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Practices, traditions, and ideas. Explore the connections, keep the context.

A practice record needs method, setting, lineage or origin context, safety boundaries, and claim-level evidence questions before it can become a full article.

A tradition record needs careful boundaries, community and textual context, terminology notes, and links to practices without implying ownership or endorsement.

A concept record needs definitions by context, translation or usage notes, and clear accounts of how meanings shift across traditions and modern settings.

A category record explains an editorial lens. Categories can overlap and should never be treated as endorsement, ranking, or evidence of benefit.

A glossary record defines editorial vocabulary used across Machipedia so readers can interpret evidence, claims, sources, and review status consistently.

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30 entries

A–Z · Machipedia collection

Type: Tradition

TraditionTradition: European esoteric spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner

Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy is a spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s, teaching a path of spiritual knowledge.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Anthroposophy, Anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner), Spiritual science, Geisteswissenschaft
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Spiritual science, Reincarnation, Threefold social organism, Eurythmy, Waldorf education, Biodynamic farming, Anthroposophic medicine

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: South Asian religion and philosophy with regional branches

Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of religious and philosophical traditions that trace their teachings to the Buddha in South Asia.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Buddhist traditions, Buddhist tradition, Buddhism
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Four Noble Truths, Non-self (anātman), Karma, Rebirth, Middle path, Nirvana, Bodhisattva, Five Precepts, Two truths, Buddha-nature

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Afro-Brazilian religion organized in terreiros and nations

Candomblé

Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion in which communities called terreiros honor deities known as orixás.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Candomblé (Brazil), Candomblé baiano, Afro-Brazilian Candomblé
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Terreiro, Nation (nação), Orixá, Axé, Mãe-de-santo and pai-de-santo, Religious racism, Medical pluralism, Religious syncretism

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Abrahamic religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth

Christianity

Christianity is a religion centered on the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Christianity, Christian religion, Christian faith
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Prayer, Sacraments, Anointing of the sick, Laying on of hands, Divine healing, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Forgiveness, Soul, Intercession, Spiritual gifts, Salvation

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Modern Western spiritual movements drawing on the idea of shamanism

Core shamanism and neo-shamanism

Modern Western spiritual movements that adapt shamanic methods, notably drumming journeys, apart from Indigenous traditions.

MetaphysicalAlternative

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Aliases: Core shamanism, Neo-shamanism, Core shamanism and neo-shamanism, Neoshamanism, Urban shamanism
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Shamanic journey, Drumming, Animism, Spirit helpers, Altered states of consciousness, Cultural appropriation, Cross-cultural method, Spiritual commodification

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Latin American and Mexican American folk healing

Curanderismo

Curanderismo is the folk healing tradition of Mexico and Latin America, also practiced in Latino communities in the United States.

MetaphysicalAlternativeHolistic

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Entry details

Aliases: curanderismo, Mexican folk healing, Mexican American folk healing, Latin American folk healing, Mexican traditional medicine, curandero, curandera, curanderos
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Soul, Spirituality, Mind-Body Connection

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: German non-physician practitioner profession and naturopathic practice

German Heilpraktiker practice

German Heilpraktiker practice is the work of licensed non-physician health practitioners in Germany.

AlternativeComplementary

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Aliases: Heilpraktiker, Heilpraktikerin, German Heilpraktiker practice, Non-medical practitioner (Germany), Non-medical naturopathic practitioner, Natural health practitioner (Germany)
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Naturopathy, Non-medical practitioner, Complementary and alternative medicine, Lay healing, Neue Deutsche Heilkunde, Kur (spa stay), Primary care, Professional regulation, Patient safety

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: South Asian religion and philosophy

Hinduism

Hinduism is a family of religious and philosophical traditions that originated in the Indian subcontinent.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta, Sanatana Dharma
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Karma, Reincarnation, Dharma, Moksha, Atman, Brahman, Maya, Bhakti, Guru-disciple tradition, Puja

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Hmong animist spiritual and healing tradition

Hmong shamanism

Hmong shamanism is the animist spiritual and healing tradition of Hmong communities, centered on the txiv neeb.

MetaphysicalHolistic

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Entry details

Aliases: Hmong shamanism, Hmong traditional religion, Hmong religiosity, Txiv neeb tradition, Ua neeb
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Ntsuj plig (multiple souls), Poob plig (soul loss), Hu plig (soul calling), Ancestor veneration, Spirit world, Reincarnation, Shaman calling, Medical pluralism

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: African American folk spiritual and healing tradition of the US South

Hoodoo

Hoodoo is an African American folk spiritual and healing tradition of the US South, also called rootwork or conjure.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Rootwork, Root work, Conjure, Conjuration, Hoodoo conjure
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Spirituality, Conjure, Rootwork, Root doctor, Mojo, Medical pluralism, Afro-Christianity

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: school of thought in psychology and psychotherapy

Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is a mid-twentieth-century school of psychology centered on subjective experience, meaning and growth.

HolisticComplementary

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Entry details

Aliases: Humanistic psychology, Third force psychology, Third Force, Humanistic movement
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Self-actualization, Hierarchy of needs, Person-centered therapy, Core conditions, Unconditional positive regard, Empathic understanding, Congruence, Existential-humanistic therapy, Third force, Human potential movement, Growth and becoming, Meaning

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Abrahamic religion with Sunni, Shia and Sufi branches

Islam

Islam is a monotheistic religion whose adherents, called Muslims, follow the Quran and the example of Muhammad.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Islam
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Tawhid, Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj, Quran, Hadith, Sunnah, Dua, Dhikr, Walaya, Ziyara, Shariah, Prophetic medicine, Jinn, Evil eye

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: South Asian religion and philosophy

Jainism

Jainism is a South Asian religion that teaches nonviolence and the release of the soul from rebirth.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Jainism, Jaina
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Ahimsa (nonviolence), Karma, Reincarnation, Jiva and ajiva, Anekantavada, Tirthankaras, Kevala (liberation), Three jewels, Paryushana, Sallekhana

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Jewish religion and culture

Judaism

Judaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people, with several movements and a long textual tradition.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Judaism
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Halakhah, Pikuach nefesh, Mi Shebeirach, Refaeinu, Vidui, Kabbalah, Sefirot, Ein Sof, Tikkun, Devekut, Hasidism, Rebbe, Mitnagdim, Shabbat, Soul

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: school of psychology and psychotherapy founded by C. G. Jung

Jungian analytical psychology

A school of psychology founded by C. G. Jung, built around the unconscious, symbols and a process called individuation.

Holistic

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Entry details

Aliases: Jungian analytical psychology
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Collective unconscious, Archetypes, Individuation, Shadow, Persona, Complexes, Active imagination, Synchronicity, Transference, Dream interpretation, Mandala

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Jewish mystical tradition and its Christian and Hermetic offshoots

Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a Jewish mystical tradition with medieval roots, centered on texts such as the Zohar.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Kabbala, Cabala, Qabalah, Jewish mysticism
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Soul, Reincarnation, Spirituality, Spiritual Growth, Sefirot, Ein Sof, Tzimtzum, Tikkun, Gilgul, Zohar, Devekut, Hasidism

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Pano-speaking Indigenous healing and ceremonial tradition of Acre, Brazil

Katukina

The Katukina are a Pano-speaking Indigenous people of the upper Juruá in Acre, Brazil, with shamanic and healing traditions.

HolisticMetaphysical

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Aliases: Katukina, Katukina Pano, Pano Katukina, Noke Koï, Katukina do Campinas
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Kampô, Panema (hunting bad luck), Rome (shamanic power), Oni (ayahuasca), Rome poto (snuff), Romeya (shamanic specialist), Shamanic songs, Traditional knowledge, Noke haweti (culture)

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Maya medical and healing traditions of Mesoamerica

Maya healing

Maya healing is the set of medical and ritual traditions of Maya peoples in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

MetaphysicalAlternativeHolistic

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Entry details

Aliases: Maya healing, Masewal Maya healing in Belize, Maya midwifery, Arvigo Institute and Tul'ix lineage, Maya traditional medicine, Mayan healing
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Cosmovision, Fright-related illness, Traditional midwifery, Bonesetting, Medicinal plant knowledge, Intercultural health, Tsak (healing)

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: contemporary Western spiritual milieu and movement

New Age spirituality

New Age spirituality is a loose Western spiritual milieu, called a movement in some accounts, that took shape in the 1960s.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Contemporary New Age spirituality, New Age movement, Contemporary spirituality, New Age spirituality
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Age of Aquarius, Higher Self, Channeling, Holism, Human potential, Self-spirituality, Spiritual supermarket, Cultic milieu, Personal transformation, Alternative spirituality

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: American mental-healing and metaphysical religious movement

New Thought

A set of nineteenth-century American mental-healing and metaphysical religious groups that centers on the power of thought.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: New Thought
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Affirmative prayer, Mind cure, Spiritual Mind Treatment, Power of thought, Science of Mind, Divine Science, Unity, Prosperity, Oneness of God and humanity, Spiritual law

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Afro-Caribbean spiritual and healing practice of the Anglophone Caribbean

Obeah

Obeah is a set of African-derived spiritual and healing practices found in the Anglophone Caribbean.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Obia, Obeah (Obia)
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Spirituality, Divination, Protection, Spirit possession, Medical pluralism, Religious syncretism

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: school of psychology on well-being, strengths and flourishing

Positive psychology

A school of psychology, launched in 1998-2000, that studies well-being, character strengths and flourishing.

Holistic

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Aliases: Positive psychology
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: PERMA, Flourishing, Character strengths, Subjective well-being, Positive emotion, Positive psychology interventions, Broaden-and-build theory, Positivity ratio, Toxic positivity, Positive institutions

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: 19th-century religious movement and mediumship churches

Spiritualism

Spiritualism is a religious movement begun in 1848 that centers on mediumship and belief in life after death.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: None recorded
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Mediumship, Survival of the soul, Spirit communication, Absent healing, Seven Principles, Séance

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: South Asian religious traditions and modern Western adaptations

Tantra

Tantra is a set of South Asian Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions of ritual, mantra and meditation practice.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Tantrism, Tantric Sex, Neo-Tantra, Neotantra, Tantric traditions
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Divine Feminine, Divine Masculine, Spirituality, Spiritual Growth, Awareness, Mind-Body Connection, Attention, Kundalini, Mantra, Initiation, Guru-disciple lineage, Deity yoga, Shakti

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: modern esoteric and religious movement of Western origin

Theosophy

A modern esoteric movement founded in 1875 that teaches a shared spiritual wisdom beneath the world's religions.

Metaphysical

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Entry details

Aliases: Theosophy, Modern Theosophy, Theosophical movement, Theosophical Society teachings
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Karma, Reincarnation, Universal brotherhood, Hidden Masters, Root races, Evolution of consciousness, Subtle bodies, Comparative religion, Akashic Records, World Teacher

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: school of psychology concerned with spiritual and self-transcending experience

Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies spiritual and self-transcending experience.

Holistic

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Aliases: Transpersonal psychology, Fourth force in psychology
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Self-actualization, Peak experience, Ego transcendence, States of consciousness, Spiritual emergency, Third force and fourth force, Perennial philosophy, Integral psychology, Human transformation

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Afro-Haitian religion and healing tradition

Vodou

Vodou is the Afro-Haitian religion centered on service to the lwa, its spirits, practiced in Haiti and its diaspora.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Haitian Vodou, Vodoun
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Soul, Spirituality, Ancestral Patterns

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: academic field and family of Western esoteric currents

Western esotericism

Western esotericism is an academic field and umbrella term for Hermetic, Gnostic, alchemical and occult currents.

Metaphysical

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Aliases: Western esotericism
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Christian Kabbalah, Alchemy, Astrology, Rosicrucianism, Occultism, Ceremonial magic, Theosophy, Rejected knowledge, Prisca theologia, Natural magic

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: Indigenous Panoan people of Acre, Brazil, with ceremonial and healing traditions

Yawanawá

The Yawanawá are a Panoan-speaking Indigenous people of Acre, Brazil, with their own ceremonial and healing traditions.

MetaphysicalHolistic

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Aliases: Yawanawá
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Shuãnka (healing chant), Xinaya (ayahuasca specialist), Saiti (festival and chant), Mariri (festival), Uma aki (caiçuma festival), Plano de Vida (Life Plan), Shuhu (community center), Cultural revitalization

Reference record available.

TraditionTradition: South Asian philosophy, practice lineages and modern postural yoga

Yoga traditions

Yoga traditions are South Asian philosophical and practice lineages of yoga, plus the modern postural yoga linked to them.

MetaphysicalHolistic

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Aliases: Yoga traditions, Haṭhayoga, Modern postural yoga, Mysore tradition, Haṭha yoga
Tradition: Not assigned
Related concepts: Yoga Sutra, Eight limbs, Samkhya, Isvara, Karma yoga, Jnana yoga, Bhakti yoga, Haṭhayoga, Asana, Pranayama, Kaivalya, Moksha, Vinyasa

Reference record available.