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. 802 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

🇮🇳 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

🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical

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

Photo credits on this page

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

Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source