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. 830 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBirthing girdle A medieval charm worn during pregnancy to ensure a safe deliveryCharm · Protection Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · 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

🇫🇷 FranceTitivillus A medieval demon who collects scribal errors and liturgical mistakes in a sack.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 FranceDictionnaire Infernal A French demonology book cataloguing spirits and their hierarchies with engravings.Text · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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 🇩🇪 GermanyBuch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit A 15th-century German alchemical treatise that aligns chemical work with Christian theology.Text · Change and initiation Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePalladium A sacred image or object believed to guarantee the safety of a city or nationCharm · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandArbatel de magia veterum A 1575 Swiss grimoire focused on celestial spirits and Christian ethicsText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreCruentation A medieval judicial test where a suspect touched a victim's body to see if it bled.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇷🇴 RomaniaTanacu exorcism A 2005 Romanian Orthodox ritual that ended in a nun's death and a murder convictionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreYellow badgeJudenstern A marked garment worn by Jews under laws of distinction and humiliation across centuries.Charm · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSaducismus Triumphatus A 1681 English book defending witchcraft beliefs and attacking skepticsText · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical

🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreInsufflation A ritual breath used in Christian rites to drive out evil or invite the spirit.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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
Saducismus Triumphatus: unknown engraver of the 17th century, Public domain, source
Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
Cruentation: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Titivillus: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Dictionnaire Infernal: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
Loudun possessions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Yellow badge: Edited version of original photo by Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source