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. 764 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

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreBrocken spectreBrockengespenst A giant shadow cast by an observer onto clouds, often surrounded by a rainbow halo.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomDavid Devant English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomJack in the Green A foliate figure worn in English May Day processions to celebrate summerIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Revived

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreHobby horse A costumed character made from wood or cloth used in seasonal folk customs and processions.Illusion · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreShell game A street swindle using covered containers to hide a marker while taking betsIllusion · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇳🇴 NorwaySteilneset Memorial A 2011 monument in Norway marking the 1621 Vardø witch trials and their victims.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreGreen Man A carved face made of leaves, used as a decorative motif in architecture and art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Revived 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean-Eugène Robert-Houdin A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCard throwing The performance art of launching playing cards with speed and precision as stage magic.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreSword swallowing A dangerous stage skill where a performer guides a blade down the throat into the stomachIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePhantasmagoria A horror theatre using magic lanterns to project frightening images in the darkIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSawing a woman in half A stage illusion where an assistant appears to be cut into pieces inside a box or on a tableIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomEgyptian Hall A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇧🇪 BelgiumServais Le Roy A Belgian magician who designed classic illusions and performed in a famous trio act.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomIsaac Fawkes An English conjurer who moved magic from the fairground to fashionable London society.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreEusapia Palladino An Italian medium whose séances were investigated by leading scientists and magicians in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMentalism A stage art that mimics psychic powers using psychology and sleight of handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 morePepper's ghost A stage illusion using angled glass to project hidden actors as visible ghostsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBullet catch A stage illusion where a magician appears to catch a fired bullet in their mouth or handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreGuillotine (magic trick) A stage illusion where a blade passes through a neck or finger without harmIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreChink-a-chink A close-up coin trick where objects appear to jump between locations until gathered togetherIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreChapeaugraphy A novelty act using a single ring of felt to form different hatsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Revived 🇦🇹 AustriaMagic Club of ViennaMagischer Klub Wien Austrian association for stage magicians founded in 1908Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇩🇪 GermanyMagic Circle of the German Democratic RepublicMagischer Zirkel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik A national association for stage magicians in East Germany from 1956 to 1990.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreStreet performance Public entertainment offered for voluntary tips in open spacesIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreLiving statue A street performer who poses motionless as a painted statue or mannequin.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Brocken spectre: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Guillotine (magic trick): Reginald Scott, Public domain, source
Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Living statue: Another one of my pictures: This photograph was taken by Medium69 (Wil, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Street performance: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, source
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Card throwing: Felbify, CC BY 3.0, source
Sword swallowing: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Phantasmagoria: Alphonse de Neuville or A. Jahandier, Public domain, source
Sawing a woman in half: Jasper Maskelyne, Public domain, source
Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Isaac Fawkes: William Hogarth, Public domain, source
Eusapia Palladino: Baldi., Public domain, source
Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
David Devant: Simon Edwards Esq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jack in the Green: SiGarb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hobby horse: Timkevan at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Shell game: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Steilneset Memorial: Stylegar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pepper's ghost: The original uploader was Wapcaplet at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mentalism: The U.S. Printing Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati & New York., Public domain, source
Bullet catch: Dave Fayram, CC BY 2.0, source
Green Man: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chink-a-chink: Niklaus Gerber, CC BY 3.0, source
Chapeaugraphy: Penny Pictorial Magazine, Public domain, source