As a gentleman of a middling age, being barely in the arse-end of Generation X, there was a time in witchcraft, paganism and the occult when things were assuredly not as they are today. Progress, evolution, advancement, or dilution, depending upon one’s perspective and context, there is certainly no hiding the fact that it is measurably easier in some ways today to find a local coven or pagan-friendly retailer and like-minded folk. Simultaneously, and I don’t think this is said... Read more
The preeminent day connected with Judas… is Maundy Thursday… To the medieval mind, Maundy Thursday was synonymous with the day of the betrayal and was, therefore, an inauspicious day when markedly dark forces were likely to be afoot, as they surely were at that ancient meal. As Murray notes, it had become customary for “… corresponding folkloric beliefs attaching a malediction to all things smacking of Judas.” For this reason, the medieval convention was to remove and lock away anything... Read more
Within the milieu of modern occult arts, the folklore and historicity of witchcraft has developed in tandem with the Craft’s popularity in recent decades, presenting an alternative to traditional initiatory Wicca of yesteryear and notions of a surviving Murrayite pagan cult. With a greater number of people growing within the fold of witchery, combined with the availability of information through unprecedented literary output and social media outlets, a more broad perspective has been brought to the subject. Therefore, modern witchcraft... Read more
A little over a year ago, medieval historian and podcaster, Eleanor Janega wrote a blog post that caused some consternation amongst the witchcraft community for its roughly handled opinion, coupled as it was with assumed scholarly pedigree and a rather haughty mien. Whilst there are some glaring historical errors and misconceptions throughout the modern witch community, and the principal thrust of the post was targeting tasteless t-shirts that use a feminist slogan — “We are the granddaughters of the witches... Read more
Whenever we think of historic accounts of witchcraft, there are a number of cases that are frequently mentioned. In particular, these are the ones that popular authors have included in their studies, from Margaret Murray to Emma Wilby. But there is one incident in history that incorporates all of the tropes and stereotypes of witchcraft and magic in the early modern period, including the black mass, black magic, clergy, love spells, witchcraft, devilish pacts, poisoning, abortions, and child sacrifice. What’s... Read more
I swear that I will always conceal and never reveal these secrets… (Society of Esoteric Endeavour 2009, 89) [1] This solemn oath is delivered by the initiate into the secretive Society of the Horseman’s Word, taken from The Ancient Ritual of the Buchan Ploughmen, Incorporated with the Ancient Horsemen. A parallel society to the Freemasons, such initiatory oaths contain similar phraseology, and these binding words have, therefore, a magical context. Indeed, throughout the magical milieu, such oaths of secrecy serve... Read more
“Our idea was inclusion… Naturally when we want to include everyone and not exclude anyone questions are raised… We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everybody… In France, we have artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country.” – Paris 2024 artistic director Thomas Jolly (extract from The Independent). The Paris Olympic Games 2024 opened this week, with a ceremony at times equally bizarre and uniquely French. Full... Read more
Things I’ve been contemplating lately synchronised for me today when my Facebook feed presented a post from someone whom I respect greatly in our community, BJ Swain. This moral story is both true and representative of something I’ve found great solace in over the last year that I have become a runner in earnest. The running community generally has an encouraging and nourishing ethos as I’ve found it to date, frequently reminding me that the only person I am racing... Read more
“…And after the said Jane allighted and pulld the bridle of her head, and she and the rest had drawne their compasse nigh to a bridg end, and the devil placed a stone in the middle of the compasse; they sett themselves downe, and bending towards the stone, repeated the Lord’s prayer backwards.” Testimony of Anne Armstrong, 1673 [1] Anne Armstrong was likely just a teenager when she became swept up in a dark cloud following the Newcastle witch trials... Read more
Within modern witchcraft, two positions have made themselves apparent in recent years that is somewhat of a surprise — and is perhaps informed in some small way by the increased popularity of witchcraft and its emergence as a mainstream, and commercialised, endeavour. On the one hand are those who recognise, in historic notions of witchcraft and its power, that this practice and archetype has most often been the recourse of the disadvantaged against the abuses of those in some position... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In