Animal Folklore: A Mole in the Hand
Today, moles are usually unappreciated residents of our gardens and fields, but they are embedded in folklore and for centuries were used in remedies.
London Folklore: The Legendary Frost Fairs of the River Thames
he legendary frost fairs on the River Thames are depicted in a number of works of art that show just how cold, icy and severe the weather became during winter, in comparison to the weather experienced in London in modern times.
Encounters With Ajarns: My Experiences With the Rituals of Thai Lanna Buddhism
Rituals can be transformational episodes that connect the initiand with other realms and higher cosmic plains. Thai Lanna Buddhist rituals are sublime and magnificent ceremonies.
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!
Plagues, Fires and Human Sacrifice: Hidden Meanings of London Nursery Rhymes
Kim McGreal explores the curious and macabre origins of some well-known childhood nursery rhymes.