Portuguese Witchcraft: Feitiçaria Traditions

BY NICOLE LAU

Portuguese witchcraft—feitiçaria—flows from the Atlantic coasts, the cork forests of Alentejo, and the deep Catholic folk traditions of a seafaring nation. This is magic shaped by the ocean's rhythms, by Moorish and Jewish influences, by the devotion to Nossa Senhora de Fátima, and by the bruxas who kept the old ways alive despite persecution. From the evil eye protections to the maritime magic of fishermen's wives, from healing prayers to love spells cast under the full moon, Portuguese magic offers a path of devotion, protection, and connection to both land and sea.

The Portuguese Magical Landscape

A Nation Between Land and Sea

Portugal's identity as a maritime nation shapes its magic. The Atlantic Ocean is both provider and threat, source of livelihood and danger. Portuguese magic reflects this duality—protective charms for sailors, prayers for safe returns, offerings to sea spirits, and the understanding that the ocean holds both bounty and mystery.

Regional Magical Traditions

Minho (North): Strong Celtic influences, connection to Galician traditions, granite landscapes, ancient festivals.

Alentejo (South): Moorish influences, cork forests, agricultural magic, strong folk traditions.

Algarve (Far South): Mediterranean and North African influences, fishing magic, distinct folk practices.

Azores and Madeira (Islands): Unique island magic, volcanic landscapes, maritime traditions, isolation preserving old practices.

Portuguese Folk Magic Practitioners

A Bruxa: The Portuguese Witch

The bruxa in Portuguese tradition is a complex figure—feared as a potential source of harm but also consulted for healing, love magic, and protection. Village bruxas served their communities despite the ever-present threat of persecution.

Services Provided:

• Healing with herbs and prayers (benzeduras)
• Removing evil eye and curses
• Love magic and marriage divination
• Protecting sailors and fishermen
• Agricultural blessings
• Finding lost objects or people
• Midwifery and blessing newborns

A Benzedeira/O Benzedor: The Blesser

Traditional healers who cure through blessings (benzeduras)—prayers, signs of the cross, and ritual gestures combined with herbal knowledge.

Methods:

• Prayers and Catholic invocations
• Making the sign of the cross over affected areas
• Herbal remedies and poultices
• Breath and saliva (considered healing)
• Measuring with thread or ribbon
• Specific benzeduras for different ailments

Common Benzeduras:

• Quebranto (evil eye/fright sickness)
• Cobreiro (shingles/herpes zoster)
• Erisipela (erysipelas/skin infection)
• Unhadura (ingrown nail)
• Ar (air/wind sickness)

A Parteira: The Midwife

Traditional midwives who combined practical obstetric knowledge with prayers, blessings, and protective magic for mother and child.

Portuguese Magical Practices

Mau-Olhado: The Evil Eye

Belief in the evil eye (mau-olhado or quebranto) is extremely strong in Portuguese culture.

Symptoms: In children—crying, fever, vomiting, restlessness. In adults—headaches, fatigue, bad luck, illness.

Diagnosis:

• The oil and water test—olive oil dropped in water
• Observing symptoms and circumstances
• Intuition of the benzedeira

Removal (Tirar o Quebranto):

• Prayers while making sign of the cross with oil
• Passing hands over the body while praying
• Using salt, water, and prayers
• Specific secret prayers passed down through families
• Burning rue or other protective herbs

Protection:

• Figa (fig hand gesture) amulet
• Red ribbon or coral for babies
• Olho turco (Turkish eye bead)
• Bentinho (blessed scapular or pouch)
• Garlic and rue hung in homes
• Saying "Deus te abençoe" (God bless you) after compliments

Benzeduras: Healing Blessings

The practice of healing through prayers, blessings, and ritual gestures. Benzeduras are passed orally, often within families, and must be kept secret to retain power.

Structure of a Benzedura:

• Invocation of God, Jesus, Mary, or saints
• Description of the ailment
• Command for healing
• Making the sign of the cross
• Repetition (often three times)
• Closing prayer

Transmission: Traditionally passed from person to person, often on specific holy days (Christmas Eve, Good Friday). Some believe they must be passed from opposite gender to retain power.

Portuguese Herbal Magic

Arruda (Rue): The most important protective herb in Portuguese magic. Protects against evil eye, curses, and negative energy. Hung in homes, carried, used in baths.

Alecrim (Rosemary): Protection, purification, memory, fidelity. Burned, carried, used in cooking magic. Sacred and powerful.

Manjericão (Basil): Love, prosperity, protection. Traditionally given as gifts, especially during Santo António festival. Grown in pots with love poems attached.

Louro (Bay Laurel): Victory, protection, prophecy, purification. Leaves used in divination, protection, and cooking magic.

Alho (Garlic): Powerful protection against evil, illness, and harmful magic. Hung in braids, worn, used extensively in cooking and magic.

Sal (Salt): Purification, protection, blessing. Sea salt especially powerful. Used in cleansings, protection, and breaking curses.

Hortelã (Mint): Prosperity, healing, purification. Used in teas, baths, and prosperity magic.

Maritime Magic

As a seafaring nation, Portugal developed extensive maritime magical practices.

Fishermen's Wives' Magic:

• Prayers for safe return of husbands and sons
• Offerings to the sea and sea spirits
• Protective amulets sewn into clothing
• Lighting candles for Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes
• Never whistling (calls storms)
• Never saying certain words at sea (rabbit, priest)

Sailors' Protections:

• Bentinhos (blessed pouches) worn around neck
• Medals of protective saints
• Tattoos of religious imagery
• Offerings before voyages
• Prayers to São Pedro (patron of fishermen)

Sea Offerings: Flowers, bread, wine, or coins thrown into the ocean as offerings to sea spirits or in gratitude for safe passage.

Love Magic

Portuguese love magic is passionate and often involves saints, herbs, and the moon.

Santo António Love Magic: Santo António (St. Anthony of Padua) is the matchmaker saint. Young women pray to him for husbands, sometimes turning his statue to face the wall until he grants their wish.

Basil Love Charms: Pots of basil with love poems attached, given during Santo António festival (June 13).

Full Moon Love Spells: Working love magic under the full moon, often involving herbs, candles, and prayers.

Simpatias (Sympathetic Magic): Folk spells for love, often involving symbolic actions, herbs, and prayers.

Portuguese Saints in Folk Magic

Catholic saints are deeply integrated into Portuguese folk magic:

Nossa Senhora de Fátima: Portugal's most beloved manifestation of Mary. Protection, healing, intercession. Pilgrimage site with powerful spiritual energy.

Santo António: Love, marriage, finding lost things. Extremely popular, especially in Lisbon.

São João: Midsummer celebrations, fertility, protection. His feast (June 24) involves bonfires and jumping.

São Pedro: Patron of fishermen, protection at sea, maritime blessings.

Santa Luzia: Eye problems, vision (both physical and spiritual), protection.

São Brás: Throat ailments, protection from choking, blessing of throats.

Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes: Protection for sailors and travelers, safe voyages.

The Portuguese Magical Calendar

Noite de São João (June 23-24)

Midsummer celebration, one of the most important magical nights. Bonfires, jumping over flames, herbs gathered, love divination.

Traditions:

• Jumping over bonfires for purification and luck
• Hitting people with leeks or garlic (playful tradition)
• Launching paper balloons with wishes
• Gathering herbs at peak potency
• Love divination and magic
• Bathing in the sea or rivers for healing

Santo António (June 13)

Lisbon's patron saint, massive celebrations, love magic, basil pots with poems, weddings.

Dia de Todos os Santos (November 1)

All Saints Day, honoring the dead, visiting graves, leaving offerings of flowers and candles.

Traditional Foods: Pão-por-Deus (bread for God), filhós (fried pastries), offerings for the dead.

Noite de Natal (Christmas Eve)

Midnight mass (Missa do Galo), family gatherings, divination, transmission of benzeduras.

Festas dos Santos Populares (June)

Popular saints' festivals throughout June—Santo António (13th), São João (24th), São Pedro (29th). Street parties, grilled sardines, music, magic.

Portuguese Magical Objects and Symbols

Azulejos: Magical Tiles

Portuguese decorative tiles (azulejos) often feature protective symbols, religious imagery, and geometric patterns that serve magical purposes beyond decoration.

Galo de Barcelos: The Rooster

Portugal's national symbol, representing faith, justice, and good luck. Based on a legend of a rooster that crowed to prove an innocent man's claims. Used as protective symbol and good luck charm.

Filigrana: Filigree Jewelry

Traditional Portuguese filigree jewelry, especially the heart of Viana (Coração de Viana), serves as protective amulet and symbol of love and faith.

Lenços dos Namorados: Lovers' Handkerchiefs

Embroidered handkerchiefs with love symbols, poems, and magical imagery, given as love tokens. The embroidery itself is a form of love magic.

Building Your Portuguese Practice

Learn About Portuguese History

Study the Age of Discovery, the Inquisition, Moorish and Jewish influences, and how these shaped Portuguese magic.

Work with Portuguese Herbs

Grow or acquire arruda (rue), alecrim (rosemary), manjericão (basil), louro (bay laurel). Learn their uses in Portuguese tradition.

Practice Benzeduras

If you can find a benzedeira willing to teach, learn traditional healing prayers. Otherwise, study the structure and create your own healing blessings.

Protect Against Mau-Olhado

Learn traditional protections and removal techniques. Acquire protective amulets like figa or olho turco.

Honor Portuguese Saints

Develop relationships with relevant saints through prayers, offerings, and observing their feast days.

Celebrate Santos Populares

Observe the June festivals, especially São João, with traditional practices adapted to your circumstances.

Connect with the Sea

If near the ocean, develop a relationship with the sea. Make offerings, collect sea water and shells, honor maritime spirits.

Study Fado

While not directly magical, fado music expresses the Portuguese soul—saudade (longing), fate, the sea. Understanding fado deepens understanding of Portuguese spirituality.

Ethical Considerations

Cultural Respect: Portuguese feitiçaria belongs to Portuguese culture. Approach with respect if you're not Portuguese.

Inquisition Trauma: Remember the Portuguese Inquisition's impact on magical practitioners, Jews, Muslims, and others. Honor those who suffered.

Living Tradition: Folk magic is still practiced in rural Portugal. Don't treat it as quaint folklore or museum piece.

Catholic Syncretism: The blending of Catholicism and folk magic is authentic and integral. Don't try to separate them or dismiss the Catholic elements.

Regional Differences: Portugal has distinct regional traditions. Don't homogenize—honor the diversity.

Language: Learn correct Portuguese pronunciations. The language carries power and deserves respect.

Conclusion

Portuguese witchcraft offers a path shaped by the Atlantic's rhythms, by deep Catholic devotion blended with ancient practices, by the courage of bruxas and benzedeiras who kept the old ways alive. From the protective power of arruda to the healing touch of benzeduras, from the passionate love magic of Santo António to the maritime protections of fishermen's wives, Portuguese magic invites us into a world where the sea meets the land, where saints walk alongside older spirits, and where magic flows through prayers, herbs, and the fierce devotion of a people who never forgot the old ways.

This is magic that tastes of bacalhau and vinho verde, that smells of rosemary and sea salt, that sounds like fado and church bells. It's the magic of a nation of explorers who sailed to the ends of the earth but always remembered home, who blended cultures and faiths into something uniquely beautiful, and who understood that magic lives in the space between land and sea, between prayer and spell, between the old ways and the new.

Que Deus te abençoe e proteja (May God bless and protect you). May Nossa Senhora watch over you, may arruda guard your threshold, and may you walk in the beauty of Portuguese magical tradition.