Top: Evening Primrose flowers growing in the fairy section of a witch’s garden Thinking of you while out for a ramble Down by a cold frosty stream Set down on a bed of hemlocks and primroses And gently I fell into a dream I dreamed I saw a pretty fair maiden Such beauty I’d never […]
Pagan holidays: Litha … On summer solstice celebrations, and the dangerous similarities between modern paganism and evangelical Christianity
On the wheel of the year listing pagan holidays, Litha is perhaps the most problematic. This hit home to me when I read a blog post recently, from someone who was going to Stonehenge on Midsummer’s morning, to celebrate Litha in the manner of their celtic ancestors. Bloggers aren’t known for accuracy, but what really stuck […]
A Henbane potion to honor Apollo, or to treat madness or induce it as part of the witch’s flying potion, April 27, 2019
An early Henbane potion was dedicated to Apollo, the Greek god of healing and disease. A Henbane potion could cure the madness brought on by those under the influence of that other Greek deity, Dionysus and his own potions. In small doses however, a Henbane potion can be calming and act as a sedative, inducing […]
Lakey’s Ghost: On folklore and folk horror from the prairie, and how the legend of the headless horseman galloped westward across an ocean and a continent
On Lakey’s Ghost from John W. Allen; Legends & Lore of Southern Illinois … Until recent years it was a common custom to go calling on neighbors in the evening and “set until bedtime.” There were no telephones, television sets, or radios for entertainment. There were no automobiles nor were there any roads for them to travel. […]
The Hoe and The Rake
“It is only by enlarging the scope of one’s tastes and one’s fantasies, by sacrificing everything to pleasure, that the unfortunate individual called Man, thrown despite himself into this sad world, can succeed in gathering a few roses among life’s thorns” Marquis de Sade “Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns” Miller and Devon IT’S […]
Wild Columbine poison … this colorful flower hides darker purposes in the witch’s garden, May 5, 2019
Can you make a Wild Columbine poison for the witch’s garden? Whilst reports vary, it seems that you’d need at the very least, a very high concentration of seeds or plants to make Wild Columbine poison potions. It’s said the Wild Columbine poison comes from the naturally occurring chemical Wild Columbine aconitine, also found in […]
My Death
And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning that the lesson today is how to die. Bob Geldof Dying is something we all face, whether we think about it or not. For most of my life, if I thought about it, it was to find ways to avoid it. I turned 58 years old […]
The Secret of the Raven: At the end of Poe’s life, one finds the unexpected … hope
Poe and The Raven’s lost Lenore? One of the last photos of Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, about the same time. I spent much of the past eighteen months living with Edgar Allan Poe. I can’t say I knew the man when I first started. I had some travel experiences with him, […]
Haunted Plymouth: The macabre history of Plymouth, Mass., where Pilgrim and native American spirits haunt side by side
Haunted Plymouth has been known as America’s hometown over more than four centuries, and its history stretches back even further than that. Ghosts and hauntings seem to attach themselves to locations over time … houses, buildings of all sorts, even woods and entire towns. Plymouth has seen its share of real life horror stories, and […]
Monkshood: A deadly poison and essential ingredient in witch’s flying ointments makes its first appearance in the witch’s garden
Monkshood is one of the more deadly plants in the witch’s garden. It was also one of the plants closely associated with the witch’s flying ointment. A look at this diabolical botanical, and how it differs from its cousin, the legendary wolfsbane.
What is Halloween? On visitations by the dead, a bit of necromancy, sixties trick or treating in in drag, and a seismic switch in films that changed Halloween forever
What is Halloween? A look at Halloween traditions of the past What is Halloween and why the focus on the dead? It’s a boon to necromancers, the day when the dead are most inclined to rise up and join us in the world. Perhaps all it takes is a little pull from this side, and […]
Dame Alice Kyteler of Kilkenny, Ireland: A poisoner? Quite likely. A witch? Perhaps. A fighter? Absolutely.
DAME ALICE KYTELER was the culprit in the first successful witch trial in Ireland, if you can consider having an unfortunate woman burned at the stake successful. Alice however didn’t burn. She escaped the flames, leaving her maid servant Petronella de Meath to become the first Irish victim of the witch hunts. A wildcat of […]
