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

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvių mitologija The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living 🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇸 SpainFolklore of Spain The oral traditions, legends, and folktales of the Iberian PeninsulaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇨🇿 Czech RepublicCzech folklore The folk traditions of the Czech people, from seasonal rites to music and craft.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreGreco-Roman mysteriesμυστήρια Secret religious schools of the ancient Mediterranean for initiates onlyTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreSoul cake A spiced cake given to soulers during Allhallowtide to remember the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreBasque mythology The ancient beliefs of the Basque people, preserved through legends and place names.Tradition Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreTrick-or-treating A Halloween custom where costumed visitors ask for treats from homesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreChristian Kabbalah A Renaissance effort to read Christian theology into Jewish mysticismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGardnerian Wicca An initiatory neopagan tradition tracing its lineage to Gerald Gardner and the New Forest covenTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native FaithРодноверие A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKukeriкукери A costumed ritual in Bulgaria to chase away evil spirits and welcome springRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYulejól A Germanic midwinter festival merged with Christmas and revived by modern pagansTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomWassail A hot spiced drink and the twelfth-night customs of singing to trees or visiting homes for giftsTradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomEnochian magic A Renaissance system of ceremonial magic based on angelic revelations recorded by John Dee and Edward Kelley.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBeltaneBealtaine A Gaelic festival marking the start of summer with protective bonfires and livestock ritualsTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Revived 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAlexandrian Wicca A British Neopagan tradition founded in the 1960s by Alex and Maxine SandersTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 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

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreSaturnalia An ancient Roman winter festival of role reversal and feasting in honor of SaturnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa A Gaelic harvest festival marking the beginning of the grain gathering seasonTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreWitch trials in the early modern period A wave of prosecutions across Europe and British America from the 1400s to the late 1700s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreDruidry A modern nature religion inspired by ancient Celtic priests and Romantic idealsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenTemple at Uppsala A Norse religious centre described in medieval texts and debated by modern scholarsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChaos magic A modern magical system that treats belief as a flexible tool rather than a fixed truth.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore) A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇪 IrelandIrish folklorebéaloideas The oral traditions, myths and customs of IrelandTradition · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWell dressing A rural English custom of decorating water sources with natural designsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

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

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Revived 🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRéveillon A long Christmas or New Year's Eve dinner held to stay awake until morningTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAnthroposophy A spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner to explore the intellectual side of the unseen worldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreBiodynamic agriculture An organic farming system with esoteric roots and spiritual practicesTradition · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 4 moreEurythmy An expressive movement art that translates music and speech into gestureTradition · Wonder and entertainment · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedical astrology An ancient practice linking planetary movements to the human body and diseaseTradition · Healing Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandPsychological astrology A system that maps horoscopes to psychological theories and archetypesTradition · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Eurythmy: Awslibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
Anthroposophy: Wladyslaw, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Biodynamic agriculture: Martist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Medical astrology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Occult: The .:X, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
Folklore of Spain: Mikipons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
Czech folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Greco-Roman mysteries: Varrese Painter, Public domain, source
Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
Soul cake: Samantha, CC BY 2.0, source
Basque mythology: No machine-readable author provided. Asp. assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Gardnerian Wicca: Midnightblueowl ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Wassail: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witch trials in the early modern period: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
Druidry: TheJaySpearing, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
Irish folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
Well dressing: User:WhaleyTim, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source