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. 830 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 34🇧🇾 Belarus 21🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 16🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 38🇫🇷 France 157🇩🇪 Germany 137🇬🇷 Greece 135🇭🇺 Hungary 13🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 105🇮🇹 Italy 138🇽🇰 Kosovo 5🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 45🇵🇹 Portugal 17🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 117🇷🇸 Serbia 37🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 75🇸🇪 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
🇵🇱 PolandLucky JewŻyd z pieniążkiem
A Polish figurine of a Jewish man with a coin, used as a talisman for financial fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇱🇹 LithuaniaLazdeika the CrabKrabas Lazdeika
A rainbow crab used as an oracle to predict basketball match outcomes in Lithuania.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreSun cross
A cross inside a circle found in prehistoric art and modern political symbolsBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇸 SpainIndalo
A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇴 RomaniaMuma Pădurii
A forest spirit in Romania who protects nature and punishes those who harm itBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomNanny Rutt
A cautionary figure from Lincolnshire folklore who lures girls into the woodsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenSigtuna rib
A runic bone amulet from medieval Sweden bearing a spell against diseaseCharm · Healing Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreBibiBibijako Dive
A Romani holiday honoring a protective aunt figure for family and children's healthRite · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇪 SwedenStentoften Runestone
A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyTredesin de Mars
A Milanese spring celebration marked by a flower fair and a legendary stoneTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreRune poem
Proverbial verses used to memorize the names and order of runic lettersText · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMares of DiomedesΔιομήδους ἵπποι
Man-eating horses from Greek myth, captured by Heracles as his eighth labourBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism
The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainGeomantic figures
Sixteen four-line symbols used in geomancy to interpret questions through elemental and astrological correspondences.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreExorcist
A religious specialist who performs rites to remove alleged demonic possession from people or places.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇹 ItalySegnature
An Italian folk healing rite using gestures and prayers to cure illness and remove cursesRite · Healing · Protection Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreDioneΔιώνη
An ancient Greek oracular goddess and Titaness, mother of Aphrodite.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇦🇹 AustriaHaymon
A legendary giant of Tyrol who founded a monastery and defeated local spiritsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇷 GreecePhemonoeΦημονόη
A mythic Greek poet and priestess of Delphi linked to prophecy and verseFigure Legendary
🇫🇮 FinlandFirefoxtulikettu
A mythical Finnish fox whose tail sparks the northern lightsBeing · 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTwo of Coins
A tarot card representing balance, juggling duties, and the struggle to maintain equilibrium.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreAšvieniai
Twin horse deities of Baltic mythology who pull the sun chariotBeing · Protection Legendary
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors
A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm · Protection Revived
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreUr (rune)
A runic character representing the aurochs or cold rain in Germanic alphabetsText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇷 GreecePhoebeΦοίβη (Phoíbē)
A Titaness of prophecy and the original keeper of the Delphic oracleFigure · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇫🇮 FinlandAjatar
An evil female spirit of Finnish folklore associated with serpents and diseaseFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAmphiarausἈμφιάραος
A Greek seer and hero who became a healing oracle after being swallowed by the earth.Figure · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇷 GreeceBranchusΒράγχος
A mortal lover of Apollo who became a prophet and founded an oracle cult in ancient Greece.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary
🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreCross necklace
A pendant bearing the Christian cross worn as a sign of faith or protection.Charm · Protection · Power and authority 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
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenÅrsgång
An archaic Swedish divination ritual performed on Christmas Eve to glimpse the coming year.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBluecap
A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreFavomancy
Divination by throwing beans and reading the patterns they form on the groundOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇸 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula
Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainGatipedro
A horned cat from Galicia that makes children wet their bedsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 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
🇮🇸 IcelandSowilo
The s-rune representing the sun in Germanic writing systemsText · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreWeiße Frauen
Elven spirits of sunlight and water in Germanic folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMinoan sealstones
Carved gemstones and amulets from Bronze Age Crete used for identification and ritualCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyCacus
A fire-breathing giant of Roman myth who stole cattle and was slain by HerculesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 GermanyVril Society
A fictional secret society from conspiracy theories about Nazi Germany and occult energy.Belief · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia
A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenVittra
A forest spirit from northern Sweden linked to livestock and seductionBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇩🇪 GermanyAlgiz
A runic letter representing a terminal sound and later symbols of life and deathText Historical
🇦🇹 AustriaThyrsus
A Tyrolean giant from legend, associated with healing shale oil and a fatal duel.Figure Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ašvieniai: Wojsyl , 2005, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Exorcism: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Fourth Way: Londonlinks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Segnature: SeAnstapa, CC0, source
- Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haymon: Hafelekar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Two of Coins: Augusto Rius in 1889 [1] for Heraclio Fournier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ur (rune): RexCrudelissimus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Gatipedro: Dende, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weiße Frauen: Wojciech Gerson, Public domain, source
- Minoan sealstones: Andree Stephan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cacus: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Algiz: Arolsen Archives, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thyrsus: Mathias Bigge, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sun cross: National Museum of Denmark, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
- Sigtuna rib: Swedish National Heritage Board, CC BY 4.0, source
- Rune poem: Tollef Salemann, CC0, source
- Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Vril Society: John Martin, Public domain, source
- Dione: Phidias, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pasiphaë: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Phoebe: Olivierw, Public domain, source
- Amphiaraus: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Branchus: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lucky Jew: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bibi: Andrija12345678, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tredesin de Mars: A ntv, Public domain, source
- Mares of Diomedes: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cross necklace: paterm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada López de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source