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
London 18Paris 18Delphi 13Athens 12Cairo 5Dodona 5Edinburgh 4Krak贸w 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logro帽o 3Lyon 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3W眉rzburg 3York 3Zugarramurdi 3
Rites of the region
Midsummer and St John's Eve herbs and firesWalpurgis Night and May Day firesSamhain and Halloween divination gamesFirst-footing at HogmanayWitch bottleKnocking on wood and horseshoe customsThe Sator squareIcelandic galdrastafirMalocchio removal with oil and waterMatiasma and ftou ftou
Countries
馃嚘馃嚤 Albania 29馃嚘馃嚛 Andorra 1馃嚘馃嚬 Austria 33馃嚙馃嚲 Belarus 21馃嚙馃嚜 Belgium 11馃嚙馃嚘 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4馃嚙馃嚞 Bulgaria 37馃嚟馃嚪 Croatia 16馃嚚馃嚳 Czech Republic 14馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia 28馃嚝馃嚠 Finland 38馃嚝馃嚪 France 157馃嚛馃嚜 Germany 135馃嚞馃嚪 Greece 134馃嚟馃嚭 Hungary 14馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland 47馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland 104馃嚠馃嚬 Italy 136馃嚱馃嚢 Kosovo 4馃嚤馃嚮 Latvia 10馃嚤馃嚬 Lithuania 20馃嚤馃嚭 Luxembourg 2馃嚥馃嚬 Malta 2馃嚥馃嚛 Moldova 4馃嚥馃嚜 Montenegro 4馃嚦馃嚤 Netherlands 32馃嚥馃嚢 North Macedonia 6馃嚦馃嚧 Norway 44馃嚨馃嚤 Poland 43馃嚨馃嚬 Portugal 16馃嚪馃嚧 Romania 42馃嚪馃嚭 Russia 115馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia 36馃嚫馃嚢 Slovakia 4馃嚫馃嚠 Slovenia 7馃嚜馃嚫 Spain 75馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden 85馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland 30馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine 25馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom 230馃嚮馃嚘 Vatican City 1
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreSawing a woman in half
A stage illusion where an assistant appears to be cut into pieces inside a box or on a tableIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis
A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 3 moreGreen Man
A carved face made of leaves, used as a decorative motif in architecture and art.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Revived
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 1 moreStage magic
A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta
A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomDavid Devant
English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚙馃嚜 BelgiumServais Le Roy
A Belgian magician who designed classic illusions and performed in a famous trio act.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 1 moreCard throwing
The performance art of launching playing cards with speed and precision as stage magic.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚘馃嚭 Australia and 5 moreSword swallowing
A dangerous stage skill where a performer guides a blade down the throat into the stomachIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne
A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 5 moreJean Eug猫ne Robert-HoudinJean-Eug猫ne Robert-Houdin
A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomIsaac Fawkes
An English conjurer who moved magic from the fairground to fashionable London society.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 morePhantasmagoria
A horror theatre using magic lanterns to project frightening images in the darkIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomEgyptian Hall
A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 4 moreTarottarocchi
A set of cards for games and divination, with roots in fifteenth-century ItalyText 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht
A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann
A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
A Christian vigil on 31 October for the dead, now marked by costumes and carved vegetablesRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚚馃嚳 Czech RepublicCzech folklore
The folk traditions of the Czech people, from seasonal rites to music and craft.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreTrick-or-treating
A Halloween custom where costumed visitors ask for treats from homesTradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 3 moreHobby horse
A costumed character made from wood or cloth used in seasonal folk customs and processions.Illusion 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBeltane Fire Festival
A modern Edinburgh performance celebrating the start of summer with fire and danceRite 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti
An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreMentalism
A stage art that mimics psychic powers using psychology and sleight of handIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 morePepper's ghost
A stage illusion using angled glass to project hidden actors as visible ghostsIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreBullet catch
A stage illusion where a magician appears to catch a fired bullet in their mouth or handIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland and 4 moreEurythmy
An expressive movement art that translates music and speech into gestureTradition 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese
A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreGuillotine (magic trick)
A stage illusion where a blade passes through a neck or finger without harmIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyMagic Circle of the German Democratic RepublicMagischer Zirkel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
A national association for stage magicians in East Germany from 1956 to 1990.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyBologna bottle
A glass vessel that withstands hammer blows but shatters from an internal scratchCharm 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚦馃嚤 Netherlands and 5 moreLiving statue
A street performer who poses motionless as a painted statue or mannequin.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 moreStreet performance
Public entertainment offered for voluntary tips in open spacesIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 1 moreChapeaugraphy
A novelty act using a single ring of felt to form different hatsIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Revived
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreChink-a-chink
A close-up coin trick where objects appear to jump between locations until gathered togetherIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚘馃嚬 AustriaMagic Club of ViennaMagischer Klub Wien
Austrian association for stage magicians founded in 1908Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eurythmy: Awslibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guillotine (magic trick): Reginald Scott, Public domain, source
- Levitation: Godot13, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pepper's ghost: The original uploader was Wapcaplet at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Living statue: Another one of my pictures: This photograph was taken by Medium69 (Wil, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Street performance: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Czech folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Hobby horse: Timkevan at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Beltane Fire Festival: Stefan Sch盲fer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bullet catch: Dave Fayram, CC BY 2.0, source
- Green Man: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chink-a-chink: Niklaus Gerber, CC BY 3.0, source
- David Devant: Simon Edwards Esq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chapeaugraphy: Penny Pictorial Magazine, Public domain, source
- Card throwing: Felbify, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sword swallowing: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jean Eug猫ne Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mentalism: The U.S. Printing Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati & New York., Public domain, source
- Isaac Fawkes: William Hogarth, Public domain, source
- Phantasmagoria: Alphonse de Neuville or A. Jahandier, Public domain, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sawing a woman in half: Jasper Maskelyne, Public domain, source