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Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month DivinationCan AI Tell Your Fortune? How Chinese Divination Is Going Digital FestivalsIran celebrates Nowruz, festival of life, in times of war Stage magicFox Nation Docuseries Uses AI-Generated Imagery to Reanimate Harry Houdini Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month DivinationCan AI Tell Your Fortune? How Chinese Divination Is Going Digital FestivalsIran celebrates Nowruz, festival of life, in times of war Stage magicFox Nation Docuseries Uses AI-Generated Imagery to Reanimate Harry Houdini

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

🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm 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 🇬🇷 GreeceEpimenides of CreteἘπιμενίδης A semi-mythical Greek prophet and purifier from KnossosFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

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

🇩🇪 GermanyPied Piper of Hamelinder Rattenfänger von Hameln A medieval legend about a piper who leads children away from the town of HamelinFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomSpectral evidence Court testimony based on visions of spirits during historical witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreMorgan le FayFée Morgane An Arthurian enchantress known for her shifting role as healer and adversaryFigure · Healing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomTylwyth Teg Welsh mythological beings linked to the fairy folk of neighboring traditionsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJack A trickster hero from English folklore who outwits giants and oppressorsFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇪 IrelandBansheebean sí A female spirit in Irish folklore who wails to herald the death of a family member.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRevenant An animated corpse or spirit that returns from the grave to haunt the livingBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayVardø witch trials A major Scandinavian persecution of women accused of sorcery in 17th-century NorwayBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreWitch trials in Finland A historical record of legal persecution for magic in a region where men were common targets.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇷 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomPendle witches A 1612 series of English witch trials that resulted in ten executions near Pendle Hill.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking A method used during European witch trials to locate a supposed insensitive mark on an accused person.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedusaΜέδουσα A mortal Greek monster whose gaze turns onlookers to stoneFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreKrampus A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived

🇬🇷 GreeceMedeaΜήδεια A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomAfanc A lake monster from Welsh mythology that dwells in dark waters and preys on the unwary.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreFaust A German legend of a scholar who trades his soul for knowledge and pleasureFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇹 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

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWitch's mark A bodily mark believed to prove a pact with the Devil during early modern witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreHellhound A mythological canine that guards the underworld or serves demonic forces across global folkloreBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomCŵn Annwn Spectral hounds of the Welsh otherworld that hunt souls and signal deathBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomGwyllion Welsh spirits that lead travellers astray and are feared in mountain folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreNachzehrer A German revenant believed to consume the living from beyond the graveBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDraugr A malevolent undead revenant from Nordic folklore, often guarding buried treasure.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇪 IrelandPúca A shape-shifting spirit of Celtic folklore that brings fortune or mischiefBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomBoggart A malevolent household spirit from northern English folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBogeyman A mythical creature used across cultures to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLikhoЛихо A Slavic spirit of bad luck and misfortune, often depicted as a one-eyed creature.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source
Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
Hellhound: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Badb: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Draugr: Kim Diaz Holm, CC BY 4.0, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Púca: Wirt Sikes, Public domain, source
Boggart: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bogeyman: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Likho: Mhapon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Medusa: Caravaggio, Public domain, source
Witch's mark: T. H. Matteson, Public domain, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
Jack: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Pied Piper of Hamelin: Edmund Evans, Public domain, source
Faust: Earthsphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pendle witches: Dr Greg, CC BY 3.0, source
Morgan le Fay: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Wiedergänger: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Banshee: W.H. Brooke, Public domain, 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.