🇮🇸 Magic in Iceland
27 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
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet
A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 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
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
🇮🇸 IcelandNábrók
A pair of pants made from human skin, said to generate endless wealth in Icelandic folklore.Charm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
- Nábrók: Bernard McManus, CC BY 2.0, source