Giants and gods, saints and heroes. Djinns and dragons. Loss and exile from one’s homeland.
Continue readinghistory
The Satanic Panic
It’s over thirty years since the Satanic Panic in the UK. So perhaps it is fading from memory. But at the time, things were really scary — and with the current rolling back of various human rights legislation that we have taken for granted for a generation or more, in both the USA and the UK, those times could return.
Continue readingBooks I read in January 2022
I decided to re-read The Lord of the Rings as it’s been about a decade since I last read it and it was Tolkien’s birthday. Then I read The Vanishing Half, which was amazing. And Labyrinth, which was enjoyable too.
Continue readingStone circles
Stones. September Pagan Challenge, day 8.
These photos of Stanton Drew stone circle are from a visit to the UK in September 2019. For those who don’t know, I moved from the UK to Canada in May 2018.
Stanton Drew is one of the largest stone circles in Britain. It’s made of red sandstone from the Mendip Hills nearby. I love it.
Mac and cheese
Kitchen Witchery — September Pagan Challenge #5.
I made mac’n’cheese for lunch today and remembered, from watching High on the Hog on Netflix with Stephen Satterfield, that the recipe was perfected by James Hemings, the enslaved chef to Thomas Jefferson. Hemings was clearly a culinary genius, and I spoke his name with gratitude as I ate my mac’n’cheese.
Not the messiah
A few years ago, I organized an event where Philip Heselton gave a talk based on his excellent multi-volume biography of Gerald Gardner. He was looking for a title and said that the talk was about the murkier aspects of Gardner’s life. I suggested calling it “He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy” which I’m sure you will recognize as a line from The Life of Brian by Monty Python. So that was the title of the talk.
Continue readingBooks I read in October 2020
I had seen The Jewish Resistance recommended on Twitter, so I was very pleased to find it on sale for six dollars in Indigo. It is a very accessible read and contains important information. I re-read Le Grand Meaulnes, a French classic. And I continued my project of reading more witchy books with Lid off the Cauldron by Patricia Crowther, followed by Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson. Quite an eclectic mix of topics.
Continue readingMore potted history
In my last potted history post, I was half way through my ‘potted history of witchcraft‘ series. I have now completed it, and added a video on key concepts in Paganism.
Coming soon: a potted history of Paganism, and a video on recovering from fundamentalism. Subscribe to my YouTube channel so as not to miss any of my upcoming videos.
Continue readingPotted history of witchcraft
The other day I had a long rambling conversation with some people over Zoom where I ended up giving them a highly condensed version of a potted history of witchcraft.
This made me realize that I could make a short accessible series of videos on the subject. So I am doing exactly that, on my YouTube channel, The Witch’s Mirror.
Continue readingInterview with Eleanor Bone
Another gem from the Wayback Machine, by the same author as the obituary of Eleanor Bone that I posted previously. If anyone knows who the author is, please let me know; it seems to be by the person who founded the Occulture festival.
There are some very interesting points in the interview, such as the allegation that Gerald Gardner never received any initiations beyond first degree from the New Forest Coven.
Dowsing for Divinity 