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. 828 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
London 18Paris 18Delphi 13Athens 12Cairo 5Dodona 5Edinburgh 4Kraków 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logroño 3Lyon 3Milan 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 3
Rites of the region
Midsummer and St John's Eve herbs and firesWalpurgis Night and May Day firesSamhain and Halloween divination gamesFirst-footing at HogmanayWitch bottleKnocking on wood and horseshoe customsThe Sator squareIcelandic galdrastafirMalocchio removal with oil and waterMatiasma and ftou ftou
Countries
🇦🇱 Albania 30🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 33🇧🇾 Belarus 21🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 16🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 38🇫🇷 France 157🇩🇪 Germany 136🇬🇷 Greece 135🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 104🇮🇹 Italy 138🇽🇰 Kosovo 5🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 44🇵🇹 Portugal 17🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 117🇷🇸 Serbia 37🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 76🇸🇪 Sweden 85🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 231🇻🇦 Vatican City 1
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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreEx-voto
A gift left in a shrine to mark a vow kept or a miracle receivedCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreReliquary
A container for sacred remains or objects, crafted across many faithsCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A woven straw charm hung for protection, named after Ireland's patron saintCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRelic
An object or body part kept to honor a holy person and mark their connection to the divineCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇸 SpainDetente bala
A cloth charm worn by Spanish soldiers to stop bullets in the name of JesusCharm · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBirthing girdle
A medieval charm worn during pregnancy to ensure a safe deliveryCharm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion)
A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePalladium
A sacred image or object believed to guarantee the safety of a city or nationCharm · Protection Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreCross necklace
A pendant bearing the Christian cross worn as a sign of faith or protection.Charm · Protection · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Birthing girdle: Sarah Fiddyment , Natalie J. Goodison , Elma Brenner , Stefania Signor, CC BY 4.0, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
- Ex-voto: JTSH26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Reliquary: Attributed to Jean de Toul, also written Jehan de Touyl in one source, CC0, source
- Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Relic: MathieuGuy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cross necklace: paterm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source