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. 802 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
London 18Paris 18Athens 12Delphi 11Dodona 4Edinburgh 4Kraków 4Olympia 4Praeneste 4Prague 4Amsterdam 3Bamberg 3Cairo 3Capitoline Hill 3Cumae 3Dartmoor 3Egyptian Hall 3Eleusis 3Florence 3Logroño 3Lyon 3New York 3Quebec 3Santiago de Compostela 3Trier 3Val Camonica 3Vilnius 3Würzburg 3York 3Zugarramurdi 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 29🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 32🇧🇾 Belarus 21🇧🇪 Belgium 11🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3🇧🇬 Bulgaria 37🇭🇷 Croatia 16🇨🇿 Czech Republic 14🇪🇪 Estonia 28🇫🇮 Finland 38🇫🇷 France 157🇩🇪 Germany 131🇬🇷 Greece 125🇭🇺 Hungary 14🇮🇸 Iceland 47🇮🇪 Ireland 104🇮🇹 Italy 134🇽🇰 Kosovo 4🇱🇻 Latvia 10🇱🇹 Lithuania 20🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2🇲🇹 Malta 2🇲🇩 Moldova 4🇲🇪 Montenegro 4🇳🇱 Netherlands 32🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6🇳🇴 Norway 44🇵🇱 Poland 43🇵🇹 Portugal 16🇷🇴 Romania 42🇷🇺 Russia 114🇷🇸 Serbia 36🇸🇰 Slovakia 4🇸🇮 Slovenia 7🇪🇸 Spain 75🇸🇪 Sweden 84🇨🇭 Switzerland 30🇺🇦 Ukraine 25🇬🇧 United Kingdom 230🇻🇦 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
🇪🇪 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
🇳🇴 NorwaySami religion
The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the Sámi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandGaldergaldr
A Germanic incantation and the written charms derived from itText · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainSorginak
Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies
The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇹 ItalyLiver of Piacenza
A bronze sheep's liver inscribed with Etruscan deity names, used for divination.Substance · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה
A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle
A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva
Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSoul flight
A trance practice where the spirit leaves the body to visit other realmsRite · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world
Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи
The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi
A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDowsing
A divination method using rods or twigs to locate hidden objects and waterBelief Living
🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandVäki
A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceIamidai
An ancient Greek family of seers at Olympia who interpreted burnt offeringsTradition · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAngitia
A Sabine and Roman goddess of healing and snake magic in central ItalyBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreNekyiaνέκυια
An ancient Greek rite for summoning and questioning the deadRite · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection 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
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection
An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreImitation of sounds in shamanism
Shamanic vocal and musical mimicry of nature to invoke spirits or transform identityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayGrógaldr
An Old Norse poem about raising a dead seeress to ask for helpText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada López de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
- Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
- Grógaldr: W.G. Collingwood (1854 - 1932), Public domain, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
- Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Dowsing: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sami religion: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Galder: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Angitia: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Liver of Piacenza: Piacenza_Bronzeleber.jpg : Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source
- Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Soul flight: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; or, Public domain, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nekyia: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source