The thoughts of a folklore witchcraft practitioner.

Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I have wrote on my blog but I feel that now is a time to update on whats been going on and whats been happening.  So as you can see the title is a question that enters most spiritual people's minds and it was one that arose when I met some wonderful new and likeminded people. How do we balance the mundane and the magic? This is why I have been away for so long and that I because I lost that balance and the mundane took over ....even though I was trying to keep the balance right. Its hard in modern society to lead a truly pure and spiritual existence, with the constricting views and ways of others sometimes we get lost in our mundane lives and forget to balance it with the magic. An example of this is why I have not been blogging or writing anything for a while now, I have taken on a new job in the city and the mundane has put me in a routine of work home sleep repeat. it was only when my partner reached out because his balanc...

Hello Everyone. It is coming to one of my favourite times of year and that is the festival of Beltane. Opposite to Samhain on the wheel, the fire festival of fun, fertility, unity and love is again a favourite among pagans. Whether it be a visit to the fire festival in Edinburgh or to see the dragons of Glastonbury to a private coven ritual, Beltane marks the start of summer and camps and the chance to travel and meet likeminded people from all over the country. Maypoles and maidens the Horned God and the Goddess in union, Morris dancers and again a favourite of mine the oss are just a few of the staple parts of a good Beltane festival but where did most of these traditions come from? It is believed that if you greet the sun on May day at sunrise that you would have good luck and that your year would be bountiful and fortuitous. Many traditions stem back centuries and have been thwarted by puritans and religion but have come back as tradition rather than related to paganism....

Hello Everyone, Well after being in my cave with no inspiration through Imbolc I have returned with a lovely blog for all to read.  Being involved in public rituals on the Sabbats has opened my eyes to many wondrous things and beautiful people , yet with spring comes a re-awakening in my heart to share information with you all again after a small hiatus and busy with the small business of incense making. It is here, the birds are singing mating calls and the leaves are appearing on the trees with the yellows and oranges of daffodils along the roads. Spring has sprung and thoughts of Eostre and lady spring are with us all. We find ourselves planning for the summer and Beltane. A favourite Sabbat among many of us as it marks the start of the summer months. Therefore I want to write about many different experiences I have had at many different open rituals and talk about The Witches compass. This blog is not saying what is right but is just to give those who may find ...

Hello Everyone. Merry Samhain festivities to all and as the winters nights draw in I hope all have had a wonderful and prosperous summer. As the Calleach rises for her reign we are reminded that with life must come death and with death there is rebirth . I suppose this is what this blog is about death rebirth and reflection. Such a poignant time of year with pagans returning from festivities all over the country. Myself included, after a small hiatus to the magical lands of Cornwall for the dark gathering at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle. I had seen videos on YouTube from last year and something called to me and my partner that we just had to go, and we did. Well I can safely say that an afternoon of border Morris was what I needed. watching the wonderful Beltane Border Morris, Wytchwood Morris and Catseye Morris in the afternoon after a Cornish cream tea was amazing to say the least. The energies these dancers brought were immense and if you ever get ...

Hello everyone. After some time away and a busy lammas, I am back and hoping to bring you more blogs over the coming weeks. I have had a wonderful holiday with my family from a pagan camp in Yorkshire  to the mountains of the lake district. And the wheel of the year turns once more as we have reached the Autumn Equinox. Many Pagans call this time of year Mabon also. It is the time for the second harvest, of fruits and the last of the crops grown over summer. A time to make beer, cider, wine and mead. Fruit Preserves and foraging as the trees turn from green to brown before their inevitable slumber over the winter months. Equinox is a time for balance as the days and night become equal for three days and the focus here is on balance. Not to take too much so the animals have food also and to save and reserve foods for the winter months. The Norse Celebrated this time of year with a festival known as the Haustblot, a time when the sun goddess Sol begins...

Hello Everyone, Greetings to all on this Lammas week and to those who had festivities and camps I hope you all had fun on the first harvest of the year. This Blog will look at folk traditions over the British Isles and customs of old and also stories associated with the harvest and celebrations of Lammas/Lughnasadh. Lammas or the first harvest is on the 1st August and differs from place to place on the British Isles, where in Scotland they may harvest the crops early. The word Lammas comes from the Saxon word halfmaesse  or   loaf mass and it refers to the first offerings to the God of the fruits of the harvest. In Celtic times this time of year was known as Lughnasadh and dedicated to the God Lugh, which was a time for merrymaking, feasts and honouring's to Lugh's foster mother the goddess Taitu.(Howard, p100-102) Christian faith however took this festival for their own, knowing the importance of the agricultural year and the blessings given to...