Opening the Time Traveller’s Herbal
Step into the time slip with herbal storyteller Amanda Edmiston, Botanica Fabula as we enter the world of The Time Traveller’s Herbal.
A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe
I began writing ‘Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe: A Treasury of British Folklore’ back in April last year.
Nature Folklore for Children: Capturing Their Curiosity and Inspiring Awe
I have always especially loved nature folklore. It provides such a beautiful glimpse into how people use signs from nature as a way to navigate daily life. It reveals how attuned people used to be to the natural world and the ebb and flow of the seasons. Spotting certain animals or birds came to be associated with good or bad fortune; plants and flowers were used as cures; and stories of fantastical creatures, such as fairies and elves, were told to account for unexplained events.
Iceland’s Hidden People: Finding All That’s Lost
A land’s topography speaks of the forces that have formed it and how it has endured; in Iceland, the shape of people’s beliefs and the ways folklore bisects and enriches everyday life is as striking and memorable as the volcanic landscape. Mythology reflects and refracts the dangers of the natural environment.
Collectable Mermaids and the Myth of the Merrow
The early sirens, the ones Odysseus encountered, were not fish at all but bird-women, but they had those great siren qualities – bewitching songs and the will to lure the unwitting to a bad end.