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. 763 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
London 17Paris 17Athens 11Delphi 11Dodona 4Edinburgh 4Kraków 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Bamberg 3Cairo 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Florence 3Logroño 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 3Zugarramurdi 3Alexandria 2Amsterdam 2
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 28🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 28🇧🇾 Belarus 20🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 15🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 36🇫🇷 France 148🇩🇪 Germany 124🇬🇷 Greece 121🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 43🇮🇪 Ireland 103🇮🇹 Italy 125🇽🇰 Kosovo 4🇱🇻 Latvia 9🇱🇹 Lithuania 18🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 3🇳🇱 Netherlands 31🇲🇰 North Macedonia 5🇳🇴 Norway 39🇵🇱 Poland 40🇵🇹 Portugal 16🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 112🇷🇸 Serbia 36🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 70🇸🇪 Sweden 77🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 24🇬🇧 United Kingdom 221🇻🇦 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreKey of SolomonClavicula Salomonis
A Renaissance grimoire attributed to King Solomon, detailing ritual preparations and invocations.Text · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyThe MagicianLe Bateleur
A tarot trump symbolizing power and the link between spirit and matterText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio
A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
A 1982 book proposing Jesus had a bloodline protected by a secret societyText · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySibylline BooksLibri Sibyllini
Ancient Roman oracular texts consulted during state crises and disastersText · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePietro d'Abano
A medieval physician and astrologer accused of heresy and magic.Text · Healing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreTarottarocchi
A set of cards for games and divination, with roots in fifteenth-century ItalyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley
English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede
A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomGeoffrey of MonmouthGruffudd ap Arthur
A medieval cleric whose writings shaped the King Arthur legend and British myth.Text · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreKabbalahקַבָּלָה
An esoteric school of thought within Judaism focused on the hidden meanings of scripture and the divine.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitchcraft Acts
A series of British laws that shifted from punishing witchcraft to punishing those who claimed to practice it.Text · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III
A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459
An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum
A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly
A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreEmanuel Swedenborg
An 18th-century Swedish scientist who became a mystic and claimed to visit the afterlife.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇹 ItalyMarsilio Ficino
A Renaissance priest and philosopher who revived Plato and blended astrology with Christian theology.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreMichael SendivogiusMichał Sędziwój
A Polish alchemist who discovered oxygen and wrote on the 'food of life'Text · Power and authority · Change and initiation Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus
A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇷 FrancePlanchette
A wooden device for automatic writing used in Victorian spiritualist séancesCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool
A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreOgham᚛ᚑᚌᚐᚋ᚜
An early medieval script of notched lines used to carve Irish names on stone monuments.Text Historical
🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla
The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreSerbian folkloreСрпски фолклор
The folk traditions and epic poetry of the Serbs, blending pre-Christian customs with Orthodox faith.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldrabók
An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomRune casting (sample)
Carved signs drawn from a bag.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Revived
🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample)
A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLarzac tablet
A lead curse tablet from southern France invoking a goddess against a group of womenText · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySola Busca tarot
The oldest complete 78-card tarot deck with unique illustrations and Roman numerals.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandRauðskinna
A legendary Icelandic grimoire said to grant mastery over dark forces.Text · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceChamalières tabletPlomb de Chamalières
A Gaulish lead tablet from a French spa, read as either a curse or a healing prayer.Text · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese
A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇪 IrelandLorica
A Hiberno-Scottish monastic prayer for protection against evilText · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet
An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pietro d'Abano: Marco Chemello (Wikimedia Italia), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Witchcraft Act 1735: Richard van Bleeck, Public domain, source
- Larzac tablet: Pankratos, Public domain, source
- Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
- Corpus Hermeticum: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
- Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source
- Chamalières tablet: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Emanuel Swedenborg: Carl Frederik von Breda, Public domain, source
- Michael Sendivogius: Łuszczkiewicz, Public domain, source
- Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
- Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ogham: Runologe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Serbian folklore: Uroš Predić, Public domain, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Natural magic: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
- Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- The Magician: Pamela Colman Smith, Public domain, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kabbalah: Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Paulus Riccius, Leonhard Beck, Public domain, source
- Geoffrey of Monmouth: Colin Cheesman, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Sibylline Books: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source