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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog
A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreHuldra
A seductive forest spirit of Scandinavian folklore with a hidden animal tail.Being · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreBaba Yaga
A complex Slavic witch figure who lives in a moving hut and flies in a mortar.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber
Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 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 Kingdom and 4 moreCorn dolly
A woven straw figure made from the last sheaf of a European harvest to house the crop spirit.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreCaul
A birth membrane kept as a talisman for luck and protection from drowningCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKnocking on wood
A gesture of tapping wood to ward off bad luck or prevent tempting fateBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRowancaorann
A Northern Hemisphere tree believed to ward off witches and protect travellers.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreBay Laurelδάφνη
An aromatic Mediterranean plant used in cooking and as a symbol of victory and purification.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk
Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldrabók
An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla
A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft
Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreHercules' ClubHerkuleskeule
A club-shaped amulet worn in the Roman Empire and by Germanic peoples as a protective charm.Charm · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandStatue rubbing
A tourist custom of touching statues to attract luck, love, or a return visit.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy
Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreShamanism in Europe
Scholarly theories on shamanic elements in European folk beliefs and witch trialsTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga
A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ
A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreElwetritschElwedritsch
A chicken-like creature from German folklore that tames the fear of sleep paralysisBeing · Protection Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија
A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇴 RomaniaZână
A Romanian woodland spirit linked to Diana that guides travelers and blesses children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇪🇸 SpainAnjanaanˈhana / an.xa.nɜ
Cantabrian fairies who protect forests and bring gifts to children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană
Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇸🇪 SwedenAskafroa
A Scandinavian tree spirit believed to guard the ash and demand appeasement.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreSupernatural beings in Slavic religion
Mythic entities of nature, death, and fate in Slavic folklore and belief.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDames Blanches
Spectral women in French folklore who demand dances or warn of dangerBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreBesomвеник
A twig broom used for sweeping, folk magic, and fire responseCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions
Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇦🇹 Austria and 3 moreSalige Frau
A blissful Alpine spirit who guides farmers and guards mountain gameFigure · Protection · Healing Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSailors' superstitions
A global collection of omens, charms and taboos used by mariners to manage the risks of life at seaBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomLazy Laurence
A mischievous English pixie who makes orchard workers lazy and gives them indigestionBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDried cat
A dried feline body hidden in walls to protect a home from harmCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLatoon fairy bush
A whitethorn tree in County Clare saved from a motorway by folkloric warnings of misfortuneBelief · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreElder Mother
A guardian spirit of elder trees in English and Scandinavian folkloreBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm 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
🇫🇷 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
🇪🇸 SpainIndalo
A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen
A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayBergen rune charm
A four-sided wooden stick with runic verses for love and protection from medieval Norway.Charm · Love and attraction · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amniomancy: JC Brand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Knocking on wood: The White House, Public domain, source
- Rowan: Taken by me, Jonik , on August 25, 2004., CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bay Laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hercules' Club: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
- Elwetritsch: AnRo0002, CC0, source
- Salige Frau: various, Public domain, source
- Sailors' superstitions: Siren Painter (eponymous vase), Public domain, source
- Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dried cat: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bergen rune charm: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Besom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cox_(artist), Public domain, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
- Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source