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. 454 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
Paris 14London 13Delphi 8Athens 7Dodona 4Florence 4Prague 4Bamberg 3Cairo 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logroño 3Olympia 3Praeneste 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3York 3Zugarramurdi 3Bath 2Bideford 2Bologna 2Brussels 2Bungay 2Bury St Edmunds 2Cornwall 2Delphi (sample) 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 17🇦🇹 Austria 17🇧🇾 Belarus 11🇧🇪 Belgium 9🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2🇧🇬 Bulgaria 19🇭🇷 Croatia 10🇨🇿 Czech Republic 12🇪🇪 Estonia 12🇫🇮 Finland 20🇫🇷 France 108🇩🇪 Germany 90🇬🇷 Greece 85🇭🇺 Hungary 10🇮🇸 Iceland 29🇮🇪 Ireland 66🇮🇹 Italy 86🇽🇰 Kosovo 1🇱🇻 Latvia 6🇱🇹 Lithuania 10🇲🇹 Malta 1🇲🇩 Moldova 1🇲🇪 Montenegro 2🇳🇱 Netherlands 21🇲🇰 North Macedonia 2🇳🇴 Norway 25🇵🇱 Poland 23🇵🇹 Portugal 10🇷🇴 Romania 22🇷🇺 Russia 54🇷🇸 Serbia 21🇸🇰 Slovakia 3🇸🇮 Slovenia 4🇪🇸 Spain 48🇸🇪 Sweden 45🇨🇭 Switzerland 19🇺🇦 Ukraine 16🇬🇧 United Kingdom 154🇻🇦 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
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical
🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca
A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος
A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
- Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source