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
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇪 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
🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion
The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи
The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies
The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai
An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection
An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source