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. 817 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

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandBodach A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

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

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreWitches' Sabbath A legendary gathering of witches described in early modern trial records and folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish mythology The folk tales and legends of Cornwall, shared with Brittany and Wales.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvių mitologija The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreChristian Kabbalah A Renaissance effort to read Christian theology into Jewish mysticismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇷 GreeceAncient Greek folklore The oral stories, music and rituals of the ancient GreeksTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇸 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

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWitch's mark A bodily mark believed to prove a pact with the Devil during early modern witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreOgham᚛ᚑᚌᚐᚋ᚜ An early medieval script of notched lines used to carve Irish names on stone monuments.Text Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSamuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers British occultist and co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden DawnFigure 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

🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreBasque mythology The ancient beliefs of the Basque people, preserved through legends and place names.Tradition Historical

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

🇬🇧 United KingdomWilliam Lilly A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChurch grim A guardian spirit of Christian churchyards, often appearing as a black dog or lamb.Being · Protection Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomBoggart A malevolent household spirit from northern English folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal An ancient judicial test where a dangerous physical trial determined guilt or innocenceRite · Cursing and harm Historical

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

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment 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 🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition 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

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayVardø witch trials A major Scandinavian persecution of women accused of sorcery in 17th-century NorwayBelief · 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

🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos An antlered Celtic deity associated with nature and fertilityBeing · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyJohannes Junius Mayor of Bamberg executed in the witch trials, known for a letter to his daughterFigure Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyWürzburg witch trials A mass execution of hundreds in a German Catholic principality during the Thirty Years WarBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyMarsilio Ficino A Renaissance priest and philosopher who revived Plato and blended astrology with Christian theology.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandFetch A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.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

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomHarry Price A British psychic researcher and conjurer who investigated paranormal claims and exposed fraudulent mediums.Tradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Witch-cult hypothesis: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
Pricking: Heinrichkramer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Harry Price: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source
William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
Marsilio Ficino: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Church grim: Inès Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Boggart: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch's mark: T. H. Matteson, Public domain, source
Ogham: Runologe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Würzburg witch trials: Sweet Chily, Public domain, source
Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
Cornish mythology: waterborough, Public domain, source
Basque mythology: No machine-readable author provided. Asp. assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Wild Hunt: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, source
Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source