🇮🇸 Magic in Iceland
15 entries from Iceland, best known first, across 1 place of magic.
Places of magic in Iceland
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk
Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir
Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandHelm of AweǾgishjalmr
A feared helm of Norse myth, and a name for an Icelandic staveCharm Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir
The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDraugr
A malevolent undead revenant from Nordic folklore, often guarding buried treasure.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandFylgja
A Nordic guardian spirit that shadows a person and their fateBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreDísdísir
Female spirits of fate and protection in Norse traditionBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir
Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreValkyrievalkyrja
Female figures in Norse myth who select fallen warriors and guide them to Odin's hallBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore
Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreSelkie
Mythical seal-people who shed their skin to walk as humans on landBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Dís: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
- Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
- Draugr: Kim Diaz Holm, CC BY 4.0, source
- Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
- Valkyrie: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Vampire folklore: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Selkie: Carolyn Emerick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source