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
London 18Paris 18Delphi 13Athens 12Cairo 5Dodona 5Edinburgh 4Kraków 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Logroño 3Lyon 3Milan 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Veii 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 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
🇦🇱 Albania 30🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 33🇧🇾 Belarus 21🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 16🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 38🇫🇷 France 157🇩🇪 Germany 136🇬🇷 Greece 135🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 104🇮🇹 Italy 138🇽🇰 Kosovo 5🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 44🇵🇹 Portugal 17🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 117🇷🇸 Serbia 37🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 76🇸🇪 Sweden 85🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 231🇻🇦 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
🇬🇧 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 · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis
A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht
A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
A Christian vigil on 31 October for the dead, now marked by costumes and carved vegetablesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicCzech folklore
The folk traditions of the Czech people, from seasonal rites to music and craft.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreTrick-or-treating
A Halloween custom where costumed visitors ask for treats from homesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreHobby horse
A costumed character made from wood or cloth used in seasonal folk customs and processions.Illusion · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomBeltane Fire Festival
A modern Edinburgh performance celebrating the start of summer with fire and danceRite · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreStage magic
A performing art of tricks and illusions that entertain audiences using natural meansIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCard throwing
The performance art of launching playing cards with speed and precision as stage magic.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreSword swallowing
A dangerous stage skill where a performer guides a blade down the throat into the stomachIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreTarottarocchi
A set of cards for games and divination, with roots in fifteenth-century ItalyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMentalism
A stage art that mimics psychic powers using psychology and sleight of handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 morePepper's ghost
A stage illusion using angled glass to project hidden actors as visible ghostsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBullet catch
A stage illusion where a magician appears to catch a fired bullet in their mouth or handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 4 moreEurythmy
An expressive movement art that translates music and speech into gestureTradition · Wonder and entertainment · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese
A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreGuillotine (magic trick)
A stage illusion where a blade passes through a neck or finger without harmIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇦🇹 AustriaMagic Club of ViennaMagischer Klub Wien
Austrian association for stage magicians founded in 1908Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreLiving statue
A street performer who poses motionless as a painted statue or mannequin.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreStreet performance
Public entertainment offered for voluntary tips in open spacesIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreChink-a-chink
A close-up coin trick where objects appear to jump between locations until gathered togetherIllusion · 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
- 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 Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bullet catch: Dave Fayram, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chink-a-chink: Niklaus Gerber, CC BY 3.0, source
- Card throwing: Felbify, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sword swallowing: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mentalism: The U.S. Printing Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati & New York., Public domain, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sawing a woman in half: Jasper Maskelyne, Public domain, source