celtic religion
Sacred-grove and priestly association · Ancient Gaul and Britain, Ancient Gaul
2 readings
Daoist-influenced Chinese symbolism
Religious and poetic symbolism · China
1 reading
Diné traditional narratives
Sacred narrative and oral tradition · Southwestern North America
2 readings
Early Buddhist textual tradition
Religious metaphor · South Asia
1 reading
Early Christian art
Religious iconography · Mediterranean and Europe
1 reading
Early Christian tradition
Religious identity symbol · Mediterranean and global
1 reading
East Asian Buddhist temple tradition
Sacred-landscape and longevity symbolism · China, Korea, and Japan
1 reading
East Asian seasonal tradition
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · China, Korea, and Japan
1 reading
Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition
Religious folklore and liturgical association · Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe
1 reading
Edo religious and royal tradition
Sacred kingship and court symbolism · Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria
1 reading
European alchemical tradition
Esoteric and elemental symbolism · Europe
1 reading
European bird-king folklore
Folklore · Europe
1 reading
European Christian folk interpretation
Folk symbolism · Europe
1 reading
European Christian folk tradition
Religious folklore · Europe
1 reading
European Christian folklore
Religious folklore · Europe
2 readings
European Christian seasonal tradition
Seasonal religious symbolism · Europe
1 reading
European folk and Christian tradition
Funerary, wedding, and religious folklore · Europe
1 reading
European folk magic
Folklore · Europe
3 readings
European folk tradition
Luck and protective folklore · Europe
5 readings
European folklore
Folklore · Europe
3 readings
European magical folklore
Folk magic · Europe
1 reading
European memorial tradition
Funerary symbolism · Continental Europe
1 reading
European mourning tradition
Funerary and literary symbolism · Europe
1 reading
European winter folklore
Seasonal folklore · Europe
1 reading
Fijian traditional religion
Deity association and maritime tradition · Fiji
1 reading
Finnic and Sámi-associated northern traditions
Traditional religion and folklore · Northern Europe
1 reading
Gallo-Roman religion
Religious iconography · Western Europe
1 reading
Haida traditional narratives
Sacred narrative and oral tradition · Pacific Northwest Coast
1 reading
Haudenosaunee creation tradition
Sacred narrative · Northeastern North America
1 reading
Hindu ancestral rites
Ritual symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu and Buddhist nāga traditions
Religious and mythic symbolism · South and Southeast Asia
1 reading
Hindu devotional and wedding traditions
Devotional and auspicious symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu folk and goddess traditions
Protective and healing symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu household tradition
Domestic religious practice · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu philosophical tradition
Religious metaphor · South Asia
2 readings
Hindu sacred-tree tradition
Religious symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu Shaiva and regional traditions
Ascetic and festival practice · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu Shaiva tradition
Devotional and ritual symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Hindu traditions
Sacred-tree and religious symbolism · South Asia
23 readings
Hindu Vaishnava tradition
Devotional and sacred-plant symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Inca and Andean solar tradition
Solar and ceremonial symbolism · Andes
1 reading
Indigenous Southern Californian traditions
Ceremonial, medicinal, and relational plant practice · Southern California and northern Baja California
1 reading
Insular Celtic literature and later Celtic folklore
Mythic and folkloric symbolism · Ireland and Britain
1 reading
Inuit traditions
Relational spirituality and subsistence tradition · Arctic North America
1 reading
Irish and Welsh mythic tradition
Otherworld symbolism · Ireland and Wales
1 reading
Irish Christian tradition
Religious folklore and national symbolism · Ireland
1 reading
Irish folk tradition
Sacred-place folklore · Ireland
2 readings
Irish literary and learned tradition
Tree lore and symbolism · Ireland
1 reading
Irish mythic and folk tradition
Mythology and folklore · Ireland
1 reading
Irish mythic tradition
Mythology · Ireland
4 readings
Islamic cultural and devotional practice
Fragrant purification and hospitality · Arabian Peninsula, Horn of Africa, and wider Muslim world
1 reading
Islamic tradition
Qur’anic narrative · Global
7 readings
Jain tradition
Religious iconography · South Asia
2 readings
Japanese Buddhist and artistic tradition
Religious-art and seasonal symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese Buddhist-influenced aesthetics
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese folk and poetic tradition
Folklore and seasonal symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese folk tradition
Auspicious and folkloric symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese folklore
Moral folktale · Japan
1 reading
Japanese historical and folk tradition
Martial and seasonal symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese imperial and seasonal tradition
Imperial and auspicious symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese mythic and Shinto tradition
Sacred narrative · Japan
1 reading
Japanese seasonal and Shinto-influenced tradition
Protective and auspicious symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese seasonal tradition
Folk cleansing and ancestral symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese Shinto and New Year tradition
Seasonal religious symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese Shinto and seasonal tradition
Seasonal and sacred-landscape symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese Shinto tradition
Agricultural and offering symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Japanese visual tradition
Auspicious and moral symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Jewish and Christian biblical tradition
Biblical narrative · Global, Southwest Asia and global
4 readings
Jewish and Christian biblical traditions
Biblical and temple symbolism · Southwest Asia and global, Mediterranean and global
3 readings
Jewish and Christian wisdom tradition
Biblical moral symbolism · Global
1 reading
Jewish biblical tradition
Sacred-material symbolism · Ancient Southwest Asia, Ancient Southwest Asia and global
7 readings
Jewish tradition
Festival and biblical symbolism · Global, Ancient Southwest Asia
9 readings
Karni Mata temple tradition
Localized Hindu devotional practice · Rajasthan, India
1 reading
Kasuga Shinto tradition
Religious messengership · Nara, Japan
1 reading
Korean folk tradition
Folklore and auspicious symbolism · Korea
2 readings
Korean foundation mythology
Mythology · Korea
1 reading
Korean wedding tradition
Ceremonial and folk symbolism · Korea
1 reading
K’iche’ Maya mythic tradition
Mythology · Mesoamerica
1 reading
K’iche’ Maya tradition
Creation narrative · Mesoamerica
1 reading
Lakota tradition
Sacred narrative and ceremonial relationship · North American Great Plains
1 reading
Maya religion
Cosmological symbolism · Mesoamerica
1 reading
Maya religion and court tradition
Ritual and elite symbolism · Mesoamerica
1 reading
Maya religion and royal tradition
Religious and royal symbolism · Mesoamerica
1 reading
Medieval Christian art
Religious iconography · Europe
2 readings
Medieval Christian tradition
Bestiary and religious symbolism · Europe
1 reading
Mediterranean Christian tradition
Funerary symbolism · Mediterranean
1 reading
Mediterranean folk tradition
Folklore · Mediterranean
2 readings
Mexican Día de Muertos tradition
Ancestral and memorial symbolism · Mexico
1 reading
Modern remembrance tradition
Civic memorial symbolism · Europe, Commonwealth countries, and North America
1 reading
Māori traditions
Ancestral narrative and relational symbolism · Aotearoa New Zealand
1 reading
Māori visual tradition
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · Aotearoa New Zealand
1 reading
Native Hawaiian traditions
Ancestral and relational spirituality · Hawaiʻi
1 reading
Norse mythology
Mythology · Northern Europe
10 readings
Norse mythology and later interpretation
Mythology · Northern Europe
1 reading
Northern European folk practice
Folk cleansing and protective symbolism · Northern Europe
1 reading
Northern European folk tradition
Tree-spirit folklore · Northern Europe
2 readings
Pacific Island cultural-spiritual traditions
Relational and ancestral symbolism · Pacific Islands
1 reading
Persian and South Asian Sufi poetic tradition
Mystical poetry · Persia and South Asia
1 reading
Persian Sufi literary tradition
Mystical poetry · Persia and wider Islamic world
1 reading
Persian Sufi poetic tradition
Mystical poetry · Persia and wider Islamic world
3 readings
Persian Sufi tradition
Mystical poetry and music · Persia and wider Islamic world
1 reading
Rastafari tradition
Sacramental and communal practice · Jamaica and global Rastafari communities
1 reading
Roman seasonal tradition
Festival symbolism · Ancient Rome
1 reading
Scottish folk tradition
Protective folklore · Scotland
1 reading
Shinto and Japanese folk tradition
Religious and folkloric symbolism · Japan
1 reading
Slavic and Baltic traditional religion
Sacred-tree symbolism · Eastern and Northern Europe
1 reading
Slavic folk tradition
Seasonal and folkloric symbolism · Eastern Europe
1 reading
Slavic midsummer folklore
Seasonal folklore · Eastern Europe
1 reading
South Asian folk practice
Folk cleansing symbolism · South Asia
1 reading
Southeast Asian ceremonial tradition
Cultural-spiritual symbolism · Southeast Asia
1 reading
Southeast Asian royal and religious traditions
Auspicious and royal symbolism · Southeast Asia
1 reading
Tibetan Buddhist and Himalayan traditions
Ritual incense symbolism · Tibet and Himalayan regions
1 reading
Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition
Offering and staple-food symbolism · Tibet and Himalayan regions
1 reading
Tibetan Buddhist funerary tradition
Funerary practice · Tibet and Himalayan regions
1 reading
Tibetan Buddhist iconography
Religious teaching image · Tibet and Himalayan regions
1 reading
Tibetan Buddhist tradition
Auspicious religious symbolism · Tibet and Himalayan regions
1 reading
Vedic tradition
Religious myth and poetic symbolism · South Asia
2 readings
Western astrological tradition
Astrological symbolism · Mediterranean, Europe, and global
1 reading
Western Christian art and folklore
Later religious iconography · Europe
1 reading
Yorùbá narrative tradition
Oral tradition and folklore · West Africa
1 reading
Zoroastrian funerary tradition
Funerary practice · Iran and South Asia
1 reading
Zoroastrian tradition
Religious practice and symbolism · Iran and South Asia
2 readings
ǀXam San narrative tradition
Sacred narrative and oral tradition · Southern Africa
1 reading