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
🇫🇷 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
🇬🇷 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
🇸🇪 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
🇬🇷 GreeceCassandraΚασσάνδρα
A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure · Seeing and foretelling 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
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreValkyrievalkyrja
Female figures in Norse myth who select fallen warriors and guide them to Odin's hallBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreLeshyлеший
A forest spirit from Slavic folklore who guards the woods and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy
A European spirit with magical powers and human form found in folklore and artBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCupidCupīdō
A Roman deity of desire and erotic love, often depicted with a bow and arrow.Being · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCeryneian HindΚερυνῖτις ἔλαφος
A swift deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves from Greek mythBeing Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceEmpusaἜμπουσα
A shape-shifting phantom of Greek myth with a single brass leg, sent by Hecate to seduce and devour young men.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇸 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
🇬🇷 GreeceCancer (mythology)Καρκίνος
A giant crab from Greek myth that became a zodiac constellationBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege
A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreSupernatural beings in Slavic religion
Mythic entities of nature, death, and fate in Slavic folklore and belief.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil
A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceCentaurideΚενταυρίδε (Kentauride)
A female centaur from Greek mythology, depicted in art and literature as a hybrid of woman and horse.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceHorkosὍρκος
A Greek divine personification of the curse that follows a broken oathFigure · Cursing and harm 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
🇬🇷 GreeceHarpyἅρπυια (hárpyia)
Half-human, half-bird creatures from Greek and Roman myth, often seen as storm winds or snatchers of food.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenHeiðr
A Norse name meaning bright or honour, worn by seeresses and warriorsFigure Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceAloadaeἈλωάδαι (Aloadai)
Twin giants of Thessaly who challenged the gods and built mountains to reach Olympus.Being Legendary
🇬🇷 GreecePolemosΠόλεμος
A Greek spirit of war and the personification of conflictBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyCacus
A fire-breathing giant of Roman myth who stole cattle and was slain by HerculesBeing · Cursing and harm 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreScyllaΣκύλλα
A sea monster from Greek tales who guards a perilous passage and devours sailors.Being · Cursing and harm 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scylla: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
- Orpheus: Franz Caucig, Public domain, source
- Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- Valkyrie: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Leshy: Γραφέας, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Centauride: John La Farge, Public domain, source
- Sebile: tony_57, CC BY 3.0, source
- Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
- Salmon of Knowledge: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Cupid: Bertel Thorvaldsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ceryneian Hind: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Brísingamen: Nils Blommér, Public domain, source
- Cancer (mythology): Diosphos Painter, Public domain, source
- Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
- Midas: The Midas Painter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Harpy: Unknown, near the Tyrrhenian Group?, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Aloadae: No machine-readable author provided. Antars~commonswiki assumed (based, Public domain, source
- Cacus: William Blake, Public domain, 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