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 Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇪 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 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomEnglish folklore The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreBay Laurelδάφνη An aromatic Mediterranean plant used in cooking and as a symbol of victory and purification.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · 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

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandLatoon fairy bush A whitethorn tree in County Clare saved from a motorway by folkloric warnings of misfortuneBelief · Protection Living

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Bay Laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source