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

🇫🇷 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 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇴 NorwayBergen rune charm A four-sided wooden stick with runic verses for love and protection from medieval Norway.Charm · Love and attraction · Protection Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandLatoon fairy bush A whitethorn tree in County Clare saved from a motorway by folkloric warnings of misfortuneBelief · Protection Living

🇬🇧 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

🇫🇷 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

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreBesomвеник A twig broom used for sweeping, folk magic, and fire responseCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Cheltenham Ghost A late nineteenth century English haunting investigated by the Society for Psychical ResearchBelief Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomLazy Laurence A mischievous English pixie who makes orchard workers lazy and gives them indigestionBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇵🇱 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

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons: The original uploader was Ke4roh at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bergen rune charm: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Besom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cox_(artist), Public domain, source
Lucky Jew: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source