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

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

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 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

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenTemple at Uppsala A Norse religious centre described in medieval texts and debated by modern scholarsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇸 SpainSorginak Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇷 GreecePeleiadesΠελειάδες Sacred women of the Oracle at Dodona, linked to doves and ZeusBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceTrophoniusΤροφώνιος A Greek hero turned subterranean oracle god at LebadeaFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source