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

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 KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenYsätters-Kajsa A wind-troll from Swedish folklore who danced with the gales of NärkeFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDried cat A dried feline body hidden in walls to protect a home from harmCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇪🇸 SpainXana A water spirit of Asturian myth who offers treasures or madness to those who hear her song.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomMadgy Figgy's Chair A granite rock in Cornwall linked to a legendary witch and her storm conjuringFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth A tattered silk heirloom of Clan MacLeod, said to hold fairy magic and ancient power.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomShoes on a table A superstition that placing footwear on a table invites bad luck or disrespectBelief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇹 ItalyIn bocca al lupo An Italian idiom wishing good luck by invoking danger, with a response asking for the wolf's death.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇸 SpainIndalo A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomQueen of Elphame The elfin queen of Faerie from Lowland Scotland and Northern England folkloreFigure · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreCromniomancy Divination by onions to reveal health, love, weather and distant newsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Love and attraction Historical 🇷🇴 RomaniaSântoaderi Supernatural beings in Romanian folklore known for causing illness through music and danceBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇵🇱 PolandLucky JewŻyd z pieniążkiem A Polish figurine of a Jewish man with a coin, used as a talisman for financial fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomCeffyl Dŵr A Welsh water spirit that takes the form of a horse to test or harm travellers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanySuhl card reader case A 1956 East German trial of a psychic for favorable forecasts about leaving the countryBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenSjörå A Swedish lake spirit that rewards kindness and drowns the disrespectfulBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

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

🇬🇧 United KingdomBuccabocka A Cornish sea-spirit and mine-dweller who receives fish offerings from coastal communities.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇫🇷 FranceFarfadet Small helpful spirits of French folklore that perform chores for foodBeing · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇩🇪 GermanyFeldgeist German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomCurse of Scotland A nickname for a playing card linked to bad luck and Scottish historyBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet A companion of Saint Nicholas in Low Countries folklore, now the subject of major cultural debate.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreCaloian A Romanian clay effigy ritual for rain and fertility, featuring a mock funeralRite · Luck and prosperity Fading

Photo credits on this page

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

Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Farfadet: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
Bucca: Frederick Whymper, Public domain, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Madgy Figgy's Chair: Jim Champion, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Curse of Scotland: James Gillray (died 1815), Public domain, source
Zwarte Piet: The illustrator is Daan Hoeksma, who died in 1935. The author is liste, Public domain, source
Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
Dried cat: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, source
Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Lucky Jew: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source