Magic in Europe

Cunning folk and grimoires, alchemy, runes and seidr, the fairy faith, the witch trials, and the folk calendar of fire and fertility. 124 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Midsummer and St John's Eve herbs and fires Walpurgis Night and May Day fires Samhain and Halloween divination games First-footing at Hogmanay Witch bottle Knocking on wood and horseshoe customs The Sator square Icelandic galdrastafir Malocchio removal with oil and water Matiasma and ftou ftou

Countries

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreVampire An undead creature from folklore that feeds on the blood or life force of the livingBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇧🇪 Belgium and 2 moreHorseshoe A metal shoe for a horse's hoof and a talisman of good fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye A curse believed to be cast by a jealous glare and the charms used to stop itBelief · Protection Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTarottarocchi A set of playing cards used for games and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreReliquary A container for sacred remains or objects, crafted across many faithsCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandValais witch trials The first systematic European witch-hunt, beginning in the Valais region of Switzerland in 1428.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal An ancient judicial test where guilt or innocence was decided by surviving a painful physical trial.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking A method used to locate a witch's mark during early modern European witch trialsRite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLibation The ritual pouring of liquid as an offering to spirits or the deadRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl') An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreHuldra A seductive forest spirit of Scandinavian folklore with a hidden animal tail.Being · Protection Legendary

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreKey of SolomonClavicula Salomonis A Renaissance grimoire attributed to King Solomon, detailing ritual preparations and invocations.Text · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceTriple Goddess A Neopagan deity representing three female life stages and lunar phasesBeing · Power and authority Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitch trials in the Holy Roman Empire A wave of executions across Central Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇸 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 🇳🇴 NorwayWitch trials in Norway A wave of executions and legal persecution for sorcery in early modern Norway.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Trial by combat: Jörg Breu der Jüngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
Horseshoe: Cgoodwin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
Triple Goddess: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Reliquary: Attributed to Jean de Toul, also written Jehan de Touyl in one source, CC0, source