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. 817 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
London 18Paris 18Delphi 13Athens 12Cairo 5Dodona 5Edinburgh 4Krak贸w 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logro帽o 3Lyon 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3W眉rzburg 3York 3Zugarramurdi 3
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
馃嚘馃嚤 Albania 29馃嚘馃嚛 Andorra 1馃嚘馃嚬 Austria 33馃嚙馃嚲 Belarus 21馃嚙馃嚜 Belgium 11馃嚙馃嚘 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4馃嚙馃嚞 Bulgaria 37馃嚟馃嚪 Croatia 16馃嚚馃嚳 Czech Republic 14馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia 28馃嚝馃嚠 Finland 38馃嚝馃嚪 France 157馃嚛馃嚜 Germany 135馃嚞馃嚪 Greece 134馃嚟馃嚭 Hungary 14馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland 47馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland 104馃嚠馃嚬 Italy 136馃嚱馃嚢 Kosovo 4馃嚤馃嚮 Latvia 10馃嚤馃嚬 Lithuania 20馃嚤馃嚭 Luxembourg 2馃嚥馃嚬 Malta 2馃嚥馃嚛 Moldova 4馃嚥馃嚜 Montenegro 4馃嚦馃嚤 Netherlands 32馃嚥馃嚢 North Macedonia 6馃嚦馃嚧 Norway 44馃嚨馃嚤 Poland 43馃嚨馃嚬 Portugal 16馃嚪馃嚧 Romania 42馃嚪馃嚭 Russia 115馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia 36馃嚫馃嚢 Slovakia 4馃嚫馃嚠 Slovenia 7馃嚜馃嚫 Spain 75馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden 85馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland 30馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine 25馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom 230馃嚮馃嚘 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
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceDodona螖蠅未蠋谓畏
The oldest Greek oracle, where wind in oak leaves revealed the will of Zeus and DioneOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyFortunaFort奴na
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreNumerology
The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 2 moreDomovoy袛芯屑芯胁芯泄
A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being 路 Protection 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreNatural magic
A historical tradition exploring hidden forces in the physical worldTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight
A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyEtruscan religion
The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FrancePlanchette
A wooden device for automatic writing used in Victorian spiritualist s茅ancesCharm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 3 morePyromancy
Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio
A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWilliam Lilly
A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceCoscinomancy
A divination method using a sieve and shears to reveal guilt or answer questions.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyLiver of Piacenza
A bronze sheep's liver inscribed with Etruscan deity names, used for divination.Substance 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 3 moreOracle
A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceEtteilla
The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAeromancy
Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreRunes釟贬殺釟踞洘
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 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 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomSt Mark's Eve
An English folk custom to witness omens of death and future marriage on the eve of a saint's feast dayRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreAugury
A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex
A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandEarly Irish astrology
The study of celestial cycles in early Ireland, blending native observation with Christian and continental learning.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceIamidai
An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceGreek divination
Ancient methods of consulting deities for prophecy and omens in Greek cultureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy
Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Love and attraction Historical
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreHaruspicy
Reading animal entrails to discern divine will and omensRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚤馃嚬 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaum臈
A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreCola Pesce
An Italian merman legend about a boy cursed by his mother to live in the seaFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 SpainGua帽ame帽e
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy艢uri饜寫饜寲饜寷饜墿 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚜馃嚫 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula
Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomThe Book of Thoth
A guide to a tarot deck designed by an occultist and his collaboratorText 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling 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
- Augur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada L贸pez de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
- Greek divination: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
- 艢uri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof 脜RADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nostradamus: After C茅sar de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dodona: Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, 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
- Liver of Piacenza: Piacenza_Bronzeleber.jpg : Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coscinomancy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Public domain, source
- Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
- Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
- Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source