The Four-Leaf Clover: Druids, Eden, and… Handbags?
Generally, clover represents protection, fertility and abundance, but where does the widespread belief in a four leaf clover’s good luck come from?
The Witch Files — The Midwife Myth: Curses, Infanticide, and Devilish Spells?
In the great wealth of witch-related lore, the image of the persecuted local midwife is one of the most enduringly popular.
All Hael! All Hael! Singing with the Kibbo Kift
What sort of music did a 1920s utopian youth movement fiercely opposed to mainstream society actually like? The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift (‘KK’) were creatures of their time.
Dark Side of the Sun: A Brief Guide to Midsummer Lore in Britain & Ireland
Each morning the sun rolls across the sky. In Estonia it was the hatched egg of the enchanted swallow bird, an emu’s egg bursting into flames in Australia, and a golden piece of bacon for the Nama people of South Africa. In the evening, it descends into the sea, as a bridegroom or warrior, golden rays transformed into spears or robes of light, hissing with heat as the waters close over it, before swimming back to the east. Sometimes in gloom-shrouded nights, we may imagine it will never return and we will be plunged into unyielding darkness, but still it rises and always will, at least for the next five billion years or so!
Passing Through & Under: A Ritual Healing in England
Until the 20th century, the inadequacies of orthodox medical services left a large proportion of the population dependent upon traditional folk medicine – essentially a mixture of common sense remedies based on the accumulated experience of nursing and midwifery, combined with inherited lore about the healing properties of plants.