Three novel classes of exact solutions of the generalized Grad–Shafranov equation for helically symmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibria are presented. The first two classes may be applied to helical MHD equilibria for plasma confined between two coaxial cylinders, while the third one to the modeling of helicoidal magnetic fields and flows in several recently observed astrophysical jets. The same solutions can be also used for the testing of sophisticated numerical codes. It is also shown that all helically symmetric MHD equilibria can be treated by the same general method which is employed to generate exact MHD solutions for systems possessing an ignorable coordinate in a system of three orthogonal basis vectors, although in the case of helical symmetry an orthogonal ignorable coordinate does not exist, contrary to what happens in the well-known cases of axial and translational symmetries.