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

🇬🇧 United KingdomHarry Price A British psychic researcher and conjurer who investigated paranormal claims and exposed fraudulent mediums.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇮🇹 ItalyIatromathematics A seventeenth-century Italian school that applied mechanics and astrology to medicineTradition · Healing Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreChink-a-chink A close-up coin trick where objects appear to jump between locations until gathered togetherIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBooks of secrets Early modern European compilations of recipes and formulae framed as hidden knowledgeText · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaAugust curse A Russian belief that severe disasters and national tragedies cluster in the month of August.Belief Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Harry Price: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Chink-a-chink: Niklaus Gerber, CC BY 3.0, source
Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source