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

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 5 moreWerewolf A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceOrpheusὈρφεύς A Thracian bard whose music charms nature and who journeys to the underworldFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceCassandraΚασσάνδρα A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceTiresiasΤειρεσίας A blind Greek seer who lived as both man and woman and spoke to the dead.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure Legendary

🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreMidasΜίδας A Phrygian king from Greek myth who gained a golden touch and donkey earsFigure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenHeiðr A Norse name meaning bright or honour, worn by seeresses and warriorsFigure Legendary 🇬🇷 GreecePhemonoeΦημονόη A mythic Greek poet and priestess of Delphi linked to prophecy and verseFigure Legendary

🇬🇷 GreecePasiphaëΠασιφάη A Cretan queen and solar goddess cursed with lust for a bull, mother of the MinotaurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceBranchusΒράγχος A mortal lover of Apollo who became a prophet and founded an oracle cult in ancient Greece.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreSebile A medieval enchantress who evolved from a classical prophetess into an Arthurian fairy queenFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceHorkosὍρκος A Greek divine personification of the curse that follows a broken oathFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
Orpheus: Franz Caucig, Public domain, source
Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Sebile: tony_57, CC BY 3.0, source
Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
Midas: The Midas Painter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pasiphaë: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Branchus: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
Horkos: Furienmeister, Public domain, source