A living reference atlas

Atlas of Religious and Esoteric Lineages

Five thousand religious, mystical, Indigenous and esoteric lineages from around the world — what they are, where they came from, and where to read more.

Source-linked and transparently qualified. Editorial standards and correction criteria are public.

Created and maintained by Ayara and Kyle Jonathan B@KJB_and_AYARA

Entries: 5,000
Candidate geography relations: 7,326
Candidate country vocabulary: 162

Explore the index

Search five thousand distinct lineages

Entry data: effective Atlas view
Geography: candidate layer pending adjudication

111 lineages in the selected candidate country

Page 1 of 5

Atlas 0027Community-bound / restricted

Daoist internal alchemy (neidan)

East Asian Traditions Practice / discipline

Public geography: China
Period / origin: medieval period–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0028Open / public

Qigong and medical qigong

East Asian Traditions Practice / discipline

Public geography: China
Period / origin: modern umbrella term, older antecedents
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0138Community-bound / restricted

Zhengyi Daoism and Thunder Rites

East Asian Traditions Rite / ceremony

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Celestial Masters roots in 2nd century; later Zhengyi and thunder-rite developments
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0139Community-bound / restricted

Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoism

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 4th century onward
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0140Community-bound / restricted

Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) Daoism

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: late 4th–5th century onward
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0141Open / public

Falun Dafa / Falun Gong

East Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 1992 onward
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0606Open / public

Huang-Lao tradition

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Warring States antecedents; especially early Han, 3rd–2nd century BCE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0607Open / public

Fangshi (“masters of methods”) traditions

East Asian Traditions Practice / discipline

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Warring States through Han and later legacies
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0608Community-bound / restricted

Xiāntiāndào

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 17th–19th century consolidation onward
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0609Community-bound / restricted

Yīguàndào

East Asian Traditions New religious movement

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 20th-century expansion; older lineage claims
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0610Open / public

Luo Teaching

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Late 15th century onward
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0611Open / public

Fayan Chan

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 10th–11th century as an institutional house; later influence
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0612Open / public

Yunmen Chan

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 10th–12th century as a distinct house; later textual influence
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0613Open / public

Guiyang Chan

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: 9th–10th century as a distinct house
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0614Community-bound / restricted

Nuo ritual traditions

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Ancient textual antecedents; diverse living local traditions
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0615Community-bound / restricted

Meishan Masters’ ritual tradition

East Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Premodern origins; living regional lineages
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0647Community-bound / restricted

Evenki shamanic traditions

Central, North & Inner Asian Lineage / school

Public geography: China, Mongolia
Period / origin: Indigenous; extensively documented from the 17th–20th centuries; living/revitalized forms
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina, Mongolia

View full record

Atlas 0648Community-bound / restricted

Manchu shamanic traditions

Central, North & Inner Asian Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Pre-Qing roots; imperial codification in the 17th–18th centuries; living clan survivals
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0650Community-bound / restricted

Nanai shamanic traditions

Central, North & Inner Asian Lineage / school

Public geography: China
Period / origin: Indigenous; extensively documented in 19th–21st-century ethnography
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesChina

View full record

Atlas 0821Initiatory