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

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇬🇷 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

🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyThule SocietyThule-Gesellschaft A German occult group that sponsored the early Nazi party and promoted racial mysticism.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceMeilichiosΜειλίχιος An ancient Greek chthonic spirit linked to Zeus and appeased through fire offerings.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇴 NorwayGrógaldr An Old Norse poem about raising a dead seeress to ask for helpText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
Grógaldr: W.G. Collingwood (1854 - 1932), Public domain, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Meilichios: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source