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

🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇮🇸 IcelandFylgja A Nordic guardian spirit that shadows a person and their fateBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandBadb An Irish war goddess who appears as a crow to sow fear and predict death in battle.Being · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇭🇺 HungaryTáltos A Hungarian mythic figure with supernatural powers who acts as a spiritual mediator.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreLes LavandièresKannerez-Noz Supernatural washerwomen who wash shrouds or bloodstained clothes for those about to die.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Badb: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Les Lavandières: Jean-Édouard Dargent, Public domain, source