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EveryJaadu

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

🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇷 FranceCartomancy Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTasseography A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 GreeceAeromancy Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇸🇪 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

🇬🇧 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 Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

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

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomRune casting (sample) Carved signs drawn from a bag.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Revived 🇬🇧 United KingdomTarot (sample) A deck of cards read for guidance.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaCarromancy A divination method that reads the future from molten wax or candle flamesOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 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

🇬🇷 GreeceGreek divination Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛𐉩 (Etruscan) An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomTwo of Coins A tarot card representing balance, juggling duties, and the struggle to maintain equilibrium.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇬🇷 GreeceTrophoniusΤροφώνιος A Greek hero turned subterranean oracle god at LebadeaFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Carromancy: Peter Becker, CC BY 2.0, source
Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
Two of Coins: Augusto Rius in 1889 [1] for Heraclio Fournier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.