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
London 18Paris 18Delphi 13Athens 12Cairo 5Dodona 5Edinburgh 4Kraków 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logroño 3Lyon 3Milan 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 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 30🇦🇩 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 136🇬🇷 Greece 135🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 104🇮🇹 Italy 138🇽🇰 Kosovo 5🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 44🇵🇹 Portugal 17🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 117🇷🇸 Serbia 37🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 76🇸🇪 Sweden 85🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 231🇻🇦 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
🇫🇷 France 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
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf
A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomGreen Children of Woolpit
A medieval English legend about two green-skinned siblings who appeared in a Suffolk village.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird
A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot
A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceOrpheusὈρφεύς
A Thracian bard whose music charms nature and who journeys to the underworldFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceNicolas Flamel
A medieval scribe turned legendary alchemist and immortal in fictionFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreMorgan le FayFée Morgane
An Arthurian enchantress known for her shifting role as healer and adversaryFigure · Healing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreHippogriffippogrifo
A legendary hybrid creature with the front of an eagle and the back of a horse.Figure · Wonder and entertainment 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
🇷🇺 RussiaGolden apple
A mythical fruit that sparks quests, wars, and linguistic confusion across culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreDahu
A French mountain legend about an asymmetrical goat used in practical jokesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandMerrowmurúch
A sea creature from Irish folklore, known for its magical cap and singing voice.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandFour Treasures of the Tuatha Dé DanannCeithre Bhua na Tuath Dé Danann
Four magical items brought to Ireland by the mythological Tuatha Dé DanannFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyLariosauro
A lake monster legend from Lake Como, Italy, born from newspaper hoaxes and misidentified animals.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreLemminkäinen
A shaman-hero of Finnish and Karelian myth who dies and is resurrected by his motherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreSea Swine
A mythical sea creature depicted with dragon feet and a navel eye in early mapsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomPiers Shonks
A legendary knight who slew a dragon and cheated the Devil in HertfordshireFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇸🇮 SloveniaGiantess of Crngrobajdovska deklica
A Slovene giantess who helped build a church and left a rib as an omenFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreKuma LisaКума Лиса
A trickster fox from Slavic folklore who outwits other animalsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb
A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandChildren of LirOidheadh chloinne Lir
An Irish myth about four siblings transformed into swans by a jealous stepmotherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇦🇹 AustriaHaymon
A legendary giant of Tyrol who founded a monastery and defeated local spiritsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreecePasiphaëΠασιφάη
A Cretan queen and solar goddess cursed with lust for a bull, mother of the MinotaurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalySatyress
A female mythological creature with a human upper body and goat lower half, invented by later artists.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Giantess of Crngrob: Vid Pogacnik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Children of Lir: John Duncan, Public domain, source
- Satyress: art_traveller, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
- Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Orpheus: Franz Caucig, Public domain, source
- Nicolas Flamel: Balthasar Moncornet, Public domain, source
- Morgan le Fay: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- Fionn mac Cumhaill: Ary Scheffer / Formerly attributed to Anne-Louis Girodet, Public domain, source
- Merrow: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann: spud murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sea Swine: Jacob van Maerlant, Public domain, source
- Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
- Piers Shonks: William Blyth Gerish, Public domain, source
- Hippogriff: LadyofHats, CC0, source
- Haymon: Hafelekar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dahu: Philippe Semeria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pasiphaë: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Golden apple: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
- Lemminkäinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source