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. 828 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

🇷🇺 RussiaMeduzaМедуза A Russian mythic figure with a woman's head and a serpent body, linked to trickery.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandDeath coachcóiste bodhar A spectral carriage that signals an unavoidable death in European folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇷 GreecePolemosΠόλεμος A Greek spirit of war and the personification of conflictBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPiers Shonks A legendary knight who slew a dragon and cheated the Devil in HertfordshireFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaLjubi A multi-headed water demon from Albanian folklore linked to storms and sacrificeBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanLooking taboo A mythic rule forbidding a gaze that would bring disasterBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaMuma Pădurii A forest spirit in Romania who protects nature and punishes those who harm itBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇫🇮 FinlandAjatar An evil female spirit of Finnish folklore associated with serpents and diseaseFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenYsätters-Kajsa A wind-troll from Swedish folklore who danced with the gales of NärkeFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreScyllaΣκύλλα A sea monster from Greek tales who guards a perilous passage and devours sailors.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇸 SpainGatipedro A horned cat from Galicia that makes children wet their bedsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyCacus A fire-breathing giant of Roman myth who stole cattle and was slain by HerculesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomCeffyl Dŵr A Welsh water spirit that takes the form of a horse to test or harm travellers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇪🇸 SpainXana A water spirit of Asturian myth who offers treasures or madness to those who hear her song.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaSântoaderi Supernatural beings in Romanian folklore known for causing illness through music and danceBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreSwan maiden A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRobert the Devil A medieval legend of a knight born to Satan who seeks redemptionFigure · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandEllén Trechend A three-headed creature from Irish myth that terrorized the landBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceHorkosὍρκος A Greek divine personification of the curse that follows a broken oathFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceMares of DiomedesΔιομήδους ἵπποι Man-eating horses from Greek myth, captured by Heracles as his eighth labourBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreMidasΜίδας A Phrygian king from Greek myth who gained a golden touch and donkey earsFigure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreOgre A legendary humanoid monster known for its size and cannibalistic appetiteBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇭🇺 HungaryLidérc A shape-shifting spirit from Hungarian folklore that brings wealth or illness.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaKukudh An undead revenant from Albanian folklore that haunts houses and spreads sickness.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyBorda A blindfolded witch from the Po Valley who drowns children in marshesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇪🇸 SpainTrenti A forest goblin from Cantabrian mythology known for pranks and mischiefBeing · 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.

Robert the Devil: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Scylla: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
Midas: The Midas Painter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ogre: Henry Justice Ford, Public domain, source
Piers Shonks: William Blyth Gerish, Public domain, source
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons: The original uploader was Ke4roh at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
Looking taboo: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gatipedro: Dende, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cacus: William Blake, Public domain, source
Swan maiden: Walter Crane, Public domain, source
Horkos: Furienmeister, Public domain, source
Mares of Diomedes: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source