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
🇪🇸 Spain and 6 moreBurning of Judas
An Easter rite where an effigy of the betrayer is destroyed by fire or other meansRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDowsing
A divination method using rods or twigs to locate hidden objects and waterBelief Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomPendle witches
A 1612 series of English witch trials that resulted in ten executions near Pendle Hill.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceOmphalosὀμφαλός
A sacred stone marking the center of the world in Greek myth and oracle practiceCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAlonso de Salazar Frías
An inquisitor who used evidence to stop witch executions in SpainBelief Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayWitch trials in Norway
A wave of executions and legal persecution for sorcery in early modern Norway.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreBamberg witch trials
A mass execution campaign in a German prince-bishopric that killed around one thousand people between 1623 and 1632.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainSorginak
Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomSpectral evidence
Court testimony based on visions of spirits during historical witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands
A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 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
🇪🇸 SpainBasque witch trials
A seventeenth-century Inquisition campaign against alleged witches in the Basque Country.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitch trials in the Holy Roman Empire
A wave of executions across Central Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyWitch trials in Italy
Historic legal proceedings against alleged witches across Italian states from the 14th to 18th centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials
The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland
A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp
A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyBefana
An Italian witch-like figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany EveFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva
Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore
Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBideford witch trial
The final English hangings for witchcraft in 1682.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyTrier witch trials
A series of mass executions in the Holy Roman Empire between 1581 and 1593.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France
A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFour-leaf clover
A rare plant mutation believed to bring good luck and used as a symbol of fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths
Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇪 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest
A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFolk Orthodoxyнародное православие
A blend of Eastern Orthodox doctrine and pre-Christian pagan beliefs in Slavic communitiesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreValknut
A symbol of three interlocked triangles found on Germanic artifacts and used in modern Heathenry.Belief · Power and authority Living
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches
Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms surrounded by folklore about dancing spirits and witches.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento
A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England
A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism
The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women
A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure · Change and initiation Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft
Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
- Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- North Berwick witch trials: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
- Burning of Judas: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Dowsing: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pendle witches: Dr Greg, CC BY 3.0, source
- Omphalos: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Alonso de Salazar Frías: Oscar Montañés, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bamberg witch trials: Berthold Werner, Public domain, source
- Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basque witch trials: Alberto-g-rovi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
- Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
- Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
- Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Four-leaf clover: Phyzome under the GFDL., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Folk Orthodoxy: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Valknut: Sacrificial_scene_on_Hammars_(I).JPG : Berig derivative work: The Man, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source