Éva Pócs: A Deep Dive into Folklore, Magic, and Shamanistic Elements

Professor Éva Pócs

Éva Pócs is a Hungarian scholar renowned for her extensive research into folk beliefs, witchcraft, magic, and supernatural practices, particularly in East-Central Europe. As a folklorist, ethnographer, and historian, she has dedicated her career to understanding the ways people in the past interacted with the supernatural. Pócs is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Pécs in Hungary and has lectured across Europe, sharing her insights into the connections between folklore, witchcraft, shamanism, and human interactions with otherworldly entities.

Her groundbreaking work has made significant contributions to the study of early modern European witchcraft, particularly how magical and shamanistic elements have persisted in folklore over centuries.

Between the Living and the Dead: An Overview

In her book Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age (1998), Pócs explores the fascinating world of folk beliefs surrounding witches, seers, and magical practitioners in early modern Hungary. She draws on historical records from Hungarian witch trials between the 16th and 18th centuries to investigate how these figures were seen as intermediaries between the human world and the supernatural.

What sets this work apart is its balance between focusing on Hungary’s unique traditions and placing them in a broader European context. Pócs highlights the distinct cultural features of Hungarian folklore while connecting them to shared European beliefs about magic and the supernatural.

The main Hypothesis of the book

One of the central ideas in Pócs’ work is that many early modern European beliefs about magic and witchcraft retain traces of ancient spiritual practices known as “shamanistic” elements. These are remnants of pre-Christian belief systems that have survived in folklore.

For example, she points out practices like soul journeys (where a person’s spirit is thought to travel to other realms), ecstatic experiences, animal transformations, and the role of mediating between humans and supernatural forces. While these practices resemble classical shamanism—the structured spiritual systems found in Siberia and Central Asia—Pócs argues that the European versions are fragmented and have been adapted over time, especially under the influence of Christianity.

The Hungarian Táltos: A Shamanistic Figure?

One of the most intriguing figures discussed in Pócs’ book is the Hungarian táltos. This figure plays a central role in Hungarian folklore as a type of magical practitioner or seer with strong ties to shamanistic practices. In the book she classifies these ritual specialists in A, B and C ritual specialists. Only category C would qualify to possess shamanistic attributes. She is very careful in her analysis and does not overgeneralize.

The táltos were believed to have special spiritual gifts that were evident from birth. Physical traits such as being born with a caul or extra body parts were seen as signs of their unique abilities. Táltos were thought to enter trances or undertake soul journeys to communicate with spirits or ancestors, and they often participated in cosmic battles against evil forces. These battles were not just symbolic but were believed to protect crops, ensure fertility, and maintain balance in the natural world.

What makes the táltos especially fascinating is how their practices were influenced by Christianity. For instance, while their role in mediating between the living and the dead reflects older, shamanistic traditions, these practices were often reinterpreted through a Christian lens, blending ancient spiritual beliefs with newer religious ideas.

Shamanism vs. Shamanistic: What’s the Difference?

Pócs takes a careful approach when describing European magical practices. Very early in the book, in fact, from page 14, 15 and 16 she explains her rationale behind why she is very careful with the term European shamanism. She avoids using the term “shamanism” too broadly because it refers to a specific, well-defined spiritual system most commonly associated with Siberia and Central Asia. Instead, she prefers the term “shamanistic” to describe traits that resemble shamanism but lack the same structured rituals and systems.

This distinction is important because it acknowledges the influence of Christianity and regional folklore on these practices, emphasizing their localized and syncretic nature. It also raises the very important question how pre-Christian European healing-systems evolved relative to traditional Eurasian (ultimately, based in hunter-gatherer societies and later in Reindeer pastoralist societies) shamanistic societies. There, traditional shamanism evolved from hunting rituals, bear- and animal-ceremonialism, and seasonal revival rites, again, related to hunting and gathering.

In Europe it is much more difficult to assess how pre-Christian healing-systems evolved due to several societal and ultimately also ideological changes, following the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition and of course the ‘Indo-Europeanization’ in Europe.

Werewolves, the Wild Hunt, and Shamanistic Themes

Pócs also examines popular myths and legends, such as motif of Germanic/Baltic werewolves, the Wild Hunt myths, and animal transformations, showing how these stories reflect shamanistic ideas.

In these areas, nocturnal battles are often related to Wild Hunt myths and were believed to protect crops and ensure fertility, tying into broader themes of maintaining cosmic balance.

The Wild Hunt, a mythological event known from Scandinavia down to alpine areas of Bavaria in Germany and Austria, share themes related to the main hypothesis of the book. Both involve spiritual travel and combat, as well as connections to fertility rites and ancestor worship. These stories likely stem from pre-Christian beliefs about the cycles of nature and must have been somehow embedded in subsistence, ecology and the way pre-Christian societies related to themselves and the natural world prior to the arrival of Christianity in Europe.

Animal transformation is another recurring motif that reflects shamanistic ideas, as well. In many traditions, the ability to transform into animals—especially wolves—symbolizes a connection to otherworldly realms but also animal personhood and agency. This is very important considering the emerging research into New Animism and the ontological turn.

Such transformations are often linked to soul journeys or ecstatic states, reinforcing the idea of crossing boundaries between the human and supernatural worlds.

Pócs argues that these myths are not random but rather localized adaptations of older, possibly, Indo-European spiritual systems. While shaped by regional culture and Christian influence, they retain core shamanistic features such as spiritual travel, mediating roles, and the duality of cosmic forces.

Why Éva Pócs’ Work Matters

Éva Pócs’ Between the Living and the Dead is a remarkable exploration of how ancient shamanistic elements have persisted in European folklore. By examining figures like the táltos, witches, and werewolves, she sheds light on the ways these practices were reshaped and preserved in Christianized societies.

Her work bridges the gap between academic research and cultural storytelling, helping readers understand the complex, layered history of European folklore.