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. 817 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 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 3Zugarramurdi 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 29🇦🇩 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 135🇬🇷 Greece 134🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 104🇮🇹 Italy 136🇽🇰 Kosovo 4🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 43🇵🇹 Portugal 16🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 115🇷🇸 Serbia 36🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 75🇸🇪 Sweden 85🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 230🇻🇦 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology
The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal
An ancient judicial test where a dangerous physical trial determined guilt or innocenceRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyAlp
A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 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
🇮🇪 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia
A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChurch grim
A guardian spirit of Christian churchyards, often appearing as a black dog or lamb.Being · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba
The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇪🇸 SpainFolklore of Spain
The oral traditions, legends, and folktales of the Iberian PeninsulaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇷 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native FaithРодноверие
A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWild Hunt
A spectral chase across Europe led by a mythic figure and ghostly riders.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreWitches' Sabbath
A legendary gathering of witches described in early modern trial records and folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJack
A trickster hero from English folklore who outwits giants and oppressorsFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomBeltane Fire Festival
A modern Edinburgh performance celebrating the start of summer with fire and danceRite · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇮🇪 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home
A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaSlavic folklore
The traditional beliefs and stories of the Slavic peoplesTradition Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa
A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp
A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore
Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceCoscinomancy
A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomCeridwenCerridwen
A Welsh enchantress and modern goddess of poetic inspiration and transformation.Being · Change and initiation Revived
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day
A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic
A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut
A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir
Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare
A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms surrounded by folklore about dancing spirits and witches.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento
A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi
A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldrabók
An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo
A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women
A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son
A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть
A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMadam Pigott
A White Lady ghost of Shropshire who haunts roads and rides on horsesBeing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWirry-cow
A Scottish folk figure representing a frightening object or spiritBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreShamanism in Europe
Scholarly theories on shamanic elements in European folk beliefs and witch trialsTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
- Witch-cult hypothesis: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Bay Laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Church grim: Inès Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folklore of Spain: Mikipons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wild Hunt: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jack: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Beltane Fire Festival: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
- Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
- Ceridwen: Chris Denny, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source