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Stage magicFox Nation to Debut AI-Generated ‘Houdini’ Series Tied to 100th Anniversary of Harry Houdini’s Death Stage magicFox Nation to Debut AI-Generated ‘Houdini’ Series Tied to 100th Anniversary of Harry Houdini’s Death Living traditionsMexican principal questions progressive and shamanic content in public school materials Stage magicMaster illusionist Leon Etienne is bringing his Magic Rocks! show to The Grand at UW-Oshkosh FestivalsElgin's Day of the Dead walk is more than just a 5K MuseumsHans Baldung Grien Living traditions‘Mystical shaman’ plans Wānaka temple FestivalsWhere to celebrate Day of the Dead in San Antonio FestivalsSIPA to hold Samhain at Gaia House on Oct. 24 Living traditions5 ancient bathing rituals across the world Stage magicFox Nation to Debut AI-Generated ‘Houdini’ Series Tied to 100th Anniversary of Harry Houdini’s Death Stage magicFox Nation to Debut AI-Generated ‘Houdini’ Series Tied to 100th Anniversary of Harry Houdini’s Death Living traditionsMexican principal questions progressive and shamanic content in public school materials Stage magicMaster illusionist Leon Etienne is bringing his Magic Rocks! show to The Grand at UW-Oshkosh FestivalsElgin's Day of the Dead walk is more than just a 5K MuseumsHans Baldung Grien Living traditions‘Mystical shaman’ plans Wānaka temple FestivalsWhere to celebrate Day of the Dead in San Antonio FestivalsSIPA to hold Samhain at Gaia House on Oct. 24 Living traditions5 ancient bathing rituals across the world

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. 783 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

🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreFirst-footciad-chuairt The first visitor on New Year's Day, believed to set the household's fortune for the year aheadTradition · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 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

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇹 ItalyLectisternium An ancient Roman ritual where couches were draped and meals served to gods.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 4 moreGolemגּוֹלֶם An animated clay figure from Jewish folklore created to serve or protectBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCorn dolly A woven straw figure made from the last sheaf of a European harvest to house the crop spirit.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreWitch trials in Finland A historical record of legal persecution for magic in a region where men were common targets.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity 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 KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomGlaistig A Scottish shape-shifting spirit linked to cattle, deer, and haunted castles.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇷 GreeceEpimenides of CreteἘπιμενίδης A semi-mythical Greek prophet and purifier from KnossosFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyJohannes Junius Mayor of Bamberg executed in the witch trials, known for a letter to his daughterFigure Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreKrampus A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreBonfire A large outdoor fire used in seasonal festivals and religious feasts across many culturesRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇹 ItalyFortunaFortūna The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal An ancient judicial test where guilt or innocence was decided by surviving a painful physical trial.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇹 ItalyEtruscan religion The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreHuldra A seductive forest spirit of Scandinavian folklore with a hidden animal tail.Being · Protection Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomTaghairm A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 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

🇮🇹 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

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreSelkie Mythical seal-people who shed their skin to walk as humans on landBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandValais witch trials The first systematic European witch-hunt, beginning in the Valais region of Switzerland in 1428.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomPricking A method used during European witch trials to locate a supposed insensitive mark on an accused person.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat A monthly Wiccan ritual held at the full or new moon for worship and community.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Love and attraction Living

🇮🇹 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKnocking on wood A gesture of tapping wood to ward off bad luck or prevent tempting fateBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Golem: user Thander, Public domain, source
Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Selkie: Carolyn Emerick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bonfire: S Marshall, CC BY 3.0, source
Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
Witch trials in England: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
Knocking on wood: The White House, Public domain, source
Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.