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. 802 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

🇬🇷 GreeceDodonaΔωδώνη The oldest Greek oracle, where wind in oak leaves revealed the will of Zeus and DioneOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTasseography A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 GreeceAeromancy Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇷 FranceCartomancy Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇬🇷 GreeceCoscinomancy A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomRune casting (sample) Carved signs drawn from a bag.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Revived 🇬🇧 United KingdomTarot (sample) A deck of cards read for guidance.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaCarromancy A divination method that reads the future from molten wax or candle flamesOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceAornumἌορνον A Greek cave oracle said to be a gateway to the underworldOracle · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇹 ItalySmorfia A Neapolitan dream book that turns visions into lottery numbersOracle · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living 🇱🇹 LithuaniaLazdeika the CrabKrabas Lazdeika A rainbow crab used as an oracle to predict basketball match outcomes in Lithuania.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Carromancy: Peter Becker, CC BY 2.0, source
Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dodona: Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source