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

🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇷🇺 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

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreTriquetra A three-arc knot used in medieval art and modern pop culturePower and authority Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreĒostre An Anglo-Saxon goddess linked to spring and the dawn, whose name became Easter.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain A Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter, observed on November 1st.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇮🇸 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomCeridwenCerridwen A Welsh enchantress and modern goddess of poetic inspiration and transformation.Being · Change and initiation Revived

🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 GreeceTriple Goddess A Neopagan deity representing three female life stages and lunar phasesBeing · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNeopagan witchcraft Modern pagan traditions that practice magic and draw on historical witch beliefs.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇪 SwedenKvinneby amulet An 11th-century Swedish copper plate with a long runic inscription seeking protectionCharm · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion) A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · 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

🇮🇷 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 🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreDioneΔιώνη An ancient Greek oracular goddess and Titaness, mother of Aphrodite.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Kvinneby amulet: Ulrik Skans SHMM, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Triquetra: Wiglaf at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Ēostre: Johannes Gehrts (1855–1921), Public domain, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), 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
Ceridwen: Chris Denny, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Axe of Perun: VoivodeZmey, Public domain, source
Dione: Phidias, CC BY 2.5, source
Triple Goddess: Unknown author, Public domain, source