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. 825 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 KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomMyrddin Wyllt A wild prophet of Welsh legend who inspired the wizard MerlinFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceCassandraΚασσάνδρα A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary 🇮🇸 IcelandFylgja A Nordic guardian spirit that shadows a person and their fateBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandBadb An Irish war goddess who appears as a crow to sow fear and predict death in battle.Being · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceTiresiasΤειρεσίας A blind Greek seer who lived as both man and woman and spoke to the dead.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSibylΣίβυλλα (Sibylla) Ancient Greek prophetesses who spoke divine counsel at holy shrinesFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMerlinMyrddin A legendary prophet and magician from the King Arthur cycleFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandThe MorríganMórrígan An Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty who appears as a crow or shape-shifter.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇭🇺 HungaryTáltos A Hungarian mythic figure with supernatural powers who acts as a spiritual mediator.Being · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreLes LavandièresKannerez-Noz Supernatural washerwomen who wash shrouds or bloodstained clothes for those about to die.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceBranchusΒράγχος A mortal lover of Apollo who became a prophet and founded an oracle cult in ancient Greece.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary

🇬🇷 GreecePhoebeΦοίβη (Phoíbē) A Titaness of prophecy and the original keeper of the Delphic oracleFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAmphiarausἈμφιάραος A Greek seer and hero who became a healing oracle after being swallowed by the earth.Figure · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Myrddin Wyllt: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Badb: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
Sibyl: Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), Public domain, source
Merlin: Howard Pyle, Public domain, source
Les Lavandières: Jean-Édouard Dargent, Public domain, source
Phoebe: Olivierw, Public domain, source
Amphiaraus: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Branchus: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source