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

🇫🇷 FranceDictionnaire Infernal A French demonology book cataloguing spirits and their hierarchies with engravings.Text · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreThirteen Treasures of the Island of BritainTri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain A collection of magical objects from late-medieval Welsh legendText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreBevis of HamptonПовесть о Бове-королевиче A medieval chivalric romance about a hero's exile and return across Europe and the Near EastText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyLichtenberg's Avertissement A satirical poster exposing stage magic as deceptionText · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreBerkanan A runic letter representing the birch tree across Germanic writing systems.Text Historical

🇫🇷 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenStentoften Runestone A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBooks of secrets Early modern European compilations of recipes and formulae framed as hidden knowledgeText · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreUr (rune) A runic character representing the aurochs or cold rain in Germanic alphabetsText · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceMinoan sealstones Carved gemstones and amulets from Bronze Age Crete used for identification and ritualCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyAlgiz A runic letter representing a terminal sound and later symbols of life and deathText Historical 🇪🇸 SpainLiber Ignium A medieval Latin manuscript containing recipes for incendiary weapons and chemicals.Text · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarddas A 19th-century book presenting Welsh bardic and druidic theology as ancient traditionText · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Book of Thoth A guide to a tarot deck designed by an occultist and his collaboratorText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇳🇴 NorwayGrógaldr An Old Norse poem about raising a dead seeress to ask for helpText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomBook of Magical Charms A seventeenth-century English manuscript of spells and medical remedies held in Chicago.Text · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSaducismus Triumphatus A 1681 English book defending witchcraft beliefs and attacking skepticsText · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreRune poem Proverbial verses used to memorize the names and order of runic lettersText · Power and authority Historical 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomTam Lin A Scottish ballad about a fairy knight rescued by his mortal lover on Hallowe'enFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandArbatel de magia veterum A 1575 Swiss grimoire focused on celestial spirits and Christian ethicsText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenGlemminge stone A Viking Age runestone in Sweden bearing a Younger Futhark inscription and a curse.Text · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie A foundational treatise on ritual magic by Éliphas Lévi, structured around the tarot.Text · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyDe Umbris Idearum A 1582 treatise by Giordano Bruno on memory, magic and philosophyText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyBuch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit A 15th-century German alchemical treatise that aligns chemical work with Christian theology.Text · Change and initiation Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Glemminge stone: Jorchr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Saducismus Triumphatus: unknown engraver of the 17th century, Public domain, source
Book of Magical Charms: Robert Ashley, died 1641, Public domain, source
Grógaldr: W.G. Collingwood (1854 - 1932), Public domain, source
Dictionnaire Infernal: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Bevis of Hampton: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lichtenberg's Avertissement: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Public domain, source
Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ur (rune): RexCrudelissimus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Minoan sealstones: Andree Stephan, CC BY 3.0, source
Algiz: Arolsen Archives, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rune poem: Tollef Salemann, CC0, source
Tam Lin: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source