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. 816 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 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreExcalibur The mythical sword of King Arthur, symbolizing rightful sovereignty and magical power.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBaphomet A name from medieval trials and a symbol of occult equilibriumFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSibylΣίβυλλα (Sibylla) Ancient Greek prophetesses who spoke divine counsel at holy shrinesFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreFaust A German legend of a scholar who trades his soul for knowledge and pleasureFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMerlinMyrddin A legendary prophet and magician from the King Arthur cycleFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandThe MorríganMórrígan An Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty who appears as a crow or shape-shifter.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreEdward Kelley An English occultist and scryer who worked with John Dee to contact angels and practice alchemy.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇪🇸 SpainMaslama al-Majritiأبو القاسم مسلمة بن أحمد المجريطي A tenth-century scholar of alchemy and astronomy in Islamic Spain.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCount of St. GermainComte de Saint Germain An 18th-century European adventurer known for alchemy, music, and claims of immortality.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreGolden FleeceΧρυσόμαλλον δέρας A magical ram's skin from Greek myth, symbol of kingship and a quest objectFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇺🇦 UkraineGhost of KyivПривид Києва A wartime legend of a mythical fighter pilot who rallied Ukrainian morale.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreRound Tablela Table ronde A legendary table with no head, symbolizing equality among King Arthur's knights.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMelusineMélusine A water spirit of French and Luxembourgish lore, known for her serpent form and the castles she built.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFionn mac CumhaillFionn mac Cumaill A legendary Irish hero and leader of the Fianna warrior bandFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority 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

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreDietrich von Bern A legendary Germanic hero based on the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the GreatFigure · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreJean de l'Ours A half-bear folk hero who rescues princesses from an underworld giant.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceShield of Achilles A mythical shield forged by Hephaestus, decorated with a complete picture of the world and human life.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenKnights of Ålleberg Swedish ghost story about sleeping warriors in a mountainFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇵🇱 Poland and 4 moreMoranaМорена A Slavic goddess of winter and death, whose effigy is drowned to welcome springFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇮🇪 IrelandCú Chulainn A legendary Irish warrior hero and demigod of the Ulster CycleFigure · Power and authority Legendary 🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical

🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreBödvar BjarkiBöðvarr Bjarki A Norse hero who fights as a bear and appears in legends of King Hrolf KrakiFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePan Twardowski A Polish sorcerer who bargained with the Devil and ended up on the MoonFigure · Power and authority Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
Shield of Achilles: Angelo Monticelli (1778-1837), Public domain, source
Excalibur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Sibyl: Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), Public domain, source
Faust: Earthsphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Merlin: Howard Pyle, Public domain, source
Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Round Table: Évrard d'Espinques, Public domain, source
Fionn mac Cumhaill: Ary Scheffer / Formerly attributed to Anne-Louis Girodet, Public domain, source
Dietrich von Bern: Workshop of Diebolt Lauber, Hagenau 1444-1448, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Jean de l'Ours: Édouard François Zier (1856–1924), illustrator, Public domain, source
Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
Knights of Ålleberg: Photograph: Nasko, Public domain, source
Pan Twardowski: Pit1233, Public domain, source
Golden Fleece: Underworld Painter, Public domain, source
Morana: Marta Malina Moraczewska, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bödvar Bjarki: Louis Moe, Public domain, source
Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cú Chulainn: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Leimanbhradain, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
Edward Kelley: Thomas Pennant, Public domain, source
Ghost of Kyiv: Андрій Данкович / Andriy Dankovych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source