Skip to content

Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost stories Witch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries ago Stage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All Time CharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different Meanings Witch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for Halloween CharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faith Stage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his death Witch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past FestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hub Stage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month

EveryJaadu

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

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreKing ArthurBrenin Arthur A legendary British king and folk hero of medieval literature and Welsh mythologyFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBlue men of the Minchna fir ghorma Mythical blue-skinned spirits of the Scottish strait who challenge sailors to poetry contestsBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomGreen Children of Woolpit A medieval English legend about two green-skinned siblings who appeared in a Suffolk village.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceOrpheusὈρφεύς A Thracian bard whose music charms nature and who journeys to the underworldFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreLeprechaunlucharachán / leipreachán / luchorpán A solitary Irish fairy known for mischief and shoe-makingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 FranceNicolas Flamel A medieval scribe turned legendary alchemist and immortal in fictionFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreMorgan le FayFée Morgane An Arthurian enchantress known for her shifting role as healer and adversaryFigure · Healing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPixie A mischievous sprite of British folklore from the southwest countiesBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 morePhoenix A legendary bird that dies and is reborn from its own ashesBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomLoch Ness MonsterUilebheist Loch Nis A legendary lake creature from the Scottish Highlands, famous for disputed photographs and folk tales.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreHippogriffippogrifo A legendary hybrid creature with the front of an eagle and the back of a horse.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreHippocampusἱππόκαμπος A mythological hybrid of a horse and fish from ancient Mediterranean culturesBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFionn mac CumhaillFionn mac Cumaill A legendary Irish hero and leader of the Fianna warrior bandFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇷🇺 RussiaGolden apple A mythical fruit that sparks quests, wars, and linguistic confusion across culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBishop-fish A legendary sea creature said to gesture like a cleric before vanishingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandSalmon of KnowledgeAn Bradán Feasa A mythical fish in Irish folklore that holds all the world's wisdom.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreDahu A French mountain legend about an asymmetrical goat used in practical jokesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreBalaur A many-headed dragon from Romanian folklore that guards treasures and controls the weather.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaIndrikИндрик-зверь A legendary Russian beast said to rule all animals from a sacred mountainBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWater Horse A mythical shape-shifter from Celtic and Nordic lore, often linked to lake monsters.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomMoragMòrag A Scottish lake monster said to dwell in Loch MorarBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandMerrowmurúch A sea creature from Irish folklore, known for its magical cap and singing voice.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇪🇸 SpainJentilJentilak Giants of Basque myth linked to ancient stone builders and pre-Christian timesBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandFour Treasures of the Tuatha Dé DanannCeithre Bhua na Tuath Dé Danann Four magical items brought to Ireland by the mythological Tuatha Dé DanannFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaZână A Romanian woodland spirit linked to Diana that guides travelers and blesses children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyLariosauro A lake monster legend from Lake Como, Italy, born from newspaper hoaxes and misidentified animals.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalySquasc A small, tawny creature from Eastern Lombardy folklore that frightens children and plays jokes on young girlsBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreLemminkäinen A shaman-hero of Finnish and Karelian myth who dies and is resurrected by his motherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreChuvash dragonВӗрӗҫӗлен A mythological serpent from Chuvash legends that can fly and breathe fire.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreSea Swine A mythical sea creature depicted with dragon feet and a navel eye in early mapsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPiers Shonks A legendary knight who slew a dragon and cheated the Devil in HertfordshireFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenVardøger A spirit double that precedes a person in time and spaceBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreMythic humanoids Creatures that blend human and animal traits across global folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇦🇹 AustriaHaymon A legendary giant of Tyrol who founded a monastery and defeated local spiritsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇫🇮 FinlandFirefoxtulikettu A mythical Finnish fox whose tail sparks the northern lightsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalySatyress A female mythological creature with a human upper body and goat lower half, invented by later artists.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreecePasiphaëΠασιφάη A Cretan queen and solar goddess cursed with lust for a bull, mother of the MinotaurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandChildren of LirOidheadh chloinne Lir An Irish myth about four siblings transformed into swans by a jealous stepmotherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇸🇮 SloveniaGiantess of Crngrobajdovska deklica A Slovene giantess who helped build a church and left a rib as an omenFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceCentaurideΚενταυρίδε (Kentauride) A female centaur from Greek mythology, depicted in art and literature as a hybrid of woman and horse.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandTír na nÓg An island realm in Irish myth where time stands still and youth never fadesBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFiddler's Green A maritime afterlife of endless music and rest for veteran sailorsBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceHarpyἅρπυια (hárpyia) Half-human, half-bird creatures from Greek and Roman myth, often seen as storm winds or snatchers of food.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreKuma LisaКума Лиса A trickster fox from Slavic folklore who outwits other animalsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇳🇴 NorwayTroll A Nordic creature of folklore and myth, ranging from mountain dwellers to modern fantasy icons.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
Giantess of Crngrob: Vid Pogacnik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Children of Lir: John Duncan, Public domain, source
Satyress: art_traveller, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Orpheus: Franz Caucig, Public domain, source
Leprechaun: Unknown author, FAL, source
Centauride: John La Farge, Public domain, source
Nicolas Flamel: Balthasar Moncornet, Public domain, source
Salmon of Knowledge: Man vyi, Public domain, source
Morgan le Fay: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
Loch Ness Monster: StaraBlazkova at Czech Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fionn mac Cumhaill: Ary Scheffer / Formerly attributed to Anne-Louis Girodet, Public domain, source
Bishop-fish: photo by Sean Linehan, NOS, NGS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin, Public domain, source
Merrow: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jentil: Ketari ( http://ketari.nirudia.com/ ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann: spud murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Sea Swine: Jacob van Maerlant, Public domain, source
Troll: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Tír na nÓg: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, source
Harpy: Unknown, near the Tyrrhenian Group?, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Water Horse: Theodor Kittelsen, Public domain, source
Phoenix: Bertuch-fabelwesen.JPG : Friedrich Johann Justin Bertuch (1747–1822) d, Public domain, source
Piers Shonks: William Blyth Gerish, Public domain, source
Blue men of the Minch: Lord P in the Commons 17:16, 17 June 2007 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pixie: John D. Batten, Public domain, source
Hippogriff: LadyofHats, CC0, source
Haymon: Hafelekar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dahu: Philippe Semeria, CC BY 3.0, source
Hippocampus: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Pasiphaë: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Golden apple: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
Lemminkäinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
King Arthur: William Morris, Public domain, source
Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.