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

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

🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreEmanuel Swedenborg An 18th-century Swedish scientist who became a mystic and claimed to visit the afterlife.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreKabbalahקַבָּלָה An esoteric school of thought within Judaism focused on the hidden meanings of scripture and the divine.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAnthroposophy A spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner to explore the intellectual side of the unseen worldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandPsychological astrology A system that maps horoscopes to psychological theories and archetypesTradition · Change and initiation Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreThelema A Western esoteric philosophy centered on discovering and following one's True WillTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 ItalyArcheosofica A school of esoteric Christianity founded in Rome that teaches ascetic disciplines and magical theory.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇱 IsraelBabalon A Thelemic goddess of fertility, ecstasy, and spiritual transformation.Being · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomTyphonian Order A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreFourth Way A spiritual path for inner development that does not require leaving ordinary lifeTradition · Change and initiation Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreIlluminates of Thanateros An international group dedicated to practical chaos magic and experimental ritual workTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Anthroposophy: Wladyslaw, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sex magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Archeosofica: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Emanuel Swedenborg: Carl Frederik von Breda, Public domain, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Fourth Way: Londonlinks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
Kabbalah: Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Paulus Riccius, Leonhard Beck, Public domain, source
Babalon: William Blake, Public domain, source