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

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreAnimal TarotTiertarock A family of playing card decks featuring animal imagery instead of traditional tarot scenesTradition · Luck and prosperity Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreEaster Bunny A German folkloric hare that judges children and delivers colored eggs for EasterBeing · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇪🇸 SpainIndalo A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet A companion of Saint Nicholas in Low Countries folklore, now the subject of major cultural debate.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSailors' superstitions A global collection of omens, charms and taboos used by mariners to manage the risks of life at seaBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomShoes on a table A superstition that placing footwear on a table invites bad luck or disrespectBelief · Luck and prosperity Living 🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreSpilling water for luck A folk custom of pouring water to wish a traveler or worker a smooth journeyBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreStreet performance Public entertainment offered for voluntary tips in open spacesIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions Folk beliefs and omens tied to marriage customs across many culturesBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇹 ItalyIn bocca al lupo An Italian idiom wishing good luck by invoking danger, with a response asking for the wolf's death.Belief · Luck and prosperity Living

🇵🇱 PolandLucky JewŻyd z pieniążkiem A Polish figurine of a Jewish man with a coin, used as a talisman for financial fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Street performance: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, source
Animal Tarot: Cards: anonymous; Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
Easter Bunny: Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zwarte Piet: The illustrator is Daan Hoeksma, who died in 1935. The author is liste, Public domain, source
Sailors' superstitions: Siren Painter (eponymous vase), Public domain, source
Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lucky Jew: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source