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
🇬🇷 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
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A monthly Wiccan ritual held at the full or new moon for worship and community.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Love and attraction 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreSaturnSāturnus
Roman god of time and agriculture, linked to the Saturnalia festivalBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWheel of the Year
An annual cycle of eight seasonal festivals observed by modern pagans.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva
Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇬🇷 GreeceTriple Goddess
A Neopagan deity representing three female life stages and lunar phasesBeing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 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
🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια
A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary
🇮🇸 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 1 moreHecateἙκάτη
A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore
The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreGreco-Roman mysteriesμυστήρια
Secret religious schools of the ancient Mediterranean for initiates onlyTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAlexandrian Wicca
A British Neopagan tradition founded in the 1960s by Alex and Maxine SandersTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreTriquetra
A three-arc knot used in medieval art and modern pop culturePower and authority Living
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇬🇷 GreeceOmphalosὀμφαλός
A sacred stone marking the center of the world in Greek myth and oracle practiceCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyJupiterIuppiter
The Roman sky father and king of the gods, associated with thunder and oathsBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut
A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAxe of Perun
Bronze axe-shaped pendants worn in honor of the Slavic god PerunCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreBrísingamen
The enchanted necklace of the Norse goddess FreyjaCharm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandSalmon of KnowledgeAn Bradán Feasa
A mythical fish in Irish folklore that holds all the world's wisdom.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen
A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRinging Cedars' Anastasianismдвижение «Анастасия»
A Russian new religious movement based on books about a Siberian mystic and nature worshipTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege
A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo
The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles
A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia
A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreOdinic Rite
A UK-based Heathen group that restricts membership to people of European ancestry.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇩🇪 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
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Greco-Roman mysteries: Varrese Painter, Public domain, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Triquetra: Wiglaf at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Salmon of Knowledge: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Omphalos: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Brísingamen: Nils Blommér, Public domain, source
- Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
- Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
- Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wheel of the Year: Sunblade1500, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saturn: Robert Lowe, CC BY 2.0, source
- Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jupiter: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
- Triple Goddess: Unknown author, Public domain, source