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. 840 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 3Teltown 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 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 35🇧🇾 Belarus 21🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 16🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 38🇫🇷 France 157🇩🇪 Germany 138🇬🇷 Greece 137🇭🇺 Hungary 13🇮🇸 Iceland 48🇮🇪 Ireland 107🇮🇹 Italy 140🇽🇰 Kosovo 5🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 45🇵🇹 Portugal 17🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 117🇷🇸 Serbia 37🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 76🇸🇪 Sweden 86🇨🇭 Switzerland 31🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 233🇻🇦 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
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreNeed-fireNotfeuer
A ritual fire lit by friction to protect livestock and people from disease and witchcraftRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal
An ancient judicial test where a dangerous physical trial determined guilt or innocenceRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample)
A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy
Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga
A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayTycho Brahe daysTycho Brahes-dage
Scandinavian folklore dates believed to be unlucky for magic and businessBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceNymphνύμφη
A nature spirit from Greek myth, tied to specific places like springs or trees, often seen as a maiden.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Nymph: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source