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

🇮🇹 ItalyThe MagicianLe Bateleur A tarot trump symbolizing power and the link between spirit and matterText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDowsing A divination method using rods or twigs to locate hidden objects and waterBelief Living

🇫🇷 FranceCartomancy Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTasseography A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomTarot (sample) A deck of cards read for guidance.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇷🇺 RussiaCarromancy A divination method that reads the future from molten wax or candle flamesOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreTarocco Bolognese A 62-card Italian tarot deck from Bologna used for games and cartomancyText · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomTwo of Coins A tarot card representing balance, juggling duties, and the struggle to maintain equilibrium.Belief · Seeing and foretelling Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Carromancy: Peter Becker, CC BY 2.0, source
Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tarocco Bolognese: Countakeshi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
The Magician: Pamela Colman Smith, Public domain, source
Dowsing: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Two of Coins: Augusto Rius in 1889 [1] for Heraclio Fournier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source