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

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreWelsh mythologyY Chwedlau The ancient legends of Wales and the Celtic Britons, preserved in medieval manuscripts.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreSaturnSāturnus Roman god of time and agriculture, linked to the Saturnalia festivalBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 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

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreDísdísir Female spirits of fate and protection in Norse traditionBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNorse mythology The mythic tales of the North Germanic peoples and their ancient gods.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreCurse tabletκατάδεσμος A lead sheet inscribed with a binding curse in the Greco-Roman worldCharm · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic magical stavesgaldrastafir Sigils from Icelandic grimoires believed to hold magical powerCharm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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

🇮🇹 ItalyJupiterIuppiter The Roman sky father and king of the gods, associated with thunder and oathsBeing · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459 An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreEdward Kelley An English occultist and scryer who worked with John Dee to contact angels and practice alchemy.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomEgyptian Hall A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitchcraft Acts A series of British laws that shifted from punishing witchcraft to punishing those who claimed to practice it.Text · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 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

🇩🇪 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text · Power and authority Historical 🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomGeoffrey of MonmouthGruffudd ap Arthur A medieval cleric whose writings shaped the King Arthur legend and British myth.Text · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomMatthew Hopkins The English witch-hunter who led the deadliest wave of executions in Britain.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreTyrTýr A Germanic deity of war and oaths, known for sacrificing his hand to a wolfBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWild Hunt A spectral chase across Europe led by a mythic figure and ghostly riders.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreSilver bullet A folk weapon for monsters and a metaphor for simple solutionsCharm · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalySibylline BooksLibri Sibyllini Ancient Roman oracular texts consulted during state crises and disastersText · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyEtruscan religion The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 🇮🇸 IcelandGaldrabók An Icelandic grimoire of spells and staves from around 1600Text · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch bottle (sample) A stoppered bottle set out against curses.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreBlack SunSchwarze Sonne A twelve-part sig rune design from a Nazi castle, now used by extremist groups.Power and authority Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreBulla A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure · Change and initiation Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedical astrology An ancient practice linking planetary movements to the human body and diseaseTradition · Healing Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomBrown Lady of Raynham Hall A famous English ghost story and photograph from a Norfolk country houseBeing Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 ItalySanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia A vast Roman sanctuary complex in Palestrina that housed an oracle and a temple to the goddess of fate.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Historical 🇬🇷 GreecePeleiadesΠελειάδες Sacred women of the Oracle at Dodona, linked to doves and ZeusBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇷 FranceLarzac tablet A lead curse tablet from southern France invoking a goddess against a group of womenText · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Brown Lady of Raynham Hall: Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia: MM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witchcraft Act 1735: Richard van Bleeck, Public domain, source
Larzac tablet: Pankratos, Public domain, source
Black Sun: Dirk Vorderstraße, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Irish folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Saturn: Robert Lowe, CC BY 2.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Dís: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
Norse mythology: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
Curse tablet: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
Icelandic magical staves: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
Lectisternium: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jupiter: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Trial by combat: Jörg Breu der Jüngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Edward Kelley: Thomas Pennant, Public domain, source
Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Geoffrey of Monmouth: Colin Cheesman, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Matthew Hopkins: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Medical astrology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tyr: Gunnar Creutz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Wild Hunt: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, source
Silver bullet: Smithsonian Institution, CC0, source
Sibylline Books: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source