A bad witch's blog

Review: Portals, Patterns, and Pathways - Rune Magic

2026-05-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

Are you ready to take a deep dive into runic lore? Portals, Patterns, and Pathways, a new book by Imelda Almqvist, shows you how. The subtitle is A Handbook for Rune Magicians, Star Gazers, and Myth Makers - and that's exactly what it is.

Don't read it expecting it to be beginners' guide on how to read the runes. You need to already have a basic understanding first. Portals, Patterns, and Pathways takes you beyond basic knowledge, exploring rune groupings and the spaces between them. As the title suggests, these can be portals to greater wisdom.

In its pages you will find an in-depth course on using runes for advanced divination, magic, and greater understanding of cosmology, plus reference material to use going forward. This is the synopsis on publisher Moon Books' website:

"The runes map a mythical or imaginal realm where cosmic blueprints share their stories and wisdom through archetypal figures, deities, personifications, alchemical images, and symbols. Years ago, Imelda Almqvist wrote in her Rune Journal: 'Every liminal space between runes is a mystery school, and its curriculum is mythology!' This insight proved to be incredibly fertile ground for mapping the liminal spaces between the runes. The letter sequence of many early alphabets appears to be connected to the night sky and star patterns. Does such a correspondence exist for the runes? Does the Poetic Edda contain astronomical numbers and references to celestial events? Before the Enlightenment, astronomy and astrology represented different faces of one unified field of study. What happens if we arrange the Runes of the Elder Futhark in a Circle and then look at that circle the way an astrologer reads a natal chart? This book shares the author’s discoveries, and she hopes that its readers will join her on this adventure!"

Portals, Patterns, and Pathways is more than just a book to read once. It's something to work through carefully then keep as a valuable resource in future.

About the author

Imelda Almqvist is an international teacher of Sacred Art and Seidr/Old Norse Traditions (the ancestral wisdom teachings of Northern Europe). Her earlier books include Natural Born Shamans: A Spiritual Toolkit for Life, Sacred Art: A Hollow Bone for Spirit and Medicine of the Imagination - Dwelling in possibility. She appeared in the TV programme Ice Age Shaman, talking about Neolithic arctic deer shamanism. She has an on-line school, Pregnant Hag Teachings.

Website: www.shaman-healer-painter.co.uk
Online School: https://pregnant-hag-teachings.teachable.com/courses/

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-05-27T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests. There are online things you can do anywhere (bolded to spot more easily) plus in-person talks and workshops in or near London, and some conferences and festivals further afield.

Now - Saturday 30 May; Austin Osman Spare and his books exhibition. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY.

Open: Mon-Sat, 11am~6pm. Free entry. www.theatlantisbookshop.com

Now - 5 June; The Everyworld Redux exhibition. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 10.30am To 5pm, Monday To Friday With Saturday Openings. Tickets free. https://www.swedenborg.org.uk/events/the-everyworld-redux/

Now - 3 June; Relics exhibition. Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: Mon-Thur 9.30am to 8pm, 10-5pm Fri/Sat. Free entry. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Now to end of May; Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition. Venue: The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Open Wednesdays to Sundays. Tickets from £21. https://darksecretsexhibition.com/london/

Now – 29 November; The Coming of Age Exhibition - including displays on witches and crones. Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE. Open daily 10am-6pm. Free. https://wellcomecollection.org/

Now – 13 September; The Material Heart: Front Line to Home Front. Exhibition of WWI folk art. Venue: Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF. Open: Tuesdays – Saturdays, 11am – 6pm. Tickets free with general museum admission ticket or a ticket to the Paint, Pattern, Print exhibition that's also on, costing £11.50. https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/

Now on; Vikings: The Immersive Experience. Venue: Dock X, Unit 1 Canada Water, Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 2XU. Opening hours: daily from 9am. Adult tickets from £23 and children from £16. https://vikings-immersive.co.uk/london/?

Now – 16 August; Olivia Plender: Little Fennel’s Complaint Exhibition. Venue:: Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford, UK, OX1 1BP. Open from 11am Tuesday - Sunday. Tickets from £7.21. https://modernartoxford.org.uk/

Now - 1 November; Exhibition: The Saxons. Venue: Discover Bucks Museum, 9 Church Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 2QP. Time: Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm. Sunday noon – 4pm. Adult tickets from from £5.90. https://discoverbucksmuseum.digitickets.co.uk/tickets

Most lunchtimes and some other times: Meditation - in-person or online. In-person venue: Inner Space, 36 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden, London · WC2H 9AB. Time: 1pm (for lunchtime meditation). Free. https://www.meetup.com/inner-space-covent-garden/events/

Every Tuesday to Sunday except over bank holidays; College of Psychic Studies - pop in to have a look around the lovely building. Venue: College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 11am-4pm. Free entry. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Every lunchtime: Rainbow Spirit offers a shared vegetarian lunch from a flat in Soho, London, for all people LGBT+Allies. The foundation is British witchcraft. Each meal is followed by Ancestor Circle, passing the talking stick. Alcohol-free event. To attend join the Whatsapp chat group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LhDxaCzGsmE2YI6AReyw3W

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Various dates; London Witches and Chilling History Bankside Walking Tour. Meet at Southwark View Point, Minerva Square, London, SE1 9DF. Times various. Tickets around £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/enthral-experiences-58960674733

Wednesday 27 May; A Quest into the Past, Present and Future Akashic Records with Vicky Sweetlove. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 5pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 27 May; Working with The Ancestors. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 27 May (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 27 May (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 27 May; Ghosts, Ghouls, and Spirits of Medieval Britain. Hybrid event. In-person venue: T21 Soho, 3 Sutton Row, London W1D 3QP. Time: 7 PM. Tickets From £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Wednesday 27 May; The Crystal Familiar Experience. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 7.30 - 9.30pm. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Wednesday 27 May (monthly); Melissa's Tarot Club. Monthly In-Person Workshop. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 27 May (and other dates); Kundalini Yoga and Sound Healing with Claudia Chapman. Venue: The Goddess Studio, 116 Whitehouse Way, London N14 7LU. Time: 7pm. Tickets from £6.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/20248016862

Wednesday 27 May; Ossian’s Last Stand? Talk by Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart . Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 28 May (most Thursdays); Shamanic Dance with Luisa Passalacqua. Venue near Wandsworth Town Station, London. Time: 11am. Tickets donations (or free) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/luisa-passalacqua-16972493584?

Thursday 28 May (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 28 May; Lucifer: Praxis with Peter Grey. Online Talk via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 28 May; The History of Witchcraft and Women: Magic, rituals and the patriarchy. Talk by Dr Julia Phillips via Seed talks online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Thursday 28 May; Numerology: Essential Skills. Start of 10-session course run by Richard Abbot, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £280. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 28 May; Angels and Guides: Foundation. Start of 8-session course run by Liesl Duffy, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 28 May; Gary Lachman on Music and Magic. Talk and Soirée. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 28 May; Storytime x Connection With Wonder: A Woodland Excursion by London Dreamtime. Venue: Secret location near Honour Oak Park, London. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets £10 https://londondreamtime.com/calendar/

Thursday 28 May (last Thursday every month); Hertford Pagan Moot. Venue: The White Horse Pub, 33 Castle Street, Hertford, Herts SG14 1HH) (45 mins from central London). Time: 8pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104788436218047

Thursday 28 May; The I Ching Oracle with Professor John Lai. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Friday 29 May (every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Online event. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 29 May-Saturday 30 May; Lolly Willowes at 100. 2-day conference with talks by people including Professor Ronald Hutton and Diane Purkiss, organised by the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society. Venue: University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Starts 10am. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lolly-willowes-at-100-tickets-1981938823373?

Friday 29 May; An Evening with…Maevius Lynn - The Holy Days found within the Book of the Law. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 7pm Cost £15 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Friday 29 May; Demonstration of Spirit Portraits with June-Elleni Laine. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Cost: £30. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 29 May; Woodland Cacao - Heart Opening and Wellness Circle with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at the entrance to Queen's Woods, Queen's wood Road, London N6 5UU, to be led into woods to the ritual spot. Bring a torch and wear suitable clothing and footwear. Time: 7pm. Tickets from: £8.83. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Saturday 30 May; Group Family Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: House of Transformation, Hoxton, Unit 4, 222 Kingsland Road, E2 8AX. Time: from 10am to 5pm. Tickets £75.47. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

Saturday 30 May (and other dates); 9D Transformative Breathwork. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 11am. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 30 May; Angels of Health, Career, Love and Plenty, Workshop with Kim Pilkington. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 11am. Cost: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May; A Day of Remote Viewing with Ann Théato. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 11am. Cost: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May; Manifestation Poppet Workshop. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 11.30am. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Saturday 30 May (and other dates); Reiki and Sound Healing. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 1pm. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 30 May; Cutting Cords for Self Healing with Giancarlo Serra via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May; Power Animals in Mediumship. Workshop with Claire Broad. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May (last Saturday of each month until October); Crowley Crawl 2026 with Marco Visconti. Venue: Central London walk from The Needle to Altantis Bookshop. Time: 2pm.

Tickets £50, For £70 for walk plus visit to The Hidden Society cocktail bar on Goodge Street. https://www.marcovisconti.org/events/crowleycrawl2026?

Saturday 30 May (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Saturday 30 May; The Everyworld – Redux: The Memory Blocks Screening And Conversation with Andrew Kötting. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 7pm. Tickets free but booking needed. https://www.swedenborg.org.uk/

Sunday 31 May; Shamanic Group with Les Fuller. All welcome Venue: Woodford Church at 9 Grove Crescent, South Woodford, London E18 2JR. Time 11am-3pm. Tickets: £10. http://woodfordchurch.com/

Sunday 31 May; Trance Mediumship: First Steps. Workshop with Sarah Tyler-Walters. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 31 May; Grounding and Protection. Workshop with Martha Brett and Maryrose Moses O'Brien. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 31 May; 3rd Eye Chakra. Wicca Women’s Circles Focus on a Chakra . Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: tbc. Tickets: £33 or £55 for two classes. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Sunday 31 May; Women's Forest Bathing in South Norwood Lake and Grounds. Meet at Sylvan Road, London SE25 4AN. Time: 1pm. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Sunday 31 May; London Rivers Week: Honouring Mama Osun. Run by Thames21 Limited. Meet at The Moorings, Battersea Church Rd, London SW11 3NA. Time: 1pm. Free, but reserve a place and wear white or yellow and bring light coloured sweet fruit as offerings. https://book.plinth.org.uk/e/zeRTjrbPrLl5o4AbxJGv

Sunday 31 May; Meeting of Heathen Kindred Blot (was Kith of the Tree and the Well). Venue: The Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London SE1 3QP. Time: 1.30pm. Entry £3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dawnoftheoak/events and https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/113978234531?

Sunday 31 May;Tarot Spells. Workshop with Bel Senlle. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 31 May; Elevate Your Intuitive Readings. Workshop with Jeremy Turner-Welch. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 5pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 31 May; Heartspaces - Soulfuel. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY. Doors at 6.30PM. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121061473538?

Sunday 31 May; Full Moon Ritual by the Thames with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Millennium Bridge, Thames Embankment, · London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803 or https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/PaganFrontiersOfLondon.

Sunday 31 May; Live Music and Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Sunday 31 May; Aleister Crowley, Libel, Litigation and the Law Courts with Andrew Wiseman. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 1 June; Ascending with Angels workshop Led by David Goddard. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm Cost £40 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Monday 1 June; Chart discussion followed by talk on The Diverse Astrological Approaches of W. J. Tucker by Philip Gravest, via the Astrological Lodge of London. Hybrid event. In-person venue: Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Starts 6.30pm. Tickets £6/£9. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 1 June; Dark German Fairy Tales with Viktor Wynd. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £15, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Mondays 1 and 22 June; Animal Healing and Communication Level 2 with Elizabeth Whiter, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 1 June; Gods of Love and Sex workshop with Rebecca Beattie, author of Planetary Magic and Nature Mystics, via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Monday 1 June; Theosophy. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Monday 1 June; Full Moon Celebration with South East London Pagans. Venue: One Tree Hill, Honor Oak, South London. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Monday 1 June; Lilith, Maman Brigitte and Pomba Gira -with Lilith Dorsey. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 1 June (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Tuesday 2 June (and other dates); Yoga for Mind, Breath and Body. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 6.15pm. Tickets: £12. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday 2 June (and other dates and times); Viktor Wynd Museum Guided Tour and a Devil's Botany Absinthe. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6pm. Tickets from £16. Price includes a Cocktail with Devil’s Botany. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Tuesday 2 June; Creating a Magical Servitor. Start of 2-Part Workshop with Mark Vincent via Treadwell's Online. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 2 June; Inspirational and Automatic Writing. Start of 6-session course with Sarah Tyler-Walters, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 2 June (first Tuesday each month); Talk at Romford Pagan Moot. Venue: The Golden Lion, 2 High Street, Romford. Time: 7.30pm. Entry £4: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064489640955

Tuesday 2 June; How Grimoires Depicted Angels and Demons, with Sergei Zotov. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 3 June; Book Talk: Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural. Talk by Dr Dorka Tamas via the Centre for Victorian Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London. Venue: Royal Holloway, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX. Starts 10.30am. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-talk-sylvia-plath-and-the-supernatural-tickets-1988822039257?

Wednesday 3 June (and other dates); Tea with a Medium. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 3 June; Psychic Mediumship for Beginners. Start of 6-session course with Sarah-Jane Jay, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 5pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 3 June; Hail, Delirium! Dorothea Tanning Preview and Alyce Mahon's Biography Signing. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: evening. Tickets free/£30, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Wednesday 3 June (usually on a Wednesday each month); Brett Hollyhead: Fossilised Magic. Online talk via the Folklore Centre. Time: 7pm. Tickets £5. https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Wednesday 3 June (first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Wednesday 3 June; The Hidden World of Fairies and Women. Talk by Diane Purkiss via Seed talks online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Wednesday 3 June; The History of Greek Mythology. Talk by Dr Emily Hauser via Seed talks online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Wednesday 3 June; Crystals for Psychic Development. Start of 6-session course with Sarah-Jane Jay, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7.15pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 3 June; Nocturnes, Symphonies and Seances: Whistler’s Life and Art, with Antony Clayton. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 4 June to 13 September; Hail, Delirium! Surrealist Dorothea Tanning art exhibition. Venue: The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: during normal opening hours. Free entry. https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/museum/

Thursday 4 June; Black Stars In Dim Carcosa with Marco Visconti. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursdays 4 and 11 June; Tree Magick and the Wisdom of the Ogham with Pixie P Carney, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 4 June; Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris's Thoth Tarot. Event with Kingfisher Coven. Venue: Lost Souls Pizza Camden, 245 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BA. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £6.13 https://www.eventbrite.com/o/keith-broad-kingfisher-coven-88810783003

Thursday 4 June; Freemasonry and Nature. Talk by Helena B. Scott. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £21. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 4 June; ; Recognise and Clear Negative Energy. Start of 8-session course with Martha Brett, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 4 June; Islamic Occultism – with Amal Salem. Talk and Soirée. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 4 June; ; Psychometry: Learn to Read Objects. Start of 10-session course with Tia Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £240. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 5 June (1st and 3rd Friday each month); Pagan Portal Podcast by Moon Books. Time: noon (or listen to recording later). Free event. https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7?

Friday 5 - Sunday 7 June; North Wales Pagan Fest 2026. Venue: Halkyn Castle Wood, CH8 8DF. Starts noon. Tickets £80/£45. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/halkyncastlewoodeventsandeducationltd/1772715?

Friday 5 June (and other dates); Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Friday 5 June (and other dates); Holistic Sound Bath Meditation - Summoning The Sacred. Venue: Training Points Fitness and Therapy, 5-6 Cooper's Yard, London SE19 1TN. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/holistic-sound-bath-meditation-summoning-the-sacred-tickets-223970159777?

Weekends 6 and 7 June then 15 and 16 August; Akashic Records: Heart and Soul Connections workshops with Vicky Sweetlove. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £490. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 6 June: Honouring the Self workshop with Joan Osborne. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 6 June; Rose Priestess Temple Devotional Day. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: noon. Tickets free. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 6 June; Amulets, Talismans and Charms. In-person workshop by me on the lore behind – and art of making – these important magical objects. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Cost: £25 per person. Find out more or book tickets here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/amulets-talismans-charms-in-person-workshop-3

Saturday 6 June: Divination with Coffee, Eggs and Mirrors. Workshop with Tia Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 6 June (date tbc but usually first Saturday each month); Gong Bath. Venue: Upminster Sanctuary Pea Lane, Upminster, RM142XH. Time: 7pm. Tickets: tbc. https://upminstersanctuary.com/

Sunday 7 June; Wisdom and Wyrd Psychic Market. Venue: Chislehurst Caves, Imperial Place, Chislehurst, NW Kent. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 7 June: The Seven Veils of Women Mystics. Painting workshop with Nicole Frobusch. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 7 June; Forest Bathing in Crystal Palace Park. Meet at Sydenham Gate, CP Park, London SE20. Time: 2pm. Free, but parking is paid. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Sunday 7 June: The Feminine and Masculine in Tarot. Workshop with Amanda Watson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 7 June: Activate Psychic Skills with Astrology. Start of 5-session course with Carmen Turner-Schott, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £180. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 7 June (first Sunday each month); Light and Expansion - Collective World Meditation with Pauline Flitton. Online event. Time: 7.30pm - 8:30pm. Free. Contact Pauline 07415 054280 or Email

contact@crystal-manifestations.co.uk for the free Zoom link. Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1514249646502331/?

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of any of these events. Contact organisers directly if you have questions or to check ticket availability. Where a practitioner is offering information about magical healing, this is *not* medical advice. If you're running an event you want included, please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com I earn commission from advertisers for some links.

Poppet Craft: Pipecleaner and Clothes-Peg Doll

2026-05-26T08:00:00.000+01:00

I was inspired to make this little doll using a craft idea on the Hobbycraft website. It was part of a selecton of mindful projects for kids produced for Mental Health Awareness Week earlier this month. The website described it as a worry doll, intended for children to talk to about their anxieties. The idea is that sharing a problem with a toy can be a comfort.

The concept of worry people originates in Guatamala. I've blogged about that custom in the past and you can find the link here.

The version in my picture is made from an old-style clothes-peg, pipecleaners and wool. I already had them in my crafting box - along with scissors, glue and pens - so thought I'd have a go. It only took me a few minutes. It didn't require any sewing, knitting, modelling or carving, so is a good technique for anyone who wants to make an easy doll but doesn't have much in the way of crafting expertise.

It could also be made as a focus to represent a person in spellwork. As I explain in my book Poppets and Magical Dolls:

"Poppets are dolls used for sympathetic magic, and are designed in the likeness of individuals in order to represent them in spells to help, heal or harm."

Although that mentions harm, it's a misconception that poppets are only used as curses. My book explores the history of effigy magic, and offers a practical guide to making and using dolls in modern witchcraft. It's published by Moon Books, but you can also find copies on Amazon.

(Please note I earn commission from some links)

Other previous related posts

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/08/witchy-craft-how-to-make-sewn-cloth.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/08/books-seven-lucky-years-for-poppets.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/02/craft-comfort-or-izzy-dolls-poppet.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/poppet-craft-doll-to-do-three-things-at.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/07/poppets-paper-doll-magic-to-release.html

A Tarot Reading for the World: The Ace of Wands

2026-05-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

I drew a card as a reading for the world using my new copy of the Greenwood Tarot. The Ace of Wands revealed itself.

The image shows a bow drill and the text on the card says "Spark of Life". The book that comes with the set gives this definition:

"The turning of the cosmic axis that generates the spark of life. The drill symbolises the skills that exert control over the environment, directed by human intellect."

Aces in general are about new beginnings. In the Greenwood Tarot they are all placed in the position of Imbolc on the Wheel of the Year chart, That's a time when the world is still bleak and dark, but we are beginning to see the evenings getting lighter and make plans for better times ahead.

Of course in the actual year as I write this post we are between Beltane and Summer Solstice, but in terms of world energy, it makes sense. The world is bleak right now.

This card tells us to make a new start. To direct our thoughts to making plans, and to use our energy and skills towards effecting change in our environment. A bow drill creates a tiny spark that sets a fire going. Make your own spark matter and create change in the world.

You can read my earlier post on the new edition of the Greenwood Tarot here.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/10/wind-harp-ace-of-air-from-witches.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/03/tarot-ace-of-cups-signs-of-new.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/04/review-shadow-seer-tarot-dark-archetypes.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/art-theatre-deli-tarot-supporting.html

Pagan Eye: Austin Osman Spare Exhibition at Atlantis

2026-05-21T08:00:00.000+01:00

The photo shows a corner of the current exhibition at Atlantis Bookshop in London. It's on the work of Austin Osman Spare. Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the artist and magician's death, the exhibition offers a glimps into his writing and illustrations.

Austin Osman Spare and his Books is on until Saturday 30 May at Atlantis, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. It's open Monday to Saturday, 11am~6pm. Entry. is free. www.theatlantisbookshop.com

On each Pagan Eye post, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. It could be a seasonal image, a pagan site, an event, or just a pretty picture. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com. Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-05-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

Now - 25 May; Hawaiʻi - a Kingdom Crossing Oceans exhibition. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets £18. https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Now - 3 June; Relics exhibition. Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: Mon-Thur 9.30am to 8pm, 10-5pm Fri/Sat. Free entry. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Now - Saturday 30 May (except Wed 20 May); Austin Osman Spare and his books exhibition. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY.

Open: Mon-Sat, 11am~6pm. Free entry. www.theatlantisbookshop.com

Now to end of May; Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition. Venue: The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Open Wednesdays to Sundays. Tickets from £21. https://darksecretsexhibition.com/london/

https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 20 - 22 May; Awaken Your Psychic Gifts, a free 3-day online event hosted by Wendy Mata and Irisanya Moon. Free: www.bruja.us/summit

Wednesday 20 May (and other dates); Tea with a Medium. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 20 May; Secret Book Club - The Magic of Herbs by David Conway, organised by Bibi's Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 6pm. Tickets £10.46 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/56277271483?

Wednesday 20 May; Magical Plants and Creative Writing. Workshop with Bernadette Russell via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 20 May; Astrological Sound Bath with Nicole Bettencourt Coelho. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £30 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 20 May; The Shamanic Path to Love and Courage, Workshop with Beáta Alföldi. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 20 May (tbc but usually 3rd Wednesday each month); The More Mead Moot. Venue: The Hope pub, Carshalton, Surrey. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/Pagan-FutureFests-352385661439366/

Wednesday 20 May (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 20 May (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Thursday 21 May (most Thursdays); Shamanic Dance with Luisa Passalacqua. Venue near Wandsworth Town Station, London. Time: 11am. Tickets donations (or free) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/luisa-passalacqua-16972493584?

Thursday 21 May; Qigong Energy Medicine and Self-Love for Healing. Workshop with Blake D Bauer. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time noon. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 21 May; Anatomy for Energy Workers. Start of 6-session course run by Doe Warnes, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May; Drumming for Infinity. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets £15. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Thursday 21 May; Awaken The Goddess Within. Start of 5-session course run by Mark Wentworth, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £180. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May; Spirit Communication Through Art. Start of 8-session course run by June-Elleni Laine, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May; Develop the Intuitive Mind: Intermediate. Start of 10-session course run by Maria Antoniou, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £290. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May; Paganism Persisting with Robin Douglas and Francis Young. Talk and Soirée. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 21 May; The History of Women in Spiritualism, with Seed Talks. Hybrid event. In-person venue: T21 Soho, 3 Sutton Row, London W1D 3QP. Time: 7 PM. Tickets From £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Thursday 21 May; Poetry Evening. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Thursday 21 May; Women's Circle - Mother Earth and Divine Feminine, organised by Bibi's Circle. Venue: East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-50 Darrell Road, London SE22 9NL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £16.96 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/56277271483?

Thursday 21 May; A Journey with Spirit. Start of 10-session course run by Gary Wright, via the College of Psychic Studies. Hybrid event. In-person address : The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB.Time: 7.15pm. Tickets from: £240. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 21 May (and other dates); Cosy Candlelit Gong Bath by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £20.21. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Thursday 21 May; The Witchcraft of Wales - Benjamin Stimpson. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Friday 22 May (every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Online event. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 22 May-Monday 25 May; Mind Body Spirit Festival. Venue: Olympia London, Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX. Time: 10am-5pm. One-day standard ticket £24.22, other tickets available. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mind-body-spirit-festival-london-olympia-2026-tickets-1383721220419?

Friday 22 May; Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Friday 22 May; The Brazilian Spiritual Path of Umbanda. Talk by Pai André Evangelho. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 22 May (4th Friday of the month); The Wild Wood Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 22 May; Southwark Hysteries with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Green Dragon Court, London SE1 . Time: 6pm. Tickets: £22.50. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/book

Saturday 23 - 24 May; Women Only Sweat Lodge Ceremony. Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain Kent. Run by Lynn Gosney. Time: 11am start Tickets £40, email lynn.gosney@hotmail.com for info and to book. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain/

Saturday 23 May – 16 August; Olivia Plender: Little Fennel’s Complaint Exhibition. Venue:: Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford, UK, OX1 1BP. Open from 11am Tuesday - Sunday. Tickets from £7.21. https://modernartoxford.org.uk/

Saturday 23 May; Working with Umbanda Healing Spirits. Workshop by Pai André Evangelho and Mãe Adriana. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11amm. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 23 May; Crystal Skull Masterclass – Part 1 and 2. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 12.15pm/3.15pm. Tickets: £30 or £50 for two classes.. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Saturday 23 May; Goddess of the Moon – May Women’s Circle with Claudia Chapman. Venue: The Goddess Studio, 116 Whitehouse Way, London N14 7LU. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £33. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/20248016862

Saturday 23 May; Hoodoo Mojo Bag Workshop. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2pm. Tickets £35. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 23 May; Connecting the Trees ritual with Trefor Wickens. Venue: Crossbones Graveyard, Southwark. Location: Redcross Way, London, SE1 1TA. Time: 5pm. Tickets free. https://www.facebook.com/events/950316210811851/?

Saturday 23 May; Crossbones Vigil to Honour the Outcast Dead of Crossbones Graveyard, Southwark. Location: Redcross Way, London, SE1 1TA. Time: 6.45pm for 7pm. Free, just turn up You can also view the vigil online. http://crossbones.org.uk

Sunday 24 May; Psychic Surgery with a Spirit Surgeon. Workshop by Pai André Evangelho. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11amm. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 25 May; The Thin Veil of London with Minimum Labyrinth. Walk around Holborn and Bloomsbury, interwoven with mysteries from the stories of Arthur Machen. Time: 5pm. Tickets From £17.50. http://minimumlabyrinth.org/

Monday 25 May; Ghost Films: A Seance of Early Cinema with Alex Kirstukas. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £16.14, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 25 May (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Monday 25 May (4th Monday each month); Nightflights, Shapeshifting and Witches with Trefor Wickens. Talk at Nova Stella pagan moot. Hybrid event. In-person venue: The Angel, City Road, London EC1Y 18D. Time: 7pm start of social for 8pm talk. Entry £5/£6.13. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1472510443017948 or https://www.eventbrite.com/o/120712003251?

Tuesday 26 May; The Original Full Moon Gong Bath – Sound Meditation in the Mansion. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday 26 May; Learn Marseille Tarot (Major Cards). Start of 4-Part Course with Adrien Mastrosimone via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £150. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 26 May; A 21st-Century Werewolf in Hull? Talk by Deborah Hyde presented by London Fortean Society. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London, E1 7EX. Door time: 7.30pm. Start time: 8pm Tickets £5.50/£3.30. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/LondonForteanSociety/ or https://wegottickets.com/f/19274?

Tuesday 26 May; Runes as Portals with Imelda Almqvist. Online workshop. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £35. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/surbitonshamaniccircle/2117821?

Tuesday 26 May; Symbolism in Art: Geometrical shapes, with Mariska Beekenkamp. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 27 May; Working with The Ancestors. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 27 May; Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa Felstead Street, London E9 5LT. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 27 May; The Crystal Familiar Experience. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 7.30 - 9.30pm. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Thursday 28 May; Lucifer: Praxis with Peter Grey. Online Talk via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Friday 29 May-Saturday 30 Ma; Lolly Willowes at 100. 2-day conference with talks by people including Professor Ronald Hutton and Diane Purkiss, organised by the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society. Venue: University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Starts 10am. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lolly-willowes-at-100-tickets-1981938823373?

Saturday 30 May (and other dates); 9D Transformative Breathwork. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 11am. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 30 May; Manifestation Poppet Workshop. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 11.30am. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Saturday 30 May (and other dates); Reiki and Sound Healing. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 1pm. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 30 May; Cutting Cords for Self Healing with Giancarlo Serra via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May; Power Animals in Mediumship. Workshop with Claire Broad. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 May; Crowley Crawl 2026 with Marco Visconti. Venue: Central London walk from The Needle to Altantis Bookshop. Time: 2pm.

Tickets £50, For £70 for walk plus visit to The Hidden Society cocktail bar on Goodge Street. https://www.marcovisconti.org/events/crowleycrawl2026?

Saturday 30 May (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Sunday 31 May; Shamanic Group with Les Fuller. All welcome Venue: Woodford Church at 9 Grove Crescent, South Woodford, London E18 2JR. Time 11am-3pm. Tickets: £10. http://woodfordchurch.com/

Sunday 31 May; Women's Forest Bathing in South Norwood Lake and Grounds. Meet at Sylvan Road, London SE25 4AN. Time: 1pm. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Sunday 31 May;Tarot Spells. Workshop with Bel Senlle. via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 31 May; Heartspaces - Soulfuel. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY. Doors at 6.30PM. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121061473538?

Sunday 31 May; Live Music and Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

My Set of the New Greenwood Tarot Edition Arrived!

2026-05-19T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a look at the cards in the new edition of the Greenwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and Chesca Potter. The first edition had long been out of print and was exceedingly rare. I'd long wished to have a copy.

Then, about a year ago, Mark Ryan created a Kickstarter to produce a new edition. My copy arrived a couple of days ago and I took this photo of them as I wash-shuffled them before use. I'm really delighted to finally have a set.

The reproduction quality isn't quite as good as the first edition. I suspect that's because of issues relating to the original artwork, which I won't go into here because I don't have 100 per cent of the facts. However, I am just pleased to have the chance to do readings with a copy I own. I'll be posting a divination for the world with them soon.

One interesting thing about the new edition is that it contains two Lovers cards, one of which is gender neutral. You can see them photographed below.

Occult London: Peeking into a Magical Special Collection

2026-05-18T08:00:00.000+01:00

I got a chance to both see and handle some of the arcane tomes and magical objects in University College London's Special Collections. How exciting!

The archive contains many items related to the history and practice of magic and western esotericism, including astrology, tarot, spirit summoning and folk traditions. There are books and manuscripts that have influenced the development of subjects such as astronomy and cryptography or are part of modern esoteric traditions. Last Friday morning. the department held an open morning to showcase objects from the collection. Of course I jumped at the chance to go along.

The photos here show just a couple of things on display. At the top you can see a famous cunning man's notebook. James Murrell, or Cunning Murrell, was a 19th century folk magician living in Hadleigh, Essex. His work involved astrology, herbalism and exorcism. The book is primarily an almanac and contains astrological charts.

The photo at the bottom shows Hebrew mezutot (parchments inscribed with material from the Torah) including amulets.

Experts were there to talk about the items on show, answer questions, and presumably make sure no one sneaked off with anything or attempted to summon something using any of the rituals in the grimoires!

UCL Special Collections is in the basement of the university building on Gower Street,

London WC1E 6BT. You can find out more and get on the list to learn about future open days here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections

Book Review: Witchitorium - A Glossary of Magic

2026-05-15T08:00:00.000+01:00

Someone just starting to learn about witchcraft recently asked me where they could look up terms they came across. Luckily, I'd just seen a copy of Witchitorium - A Glossary of Magic, Witchcraft and Spirituality. I immediately recommended it.

Witchitorium is a new title by one of my fellow authors, Nixie Vale, and is published by Moon Books. It's a mini encyclopedia of esoteric facts. This is the official synopsis:

"A one-stop-space for all your witchy jargon needs! Whether you are new to witchcraft or an experienced veteran, at times there are words and terms that catch you off guard. Witchitorium brings together a diverse collection of terms that you may come across on your path through the craft to provide insight and understanding."

You might be asking why use a book rather than just look a term up online. Most of us Google stuff these days, and it's fast and easy. However, you can come across a huge amount of incorrect information there too - increasingly so in these days of AI overviews which notoriously struggles to differentiate between fact, fiction, or popular misconception.

Witchitorium, on the other hand is well researched and trustworthy. I'd say it's more aimed at beginner witches than those who've been practicing the craft for years, but can still be useful if you've specialised in one path of witchcraft but come across a more obscure term from another.

About the Author.

Nixie Vale is the creator of Ramblings of a Rainbow Witch. She began her spiritual path with Wicca, and has also studied a wide range of things from Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek, Ancient Norse and Ancient Roman beliefs and practices. She has also written articles for Magical Recipes Online, The Spooky Isles and others.

You can view Witchitorium on Amazon.

(Please note: I earn commission from some links)

Pagan Eye: What Do You Think The Girl's Holding?

2026-05-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

What do you think the girl in this street art is holding? When I first glanced I thought she was gazing into a crystal ball, so I took this photo. When I studied it more closely I thought that maybe she's actually got a metal lampshade with a lit bulb inside. Whatever it is, I think the image is rather fascinating.

My part of London - SE20 - has become well known for wonderful street art. This is one of the new works near where I live. Links to previous related posts at the bottom of this page will take you to my earlier photos and information about where you can enjoy these outdoor art exhibitions.

I was particularly curious as to whether the painting is supposed to depict a crystal ball because of my own interest in scrying and divination. I've written a book on the topic and teach classes, as you probably know if you follow my blog.

At the time of writing there's still a couple of place available in my scrying class in London this Saturday. You can find the link here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-art-of-scrying-in-person-workshop-6

On each of my Pagan Eye posts I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-05-13T08:00:00.032+01:00

Now - 25 May; Hawaiʻi - a Kingdom Crossing Oceans exhibition. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets £18. https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Now - Saturday 30 May (except Wed 20 May); Austin Osman Spare and his books exhibition. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY.

Open: Mon-Sat, 11am~6pm. Free entry. www.theatlantisbookshop.com

Now to end of May; Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition. Venue: The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Open Wednesdays to Sundays. Tickets from £21. https://darksecretsexhibition.com/london/

Now to 16 May; Broken, Burnt, Buried. Exhibition of Egyptians objects deliberately broken as part of ritual and religious practices. Venue: Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, Malet Place, London WC1E 6BT. Free. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/

Now – 16 May; Witch/Craft. Art and Photography exhibition by Anne Jackson’s and Sara Hannant. Venue: St Barbe Museum, New Street, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9BH. Open Monday – Saturday 10am-4pm. Adult tickets £6. https://www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/witch-craft/?

https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 13 May; I'll be talking about my writing, including my inspiration for my gothic novel Erosion, at Wednesday Waffle, a regular meeting to chat about books and writing. Venue: Beckenham Library, 22 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, BR3 4 PE. Time: 10am-11.30am. Free and you can just turn up, https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/bromley/beckenham-library

Wednesday 13 May; Under the Same Moon - Pocket Altar, organised by Bibi's Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 5.30pm. Tickets tbc https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/56277271483?

Wednesday 13 May (2nd Wed each month); Hex Education. Training group workshop by the Wytchery. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store St, London WC1E 7BS, UK. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.meetup.com/the-wytchery/

Wednesday 13 May; Magic Mirrors for Protection. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 13 May (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 13 May (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 13 May (2nd Wed each month); Enfield Town Circle Moot. Venue: Crown and Horsehoes, Horseshoe Lane, Enfield, EN2 6PZ. Time: 7pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnfieldTownCircle/

Wednesday 13 May; Foraging for Healing Herbs with Adele Nozedar. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Wednesday 13 May; The Power of Psychic Reiki. Start of 6-session course run by Nicholas Pearson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 13 May; Hand Reading for Beginners. Start of 10-session course run by Robin Lown, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £280. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 13 May; The Ancient Alchemical Process and How To Use This To Higher Your Vibration. Start of 6-session course run by Pixie P Carney, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 13 May; Exploring the Dream Realms. Start of 10-session course run by Tree Carr, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £280. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 14 May - 3 June; Relics exhibition. Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: Mon-Thur 9.30am to 8pm, 10-5pm Fri/Sat. Free entry. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Thursday 14 May (most Thursdays); Shamanic Dance with Luisa Passalacqua. Venue near Wandsworth Town Station, London. Time: 11am. Tickets donations (or free) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/luisa-passalacqua-16972493584?

Thursday 14 May (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 14 May; Magick Without Tears Moot. Venue: Fitzroy Tavern, 16 Charlotte St., London W1T 2LY. Time 6pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwtpubmoot

Thursday 14 May; Navigating States of Dazzling Darkness. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 6pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 14 May; Heartspaces - Heart and Soul spiritual gathering. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY. Doors at 6.30PM. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121061473538?

Thursday 14 May; Brigit: Goddess, Saint and Fairy Woman. Talk by Pauline Breen, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 14 May; Journey Through The Dreamiverse. Start of 10-session course run by Tree Carr, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £305. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 14 May; Wyrd Stuff. Talk by Cunning Folk at South East London Folklore Society. Venue: The Electric Elephant Cafe, 186A Crampton Street, London, SE17 3AE. Time: 8pm, Free but £5/£8 donations welcome. Email cunningfolkmusic@gmail.com to book a space or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cunning-folk-7829505560

Friday 15 May (every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Online event. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 15 May; UCL Special Collections Open Morning: Magic and Western Esotericism. Venue: UCL Special Collections, South Junction Reading Room, Basement Level Main Building, Gower Street,

London WC1E 6BT. Time: 10am to noon. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-special-collections-open-morning-magic-and-western-esotericism-tickets-1986427018686?

Friday 15 -17 May; East Sussex Faerie Festival. Venue: Alfriston Campsite, Pleasant Rise Farm, Polegate BN26 5TN. Starts 10am. Contact organisers for ticket details, including day tickets. https://www.sussexfaeriefestival.co.uk/

Friday 15 May; Alchemy and Art with Kate Southworth. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 15 May (1st and 3rd Friday each month); Pagan Portal Podcast by Moon Books. Time: noon (or listen to recording later). Free event. https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7?

Friday 15 May; Astrologers at Work - Book Launch, Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: 4pm. Free. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Friday 15 May; Dark Arts Night Fayre. Venue: Freight Brixton, 33 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PB. Time: 6pm – Midnight. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/events/997543759604402?

Friday 15 May; Le Calendrier Magique. Talk by Laetitia Barbier. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 15 May; Tarot Advanced. Start of 10-session course run by Avril Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £305. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 15 May; Way of the Witch monthly online circle with Samantha K. and Jacqui C. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.meetup.com/sammi-k-shamanic-practitioner-psychic-medium/events/

Saturday 16 May; The Merrie Merrie Month of May at the VWML - Library and archive day. Venue: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 7AY. Time: 1pm - 5pm free entry. https://www.efdss.org/

Saturday 16 May; Breaking Convention One Day Summit 2026, organised by Seed Talks. Hybrid event. In-perosn venue: Woolwich Works, 11 No 1 Street, London SE18 6HD. Starts 10am. Tickets: £29 - £207.67. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/36463428713?

Saturday 16 May; Brothers Fireside Gathering. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time: noon. Tickets: free. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 16 May; In-person Scrying workshop - divination using crystal balls, mirrors and water, with me - Lucya Starza. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Cost: £25 per person. Find out more or book tickets here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-art-of-scrying-in-person-workshop-6

Saturday 16 May; Soul-Loss Retrieval Ceremony with Pixie P Carney. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 16 May; Moon Magic Circle. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2pm. Tickets free. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 16 May; Firekeeper Training. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time: 3pm-6am. Tickets: £150. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 16 May; Antlered Goddesses: A Challenge to Tradition? Online talk with Anna Milon via Romancing the Gothic. Time 7pm. Tickets free or by donation. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/antlered-goddesses-a-challenge-to-tradition-with-anna-milon-tickets-1983270165453?

Saturday 16 May; Tree Folk Tales. Online event via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Saturday 16 May (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Saturday 16 May; Hex and the City Walking Tour with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Cowcross St, Farrringdon, London EC1M 6BY. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/

Sunday 17 May; Live from Norway: Celebrate the 17th of May! Live Stream with Lena online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 9am. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Sunday 17 May; Tarot and the Sacred Circle with Avril Price. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 17 May; The Soul Sings with Joan Osborne. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 17 May; Meditation for Magic. In-person workshop with Lucia Ring-Watkins. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Cost: £25 per person. Find out more or book tickets here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-art-of-scrying-in-person-workshop-6

Sunday 17 May; Dawn of the Oak Pagan moot. Venue: The Sir John Oldcastle, Farringdon Road/Greville Street, London EC1M 3JF. Time: 3pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dawnoftheoak/ or https://allevents.in/london/dawn-of-the-oak-london-pagan-and-heathen-meeting-15th-february-2026-tickets/80001854227648

Sunday 17 May; Witch Fulfilment: The Witch as Theatrical Type with Jane Barnette Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Sunday 17 May; Folklore and Women: The power of folklore in reclaiming female stories. Online event with Seed Talks. Time: 10pm. Tickets$0 - $34.81. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Monday 18 May; Starting Your Psychic Journey. Start of 5-session course run by Gary Wright, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 5pm. Tickets: £180. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; The Planets (Part 2). Free online talk via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 5pm. Tickets free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; Bibi's Circle - Magic Herbs. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 6pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Monday 18 May; Talk on Astrology using the Huber Approach with Nickie Aspeotis followed by chart discussion. Online talks via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 7pm. Tickets £6/£9. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; Tarot Foundation. Start of 10-session course run by Avril Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £280. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; Trusting Your Intuition class with Aude Firmin, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; The Healing Power of Colour. Start of 5-session course run by Mark Wentworth, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £180. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 18 May; Deeper Than Dermis: Tattooing as Magical Ritual with Grace Howarth. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £16.14, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 18 May; Theosophy. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Monday 18 May (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Monday 18 May; Chilling Encounters with the Islamic Jinn - Mahdi Jannatdoost. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Tuesday 19 May (and other dates); Yoga for Mind, Breath and Body. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 6.15pm. Tickets: £12. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday, 19 May; The Folk Renaissance - A new film by Ben Edge, plus interview with Ben Edge and Nina-Sophia Miralles. Venue: The Fitzrovia Chapel, 2 Pearson Square, London, W1T 3BF. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/68151432823?

Tuesday, 19 May; Weird Science: An Introduction to Anomalistic Psychology. Talk by Chris French for Central London Humanists. Venue: Old Diorama Arts Centre, 201 Drummond Street, London. Time 7pm. Free. https://www.meetup.com/central-london-humanists/events/313225246/?

Tuesday 19 May; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Search for Grindylow. Talk by John Clark via the Folklore Society online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-society-32190494089

Tuesday 19 May; Journey to the Mediumistic Self. Start of 10-session course with Gary Wright. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £280. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 19 May; The Magic of Spoon Bending. Talk by Kim Chestney, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 19 May; Sigil Magic. Start of 2-Part Workshop with Mark Vincent via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 19 May; The Science of Haunting Experiences with Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 20 - 22 May; Awaken Your Psychic Gifts, a free 3-day online event hosted by Wendy Mata and Irisanya Moon. Free: www.bruja.us/summit

Wednesday 20 May (and other dates); Tea with a Medium. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 20 May; Secret Book Club - The Magic of Herbs by David Conway, organised by Bibi's Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 6pm. Tickets £10.46 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/56277271483?

Wednesday 20 May (tbc but usually 3rd Wednesday each month); The More Mead Moot. Venue: The Hope pub, Carshalton, Surrey. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/Pagan-FutureFests-352385661439366/

Thursday 21 May; Drumming for Infinity. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets £15. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Thursday 21 May; The History of Women in Spiritualism, with Seed Talks. Hybrid event. In-person venue: T21 Soho, 3 Sutton Row, London W1D 3QP. Time: 7 PM. Tickets From £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Thursday 21 May; Poetry Evening. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Friday 22 May; Morning Sister Sharing Circle by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 10.30am. Tickets: £11.55. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Friday 22 May; Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Friday 22 May (4th Friday of the month); The Wild Wood Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 22 May; Southwark Hysteries with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Green Dragon Court, London SE1 . Time: 6pm. Tickets: £22.50. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/book

Saturday 23 May; Hoodoo Mojo Bag Workshop. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2pm. Tickets £35. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 23 May (date tbc); Magic, Mystics and Martyrs Walking Tour with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Fish St Hill, London EC3R 8AH. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £18. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/book

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Celebrating a Milestone for my Book on Scrying

2026-05-12T08:00:00.039+01:00

I'm celebrating as my book Pagan Portals - Scrying has reached a big milestone. My publisher, Moon Books, has told me it's sold 4,000 copies, including selling more than 500 copies in the past 6 months alone. A big thanks to everyone who bought it, left reviews, or told me they've enjoyed reading it. The book is about divination in many forms including crystal balls, water, fire, clouds and tea-leaves.

The photo at the top shows copies set out on the table in the reading room at Treadwell's esoteric books in Bloomsbury, London. I regularly run workshops on scrying there. The next one is on Saturday 16 May. It starts at 1pm and tickets are £25 per person.

Get more information and book here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-art-of-scrying-in-person-workshop-6

Where To Find My Books

Treadwells, at 33 Store Street, London, WC1E 7BS, stocks my titles.
You can find out more about all my Pagan Portals books on my Amazon author page.
Here's the website link for the main catalogue at Collective Ink, which Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/

(Note: I earn commission from advertisers for some links.)

Folklore & Customs: Bromley's Broom Day Festival

2026-05-11T08:00:00.014+01:00

This is broom in blossom on Martin’s Hill, Bromley, a town that gets its name from the plant used to make traditional besoms. You can see a couple of besoms in the inset picture. I took both photos, and the others on this post, yesterday at Broom Day. This was a celebration of Bromley’s heritage and a revival of a historic festival inspired by the bright yellow flowers that once covered the area.

The event included a free exhibition exploring the story of the broom in Bromley and how the town grew from its early beginnings. There was also a parade along the high street to Martin’s Hill where there was live music, some fun and games, and opportunities to learn about conserving and protecting the broom.

The problem is that broom flowers are being encroached by brambles and only the work of dedicated volunteers with secateurs is currently saving them for posterity. This is organised by Bromley Civic Society, which was formed to provide awareness and protection for the town's built and green environment. The council does little to help, sadly, so much more work is needed to both conserve the broom plant and spread the word.

Folklore, mythology and magic

If you're a gardener or a witch, you may very well have a besom, traditiionally made from tied bundles of sticks. They're still used for sweeping up leaves in autumn or for sweeping negative energy from your home if you're magically inclined. At one time they were generally used to sweep the floor too, and production was an important and profitable craft in parts of Kent and Sussex.

The stems of the broom plant create the best besoms, although other species can also be used, including birch twigs. Broom flowers in May, so this was a month to celebrate the plant, rather than cut it down. There are various superstitions about not getting a new broom or sweeping the house in May. Nevertheless, the flowers symbolise abundance, so wearing a sprig could help attract plenty and you could put some on your altar if you're doing a prosperity spell.

In Welsh mythology, Blodeuwedd is the name of a woman made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak. Despite besoms being associated with witches, in Italy, the shrub was burnt to protect homes against them.

More seasonal lore

My book Rounding the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in magic, folklore and nature.

You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year

(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)

My Witchy Events: Divination, Books, Amulets & Dowsing

2026-05-08T08:00:00.021+01:00

Here are details of the witchy events I'm involved with from now until the end of June. There are workshops on scrying, amulets, poppets and dowsing. I'll also be giving a free talk at the Beckenham Library Wednesday Waffle about the craft of writing.

May

Beckenham Library Wednesday Waffle

On Wednesday 13 May I'll be talking about my writing, including my inspiration for my gothic novel Erosion, at Wednesday Waffle, a regular meeting to chat about books and writing. Venue: Beckenham Library, 22 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, BR3 4 PE. Time: 10am-11.30am. Free but reserve a place by phoning 020 8650 7090 or email beckenham.library@gll.org.

Scrying In-Person at Treadwell's

On Saturday 16 May im running an in-person scrying workshop, on divination using crystal balls, mirrors and water. This is at Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. It starts at 1pm and costs £25 per person. Find out more or book tickets here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-art-of-scrying-in-person-workshop-6

June

Amulets, Talismans and Charms In-Person at Treadwell's

On Saturday 6 June I'm running an in-person workshop on amulets, talismans and charms at Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. It starts at 1pm and tickets are £25 per person. Visit https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Greenoaks Gathering 2026

This lovely pagan festival runs from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 June. The Greenoaks Gathering takes place in the beautiful Cambridgeshire Fens, at an eco venue. There's music, talks, workshops, kids' activities, and a magickal market. I'll be talking about poppets and running a workshop on dowsing. Venue: Hatters Campsite, Second Drove Adelaide, Ely CB7 4UD. Tickets: £0 – £114.47. https://www.greenoaksgathering.co.uk/

I'm Lucya Starza and as well as writing A Bad Witch's Blog I'm the author of books in the Pagan Portals series on Candle Magic, Guided Visualisations, Poppets and Magical Dolls, Scrying, and Rounding the Wheel of the Year. My Gothic novel Erosion is also published by Moon Books.

You can buy my books at Treadwell's Bookshop, via Amazon, at the College of Psychic Studies in London and at other bookshops. You can find more about me at my author page at publisher Moon Books, and on my Amazon author page. Please note I earn commission from advertisers for some links.

Green London: Send a Local Nature Photo to Your MP

2026-05-07T08:00:00.001+01:00

I sent a picture of my favourite park as a postcard to my MP. It wasn't just a random thing - the RSPB website has a crafty project at the moment that lets you turn a favourite nature photo into a postcard, then write a message and send it to your local Member of Parliament. As it says on the site:

"This is all about celebrating the nature that’s nearest to you. It could be your local park, a street tree, ‘your’ garden birds – or anything else. It’s the place nearest to you that brings you that daily joy that puts a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Show your MP the place that lifts your spirits, and inspire them to help protect it."

The image at the top is a screen shot of the RSPB page and shows how easy it is to do. As you can see, the park near to where I live that I most love is Crystal Palace, in South London. The photo is one I took a couple of years ago and shows a ribbon of wildflowers stretching into the distance.

I'm keen to do all I can to preserve London's green spaces for wildlife and humans. Going for a walk in nature is good for the mind and body, while trees and plants help keep the air clean.

Cast Your Vote Too!

Today, 7 May 2026, I'll be going to vote in the local elections. All London borough councillor seats are up for appointment. I'll be making sure I vote for those individuals who are most likely to support the amenities in my area, including green spaces. If you are in a position to vote, please go out and do so too.

Green London

I've been blogging regularly about London's green spaces in an effort to dispel a prevalent myth in the pagan community that it's just all concrete. Even in the City, which is of course heavily built up, there are still places where nature thrives, while Greater London has huge areas of woods, commons, parks and beautiful gardens.

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-05-06T08:00:00.005+01:00

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests. I include online things you can do anywhere (bolded so you can see them easily) plus in-person talks and workshops in or near London, and some festivals further afield.

Now - 25 May; Hawaiʻi - a Kingdom Crossing Oceans exhibition. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets £18. https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Now to end of May; Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition. Venue: The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Open Wednesdays to Sundays. Tickets from £21. https://darksecretsexhibition.com/london/

https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 6 May; Self-Healing: Chakra by Chakra. Start of 8-session course run by Julia Shepherd, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 10am. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 6 May (and other dates); Tea with a Medium. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 6 May; Dionysus: Lord of Misrule. Hybrid talk by Professor Ronald Hutton, author of Triumph of the Moon and Blood and Mistletoe, via Gresham College. In-person venue Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, Holborn, London EC1N 2HH. Time: 6pm. Free to register for online viewing. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/

Wednesday 6 May; Isis, Mithras and Christ: iconography and mythology. Start of 10 session course with Micheal Bloomfield. Venue: City Lit, Keely St, London. Time 6pm. Fee £210. https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/isis-mithras-and-christ-iconography-and-mythology/rc221-2526?

Wednesday 6 May (and other dates and times); Viktor Wynd Museum Guided Tour and a Devil's Botany Absinthe. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: from 6pm. Tickets from £12. Price includes a Cocktail with Devil’s Botany. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Wednesday 6 May (usually first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Wednesday 6 May; Amanda Edmiston Traveller's Tales and Healing Herbs. Online talk via the Folklore Centre. Time: 7pm. Tickets £5. https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Wednesday 6 May; The Queer History of Magic, Myth and Legends, with Seed Talks. Venue: The Blues Kitchen, Brixton, London. Time: 7 PM. Tickets From £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Wednesday 6 May (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 6 May; Beyond Nine Forests: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria concert and book launch. Venue: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 7AY. Time: 7.30pm Tickets £15. https://www.efdss.org/

Wednesday 6 May (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 6 May; Annouchka Bayley’s Elizabeth Bathory. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 7 May - Saturday 30 May (except Wed 20 May); Austin Osman Spare and his books exhibition. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY.

Open: Mon-Sat, 11am~6pm. Free entry. www.theatlantisbookshop.com

Thursday 7 May (most Thursdays); Shamanic Dance with Luisa Passalacqua. Venue near Wandsworth Town Station, London. Time: 11am. Tickets donations (or free) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/luisa-passalacqua-16972493584?

Thursday 7 May (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 7 May; Thai Tattoo Magick: The Initiatory Practices of Thai Buddhist Magicians, with Sheer Zed. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 7 May; Hoax: A Ghost, a Witch, and a Princess in the Age of Enlightenment. Talk at London Fortean Society. Venue: Conway Hall, London, WC1X 8. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/

Thursday 7 May; Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris's Thoth Tarot. Event with Kingfisher Coven. Venue: Lost Souls Pizza Camden, 245 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BA. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £6.13 https://www.eventbrite.com/o/keith-broad-kingfisher-coven-88810783003

Thursday 7 May; May Day Seasonal Living Craft Workshop (Beltane) by Jana Des Forges. Venue: Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton Street, London N1 6SH. Time: 7.15 PM. Tickets: £18.04. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/105547489551?

Thursday 7 May; On the Nature of Rituals and Repetition with Inna Didenko. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Friday 8 May (and other dates); Drum Birthing Workshop with Lynn Gosney. Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain, Minster, Kent. Starts 8.45am. Tickets £225/£250. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain

Friday 8 May (every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Online event. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 8 May; Water by Jalal Ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, with Haleh Liza Gafori. Online event via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Friday 8 May; Travel with the Sacred Drum with Heather McDonald. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 6.30pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 8 May; Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Friday 8 May (and other dates); Cosy Candlelit Gong Bath by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £20.21. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May; Experience Braco's Gaze: Small Intimate Sessions. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Various times from 10am. Tickets: from £30. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 9 May; The Soul (Esoteric) Planetary Rulerships . Talk by Wanda Sellar. Online talks via the Astrological Lodge of London. Times 10.30am. Tickets £9/£6. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Saturday 9 May; Greco-Egyptian Magic with Hekate. In-Person Workshop with Jules McArthur. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Saturday 9 May; Crystal Divination workshop with Nicholas Pearson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 9 May; Grandfather Night time Ceremony with Renato Guerrero. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time: 4pm-8am. Tickets: contact Renato for further details on Bookingssonidosmedicina@gmail.com. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May; Knights Templar Symbolism and Alchemy. Two-day workshop with Helena B. Scott via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 4.30pm. Tickets: £240. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May; Group Family Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: House of Transformation, Hoxton, Unit 4, 222 Kingsland Road, E2 8AX. Time: from 10am to 5pm. Tickets £75.47. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

Sunday 10 May; British Museum and the Magical Revival Walking Tour with Caroline Wise organised by Treadwell's. Time: 10.50am. Meet outside the British Museum (North Entrance), Montague Place, London, WC1B 3DG. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Sunday 10 May; Mixed Adult Forest Bathing in South Norwood Lake and Grounds. Meet at Sylvan Road, London SE25 4AN. Time: 11am. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Sunday 10 May; Broom Day 2026, a celebration of community and local history. Venue: The Glades, High Street, Bromley BR1 1DN. Time: from 11am to 4pm. Free but donations to charity welcome. https://www.theglades.co.uk/events/broom-day-2026-at-the-glades?

Sunday 10 May (and other dates and times); Soul Restore Sound Healing. Venue: The Mandrake, 20-21 Newman Street, London W1T 1PG. Time: 11am. Tickets: £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-mandrake-17825575648

Sunday 10 May; Orpington Alternative Market. Venue: The Priory, Church Hill, Orpington. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 10 May; Crystals workshop at North West Kent Pagans Moot. Organised by NWK Pagans for members of the group. Venue: Chislehurst Caves, NW Kent. Time: 11.30am. https://www.facebook.com/groups/445487428816887

Sunday 10 May; Navigating End-of-Life Care. Workshop with Tree Carr. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May; May Luna Iter - Beltane with a Difference (Ritual in the Tower). In-person ritual in Hackney, East London for members of the group, guests and seekers on the path. Meet at the Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Rd, London, from 4.30pm, moving on to a historic site to start the ritual at 6pm. Entry: £10. https://www.hildegardmaier.co.uk/luna-iter or https://www.facebook.com/groups/1230392930656154

Sunday 10 May; Fallen Angels: 12th House in Astrology. Class with Carmen Turner-Schott. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May; Sound Bath Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Sunday 10 May; Book Curses through Book History - Dr Eleanor Baker. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 11 May; Ascending with Angels workshop Led by David Goddard. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm Cost £40 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Monday 11 May; Undertakers and Death. Talk by Dr Dan O’Brien. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £10.90, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 11 May; Chart Discussion followed by talk on Rectification of the Horoscope with Primary Directions by Alexey Borealis. Online talks via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 7.15pm. Tickets £6/£9. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 11 May; Cleansing Your Space and Aura. Start of 2-session course run by Tia Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 11 May (usually a Monday early in the month); South East London Pagans Moot. Venue: The Ivy House, 55 Stuart Road, London, SE15 3BE. Time: 7.30pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Monday 11 May; Horror Everything: 2016 – Forever. Talk by Dr Joe Ondrak at Greenwich Skeptics. Venue: The Plume of Feathers, 19 Park Vista, Greenwich, SE10 9LZ. Time: 7.30pm. Ssuggested donation: £4. https://greenwichskeptics.org/

Monday 11 May (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Monday 11 May; How Chemistry Shaped Alchemical Allegory - Sergei Zotov. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 11 May; Implicit Psi with Deborah Patton. Online presentation hosted by the Society for Psychical Research via Zoom. Time: 8pm. Tickets: Free for members/£5 non members. https://www.spr.ac.uk/

Tuesday 12 May (and other dates); Journalling and Creative Writing for Wellbeing. Online via Rest Less Events. Time: 2.30pm. Tickets £3.99 per class. https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/

Tuesday 12 May (and other dates); Yoga for Mind, Breath and Body. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 6.15pm. Tickets: £12. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday 12 May; An Evening of Fairy Tales and Folklore with Dr Sharon Blackie hybrid event with Seed Talks. In-person venue: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY. Time: 7pm. Tickets From £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Tuesday 12 May; Develop the Intuitive Mind: Beginner. Start of 6-session course run by Maria Antoniou, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £200. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 12 May; Strange Tales from the Seance Room with Dr Kate Cherrell. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 13 May; I'll be talking about my writing, including my inspiration for my gothic novel Erosion, at Wednesday Waffle, a regular meeting to chat about books and writing. Venue: Beckenham Library, 22 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, BR3 4 PE. Time: 10am-11.30am. Free but reserve a place by phoning 020 8650 7090 or email beckenham.library@gll.org.

Wednesday 13 May (tbc but usually 2nd Wed each month); Training group workshop by the Wytchery. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store St, London WC1E 7BS, UK. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.meetup.com/the-wytchery/

Wednesday 13 May (tbc but usually 2nd Wed each month); Enfield Town Circle Moot. Venue: Crown and Horsehoes, Horseshoe Lane, Enfield, EN2 6PZ. Time: 7pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnfieldTownCircle/

14 May - 3 June; Relics exhibition. Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: Mon-Thur 9.30am to 8pm, 10-5pm Fri/Sat. Free entry. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Thursday 14 May; Magick Without Tears Moot. Venue: Fitzroy Tavern, 16 Charlotte St., London W1T 2LY. Time 6pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwtpubmoot

Thursday 14 May; Heartspaces - Heart and Soul spiritual gathering. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY. Doors at 6.30PM. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121061473538?

Friday 15 May; UCL Special Collections Open Morning: Magic and Western Esotericism. Venue: UCL Special Collections, South Junction Reading Room, Basement Level Main Building, Gower Street,

London WC1E 6BT. Time: 10 am to noon. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-special-collections-open-morning-magic-and-western-esotericism-tickets-1986427018686?

Friday 15 May (1st and 3rd Friday each month); Pagan Portal Podcast by Moon Books. Time: noon (or listen to recording later). Free event. https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7?

Friday 15 May; Astrologers at Work - Book Launch, Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. Time: 4pm. Free. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events

Friday 15 May; Way of the Witch monthly online circle with Samantha K. and Jacqui C. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.meetup.com/sammi-k-shamanic-practitioner-psychic-medium/events/

Saturday 16 May; Brothers Fireside Gathering. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time: noon. Tickets: free. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 16 May; Moon Magic Circle. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2pm. Tickets free. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 16 May; Antlered Goddesses: A Challenge to Tradition? Online talk with Anna Milon via Romancing the Gothic . Time 7pm. Tickets free or by donation. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/antlered-goddesses-a-challenge-to-tradition-with-anna-milon-tickets-1983270165453?

Saturday 16 May; Tree Folk Tales. Online event via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Saturday 16 May (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Saturday 16 May; Hex and the City Walking Tour with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Cowcross St, Farrringdon, London EC1M 6BY. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/

Sunday 17 May; The Soul Sings with Joan Osborne. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Occult London: The Labyrinth at Fen Court

2026-05-05T08:00:00.014+01:00

This is the labyrinth at Fen Court, in the City of London, which I walked for World Labyrinth Day on Saturday. You can, of course, visit at any time you like as it's in a tiny public garden off Fenchurch Street. I'd been feeling stressed in the morning before I visited, but walking the labyrinth as a moving meditation very much helped improve my state of mind.

The lovely couple in the background gave their permssion for me to take the photo with them in the background. They both walked the labyrinth after me.

Fen Court also contains a sculpture called The Gilt of Cain', by Michael Visocchi, which commemorates the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. Nearby is The Garden at 120 - a recently opened rooftop green space with a viewing platform. It's normally free to visit and you can just turn up, but was closed for a private event on Saturday. I plan to go another time.

Aldgate East Station labyrinth

I used Aldgate East Station to get to Fenchurch Street and took the opportunity to find and photograph the labyrinth there too. It's part of a series created by Mark Wallinger for the Art on the Underground programme. There are 270 in the series with one at each of London's Underground stations that existed in 2013. You can see it in the photo below.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/03/occult-london-maze-and-labyrinths-in.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/10/book-review-labyrinth-walking-radiant.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/04/occult-london-atlantis-bookshop.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/05/occult-london-sir-john-soanes-museum.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/07/occult-london-london-stone-myths-and.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/review-occult-london.html

Occult London: A Path to Follow on World Labyrinth Day

2026-05-02T08:00:00.059+01:00

Today is World Labyrinth Day, when everyone is invited to walk a labyrinth at 1pm local time. As the WLD website says, this is "to help create a rolling wave of peaceful energy passing from one time zone to the next around the globe."

You don't have to walk it with your feet - you can follow a small path with a finger or just your eyes if it's public art on a wall!

The photo above shows a labyrinth at London's Cannon Street Station. It is part of a series created by Mark Wallinger for the Art on the Underground programme. There are, according to TfL, 270 different labyrinths designed by Mark, with one at each of London's Underground stations that existed in 2013.

A Guinness World Record Tube challenge is to visit them all in the shortest time. I've not done that, but I do look out for them when I use a station that isn't a part of any of my regular journeys.

Today I am planning to find more labyrinths in London, and walk one I've not visited before. I'll share photos at a later date. I've been fascinated by labyrinths for many years. I've walked them when I get the opportunity, I've read about them, visited them, written about them, and drawn them on paper. Here are links to some of my earlier posts:

World Labyrinth Day is a modern-day custom, but walking labyrinths is such a widespread folkloric custom in general that I've given this post a "folklore" tag too.

Green London: Beltane Flowers on the Street Where I Live

2026-05-01T08:00:00.032+01:00

Today is Beltane, or May Day, a time to celebrate flowers (as well as frolicking). But, of course, it's also Friday and the bank holiday isn't until Monday. Even if you're working today, take a break and go for a walk to see what's blooming. Just looking at trees, plants and blossom can lift your mood and help you feel in touch with the energy of the season.

I took the photos in the collage above in the streets around where I live in South East London. Most were growing wild on verges. I've been blogging regularly about London's green spaces in an effort to dispel a prevalent myth in the pagan community that it's just all concrete. Even in the City, which is of course heavily built up, there are still places where nature thrives, while Greater London has huge areas of woods, commons, parks and beautiful gardens.

You don't need to know the names of plants in order to enjoy their beauty, but here's what I think are in the pictures:

Calendula
Rose
Wild cabbage
Hawthorn
Pink sorel
Lilac
Three-cornered leek

I did a very similar thing back in March, and you can see that post here, to compare: https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/green-london-flowers-on-street-where-i.html

The photos on this post were all taken by me. Please do not use them without my permission.

Other previous Green London Posts
badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/green-london-urban-park-and-ancient.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/green-london-londons-first-botanical.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/green-london-japanese-gardens-in.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/09/green-london-riverview-walk-river-pool.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/10/green-london-ancient-woodlands-around.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/04/green-london-rookery-streatham-common.html

Folklore & Customs: May Eve, Walpurgis & Mischief Night

2026-04-30T08:00:00.020+01:00

May Eve is sometimes called "the other Halloween". In Northern England in bygone centuries it was celebrated as Mischief Night with rowdiness and trickery. Steve Roud in The English Year quotes an 1896 book on customs as reporting:

"At Oldham, the Eve of May is known as Mischief Night when it was custom for people to play tricks on their neighbours. My informant remembers seeing a thatched house, in a village near Oldham, adorned with mops, rakes and brushes, on top of whcih were stuck mugs, tubs, and pails."

An article on Grimsby Live went further, saying it was a night for firestarting and lighthearted devil-worship:

"Around Grimsby it was the original ‘Mischief Night’, when the normal rules of society did not apply and friends would get together to play pranks, start fires or hold ‘Satanic’ rituals."

While human troublemakers were obviously a nuisance, supernatural ones such as fairies were more generally feared in the UK. They were more easily kept out, however, by placing seasonal flowers over doorways. Hawthorn blossom (pictured above) is the most widespread floral protection, but in Lincolnshire there was a tradition of hanging up cowslips (pictured right), which look a bit like primroses.

Walpurgis Night

April 30th is also Walpurgis Night, named after Saint Walpurgis, an 8th century nun who lived in Germany and was canonised when healing oil supposedly flowed from her tomb. Sadly, she beecame more associated with protection against - and persecution of - witches. As I wrote in Rounding the Wheel of the Year:

"In parts of Europe, especially Germany but also England, it’s known as Walpurgis Night when witches were thought to gather and were historically seen as not the nice folk we are now. People would protect their homes against them."

It's a traditional time to light bonfires to ward against harmful entities. Fire customs might have originated long before the early modern era's witch burnings.* In some countries that horrible form of execution became part of seasonal celebrations. In the Czech Republic, April 30th is Pálení čarodějnic, or "Burning of the witches". Witch effigies or puppets are thrown onto large bonfires as part of public displays.

May Eve witchcraft traditions are most famously associated with Germany's Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht, which translates as Witches' Night. Witches were said to hold a large sabbat on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz mountains. Nowadays this has been adopted as a time of celebration by modern practitioners of the Craft, showing that the way we view folklore and customs can change with the times.

*Note: It's always worthwhile pointing out that not all countries burnt those accused of witchcraft. In England hanging was the usual execution method, but burnings did happen in places including Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland.

The Wheel of the Year

My Pagan Portals book Rounding the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year

(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)

Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/04/news-beltane-walpurgisnacht-and-witch.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/04/news-walpurgisnacht-beltane-may-day.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/game-review-call-of-hill-witchcraft-larp.html

Magical Beltane Events in London, Online + a Few More

2026-04-29T08:00:00.050+01:00

Beltane is this Friday May 1, although the May Day bank holiday is next Monday. Here's a list of talks, workshops, rituals and other events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests over that time. As well as online activities (highlighted in bold), I also list in-person things taking place in or near London - and a few larger events further afield.

Now - 25 May; Hawaiʻi - a Kingdom Crossing Oceans exhibition. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets £18. https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Now to 2 May; Conspiracies exhibition. Venue: Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB. 11am to 6pm. Free entry. https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/conspiracies

Now to end of May; Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition. Venue: The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Open Wednesdays to Sundays. Tickets from £21. https://darksecretsexhibition.com/london/

https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 29 April (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 29 April (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 29 April; Secret Book Club - Hedge Witch by Rae Beth, organised by Bibi's Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 6pm. Tickets £10.46 (includes copy of the book) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/56277271483?

Wednesday 29 April; British Folk Magic workshop with Julian Vayne, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 29 April (monthly); Melissa's Tarot Club. Monthly In-Person Workshop. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 29 April; Working with Land Spirits. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 29 April; Sacred Gong Meditation with Joe Summerfield. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 30 April (most Thursdays); Shamanic Dance with Luisa Passalacqua. Venue near Wandsworth Town Station, London. Time: 11am. Tickets donations (or free) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/luisa-passalacqua-16972493584?

Thursday 30 April (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 30 April; Prophecies with Christopher Dell. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 30 April; The Intuitive Drawing Circle. Venue: The Paxton Centre, 52 Anerley Hill, Crystal Palace London SE19 2AE. Time: Time: doors open from 6.30pm for refreshments - workshop 7pm. Tickets £22. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/12615056555?

Thursday 30 April; Earth Grids and Ley Lines. Start of 2-session course run by Gemma Petherbridge, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 30 April; Moon City with Mimi Mollica and Iain Sinclair. Talk via the Swedenborg Society. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 7pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/8460713300?

Thursday 30 April; Liminal Space in Horror. Discussion and Launch of a anthology exploring liminality and the uncanny thresholds of horror. Drinks follow. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10, or £30 with book. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 30 April; Spooky Isles Walpurgis and Beltane Social Evening. Venue: The King and Queen, 1 Foley Street, London W1W 6DL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £10. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121088529614?

Thursday 30 April; Wild Women Writers Salon 23 - Tracing Footsteps. Live online, BSL supported. Recording available. Time 7–8.30 pm. Tickets: Pay what you can. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/wild-women-writers-salons-4364153?

Thursday 30 April; Psychedelics as Catalysts of Creativity with Dr Sam Gandy. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 30 April (last Thursday every month); 16th anniversary event at Hertford Pagan Moot. Venue: The White Horse Pub, 33 Castle Street, Hertford, Herts SG14 1HH) (45 mins from central London). Time: 8pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104788436218047

Thursday 30 April - Friday 1 May; Beltaine Celebrations at Avebury stone circle, Wiltshire, from sunset on Thursday to sunrise on Friday 1 May, and continuing through the day with various groups and activities including a Maypole and well dressing. https://www.facebook.com/events/1649289326310484/?

Friday 1 - Monday 4 May; Rochester Sweeps Festival. This starts early on May 1 with a Jack in the Green awakening, but most of the events start on Friday evening. Tehre's music, dancing, pagan ritual, a fun fair, food and drink. Venue: Rochester. Kent, ME1 1SW. Various times over the 4 days. Plenty of free activities. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1473836500995140/? or https://www.medway.gov.uk/sweepsfestival

Friday 1 May; Glastonbury Beltane May Day Celebrations. Activities all day, including a Druidic Sunrise Ritual at 5am from the Tor, Chalice Well Fire Ceremony from 6.30am to noon, music and dancing in the market square, and a procession of the May pole from 12.30pm. Venue: various locations in Glastonbury, Somerset. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1849255562019819/

Friday 1 - Monday 4 May; Hastings Jack-in-the-Green Festival - traditional annual event to celebrate May with music, a procession, talks and workshops, Morris Dancing, a May Queen and Jack-in-the-Green. Full four-day festival programme culminating on Bank Holiday Monday with the Jack in the Green parade itself. https://hastingstraditionaljackinthegreen.co.uk/

Friday 1 May; Fowlers Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green are usually out and about in Deptford and Greenwich on May Day from noon to 6pm. Everyone is welcome and this is a free event. However, the event is no longer advertised as widely as it used to be, as numbers need to be kept low for safety reasons. If you are local to the area, keep an eye out for Jack and his followers. One of the stops on the route is usually Deptford Market.

Friday 1 May (1st and 3rd Friday each month); Pagan Portal Podcast by Moon Books. Time: noon (or listen to recording later). Free event. https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7?

Friday 1 May; The Intuitive Magician. Talk on stage magic with Justin Higham. Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Friday 1 May (and other dates); Stars In Their Eyes: A Zodiac Themed Tour of the British Museum by Sacha Coward. Venue: The British Museum, Great Russell Street. London WC1B 3DG Times 6pm. Tickets: £19.12. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/25512092243?

Friday 1 May; Heartspaces - Beltane Pagan Ceremony. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY. Doors at 6PM. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heartspaces-beltane-pagan-ceremony-tickets-1985959466224?

Friday 1 May; Hekate - Guardian of the Threshold Festival. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets £20. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Friday 1 May; Women's Full Moon Gong Bath. Venue: Felstead Street, London E9 5LT. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £25.63. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Friday 1 May; Beltane Pagan Ceremony Online via Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Friday 1 May; Woodland Full Moon on Beltane Ritual with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at the entrance to Queen's Woods, Queen's wood Road, London N6 5UU, to be led into woods to the ritual spot. Bring a torch and wear suitable clothing and footwear. Time: 7pm. Tickets from: £5. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Friday 1 May (and other dates); Holistic Sound Bath Meditation - Summoning The Sacred. Venue: Training Points Fitness and Therapy, 5-6 Cooper's Yard, London SE19 1TN. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/holistic-sound-bath-meditation-summoning-the-sacred-tickets-223970159777?#

Saturday 2 May; Walking in the Footsteps of Your Year, at this Beltane Solar Festival, with

Jeremy Rye. Meeting: Tower Hill Terrace, The Tower of London, EC3N 4EE. Time: 10am. Tickets £25. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/31055883021?

Saturday 2 May; 'Not With a Pen But a Broomstick': The Witchcraft of Shirley Jackson'. Online talk exploring the life and work of Shirley Jackson via Romancing the Gothic. Times: runs twice at 10am and 7pm. Tickets by donation. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/30996677463?

Saturday 2 May; The Original Essex Beltane Witchcraft Market. Venue: Mistley Village Hall, Furze Hills, Shrubland Rd, Manningtree, CO11 1HS. Starts 10.30am. https://www.facebook.com/events/1474179850742973?

Saturday 2 May; Heartwood Family - 'Jack in the Green' May Time Gathering 2026. Family-friendly event by Go Wild With Us UK. Venue: Heartwood Woodland Wellness, Featherbed Lane, Croydon CR0 9AA. Time: 11.30am. Tickets: Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/39763045473?

Saturdays 2 May (tbc but usually Saturday closest to the festival); Beltane at Coldrum Stones with Kent Gorsed. Venue: Coldrum Long Barrow, West Maling, Kent. Time: noon. Free. https://www.facebook.com/kentgorsedd/

Saturdays 2 May and 9 May; Making, Breaking, Sharing: Ritual Practice in Ancient Egypt. 2-part pottery workshop organised by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology. Venue: 1 Rochester Square, off Camden Road, London NW1 9SD. Time: noon–2pm. Tickets £65 for both classes. https://www.rochestersquare.co.uk/

Saturdays 2 May (Saturday closest to the festival); Beltane Free and open Gorsed of Caer Abiri ritual at Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire. Meet at the Red Lion pub from noon for druidic ceremony at 1.30pm. Offering of bread, mead, or Bardic performance always welcomed. Free event, just turn up. https://www.facebook.com/groups/49080749624/

Saturday 2 May; Sisters Gathering to Celebrate Beltane. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time: noon. Tickets: free. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 2 May; Forest Bathing in Crystal Palace Park. Meet at Sydenham Gate, CP Park, London SE20. Time: 2pm. Free, but parking is paid. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Saturdays 2 May; Beltane Ritual Celebration with South East London Pagans. Venue: Peckham Rye Common, 190 Peckham Rye, London, SE22 9QA. Time: 6pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Saturday 2 May (date tbc but usually first Saturday each month); Gong Bath. Venue: Upminster Sanctuary Pea Lane, Upminster, RM142XH. Time: 7pm. Tickets: tbc. https://upminstersanctuary.com/

Saturday 2 May (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Sunday 3 May; Pagan Federation Online Beltane Festival. Starts 10am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/1357752266113061/?

Sunday 3 May; Writing and rewriting fairytales course via City Lit. Venue: Keeley Street, London. Time: 10.30am. Fee: £79/£40. https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/writing-and-rewriting-fairytales

Sunday 3 May (and other dates); Mythic London Walking Tour with with Caroline Wise, organised through Treadwells. Meet outside St Mary le Strand Church, Strand, London, WC2R (nearest tube: Temple). Time: 11.50am. Tickets: £35. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Sunday 3 May (closest Sunday to the festival); Druidic Ritual to celebrate Beltane on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8YH, at 12.30pm to prepare the site for the ritual at 1pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring a small contribution of food and drink to share. https://www.facebook.com/LooseAssociationOfDruidsOfPrimroseHill

Sunday 3 May; Beltane ritual for members of the Woodspirits group. Venue: Highgate, London. Meet from noon for a social then ritual at 2pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4032235040150960

Sunday 3 May (tbc but usually on the closest Sunday to the festival); Anderida Gorsedd Beltane open ritual. Venue: Long Man of Wilmington, Wilmington, near Eastbourne, East Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm, walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards, the Giants Rest pub. https://www.facebook.com/groups/227609495203/

Sunday 3 May; Beltane Goddess Gathering. Venue: 19 Castle Close, London E9 5TN. Time: 3pm. Tickets: £44.04. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beltane-goddess-gathering-tickets-1987603400275?

Sunday 3 May; Beltane Women's Circle by Yoga with Heidi Gowthorpe. Venue: Move studio London, Dane Place, London E3 5EJ. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £31.05. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beltane-womens-circle-tickets-1987682039487?

Sunday 3 May (closest Sunday to the festival); Wheel of the Year: Beltane Pagan Ceremony. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Sunday 3 May (first Sunday each month); Compassion and Kindness - Collective World Meditation with Pauline Flitton. Online event. Time: 7.30pm - 8:30pm. Free. Contact Pauline 07415 054280 or Email

contact@crystal-manifestations.co.uk for the free Zoom link. Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1514249646502331/?

Monday 4 May; Canewdon Beltane May Day Celebration and Fayre. Venue: Canewdon Village Hall, Lambourne Hall Road, Canewdon SS4 3PG. Time: 11am - 4pm. Free entry.

Monday 4 May; Mixed Adult Forest Bathing in South Norwood Lake and Grounds. Meet at Sylvan Road, London SE25 4AN. Time: noon. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Monday 4 May; Mayfest with music, dancing, Jack in the Green and workshops. Venue: Brixton Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, Brixton, London, SW2 5DA. Time: 1pm to 5pm. Free entry. https://www.brixtonwindmill.org/events/may-fest/?

Monday 4 May; May Day celebration around Plumstead Common. 4pm: A procession with ritual, starts at Puddingstones by Blendon Terrace, London SE18 7RS and finish outside Ye Olde Mill.

7pm: Free entertainment in the Old Mill pub. https://www.facebook.com/events/948840820965079?

Monday 4 May; The Planets (Part 1). Free online talk via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 5pm. Tickets free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 4 May; Ascending with Angels workshop Led by David Goddard. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm Cost £40 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Monday 4 May; Creatures of the Night: Vampires, Sexuality and the Unconscious. Talk by Katie Evans . Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £16.14, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 4 May; Theosophy. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Monday 4 May; Chart Discussion followed by talk on Rectification of the Horoscope with Primary Directions ny Alexey Borealis. Online talks via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 7.15pm. Tickets £6/£9. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 4 May (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Monday 4 May; Blodeuwedd, Taliesin, and Artificial Life with Dr Mark Williams. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Tuesday 5 May; Work with Spirits: Angels to Elementals. Start of 5-session course run by Julian Vayne, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £180. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 5 May; Lily-of-the-valley Customs: a Window on France. Talk by Cozette Griffin-Kremer via the Folklore Society online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-society-32190494089

Tuesday 5 May (first Tuesday each month); Beltane - Was This Festival a Shagfest? Talk at Romford Pagan Moot. Venue: The Golden Lion, 2 High Street, Romford. Time: 7.30pm. Entry £4: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064489640955

Tuesday 5 May; Beginner Tarot. Start of 4-Part course with Delphine de la Mar. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £150. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 5 May; The Witch's Apprentice: Group Magic. Start of 4-Part course with Rebecca Beattie, author of Planetary Magic and Nature Mystics, via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £80. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 5 May; Drawing ghosts - a workshop with Sian Ellis. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from £3.35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 6 May (and other dates); Tea with a Medium. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 6 May; Dionysus: Lord of Misrule. Hybrid talk by Professor Ronald Hutton, author of Triumph of the Moon and Blood and Mistletoe, via Gresham College. In-person venue Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, Holborn, London EC1N 2HH. Time: 6pm. Free to register for online viewing. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/

Wednesday 6 May (usually first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Wednesday 6 May (usually on a Wednesday each month); Amanda Edmiston Traveller's Tales and Healing Herbs. Online talk via the Folklore Centre. Time: 7pm. Tickets £5. https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Thursday 7 May; Journalling to Clarify Mind and Soul. Talk by Tia Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 7 May; Hoax: A Ghost, a Witch, and a Princess in the Age of Enlightenment. Talk at London Fortean Society. Venue: Conway Hall, London, WC1X 8. ime: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/

Friday 8 May; Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Saturday 9 May; The Soul (Esoteric) Planetary Rulerships . Talk by Wanda Sellar. Online talks via the Astrological Lodge of London. Times 10.30am. Tickets £9/£6. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Saturday 9 May; Crystal Divination workshop with Nicholas Pearson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May; Orpington Alternative Market. Venue: The Priory, Church Hill, Orpington. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 10 May; Navigating End-of-Life Care. Workshop with Tree Carr. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May (date tbc); Ritual in the Tower (Luna Iter). In-person ritual in Hackney, East London for members of the group, guests and seekers on the path. Meet at the Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Rd, London, from 4.30pm, moving on to a historic site to start the ritual at 6pm. Entry: £10. https://www.hildegardmaier.co.uk/luna-iter or https://www.facebook.com/groups/1230392930656154

Sunday 10 May; Fallen Angels: 12th House in Astrology. Class with Carmen Turner-Schott. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 10 May; Sound Bath Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of any of these events except my own amulets workshop. Contact organisers directly if you have questions or to check ticket availability. Where a practitioner is offering information about magical healing, this is *not* medical advice. If you're running an event you want included, please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com I earn commission from advertisers for some links.

Pagan Eye: A Witch at the Coming of Age Exhibition

2026-04-28T08:00:00.332+01:00

This etching of A Witch at Her Cauldron is part of the Coming of Age exhibition at London's Wellcome Collection. I went there and took the photo above, but it isn't the only item relating to witches or magic. There's also Japanese figures from mythology representing long life, images showing the concept of the fountain of youth, and a large display on crones.

It's a really good exhibition, but I did tut slightly at the description of the depiction above. It read:

"This 1626 etching depicts a young witch in her magic circle conjuring up monsters and pipe-smoking demons. In Europe, witches were generally imagined as women. Roles in cooking, midwifery and healing gave women control over the health and wellbeing of their families. In a male-dominated society, accusations of witchcraft were a way to suppress this power. In the 1500s and 1600s, fear of witches led to the execution of thousands of women."

In fact, midwives were generally well respected even during times of historic witch persecutions. Although there are some examples of midwives being accused of malefic practices, that wasn't widespread. You were far more likely to be accused of witchcraft if you were someone the community found inconvenient or you just pissed off the wrong person.

Don't let that minor criticism put you off going to the Coming of Age Exhibition, as it's generally thought-provoking and highlights important social issues about how we view people young to old. And it's totally free to go round.

Coming of Age is on at the Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE. It is open daily from 10am to 6pm until 29 November. You can find out more here: https://wellcomecollection.org/

Pagan Eye Posts

On each of my Pagan Eye posts, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Previous Related Links

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-gods-from-hawaii-at-british.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-woodland-witch-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/05/exhibition-gods-goddesses-in-luxury.html
badwitch.co.uk/2022/09/pagan-eye-goddess-aphrodite-at-feminine.html

Tarot: The Great Fire Of London (Eight of Wands)

2026-04-27T08:00:00.107+01:00

I drew a card for the world using the London Lore Tarot and revealed The Great Fire of London. This corrresponds with the 8 of Wands. The picture in this deck shows someone rushing from the banks of the River Thames with a bucket of water while flames rise above silhouetted rooftops.

The meaning is clear: urgent action is needed to stop destruction currently taking place, and threatened in the future.

The fire of London started in 1666, probably by accident, in a bakery. It burnt for four days, reducing much of the medieval city - homes and businesses - to ashes. I'm sure most people can see how that might related to situations in the world at this time.

In the Rider–Waite-Snith deck, the artwork shows eight staves seeming to fly through the air across an open landscape. While in the past I've seen this as potentially representing swift travel or communication, at the moment I can't help but visualise those staves as something more destructive.

The card calls for swift change and a call for us to all work together as much as possible to avoid further disaster.

Other previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/06/london-lore-tarot-tower-ravens-eight-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/10/london-tarot-reading-sewer-gas-lamp-2.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/08/london-lore-tarot-king-of-wands-henry.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/12/review-london-lore-tarot.html

I'm on a Podcast: Beltane with Moon Books Witches!

2026-04-24T08:00:00.047+01:00

I'm in the special Beltane episode of The Pagan Portal Podcast, along with host Rachel Patterson, Jessica Howard, and Katie Ness. We are all Moon Books authors, and enjoy a witchy get-together to share our thoughts.

We chat about what Beltane, or May Day, feels like in practice, covering things from Jack in the Green processions and Victorian folk customs to the awakening of creativity, working with the land as it is, and allowing the Wheel of the Year to turn naturally instead of following fixed dates.

This conversation focuses on experiencing Beltane rather than just following a set of rules. The discussion highlights anticipation over arrival, why Beltane can feel like a personal new year, how modern Paganism carries ancient energies into new forms, and why celebrating life, creativity, and connection is essential to the season.

Whether you celebrate Beltane through ritual, art, offerings, community events, or simply by noticing the changes in the land around you, this episode invites you to slow down and connect with the season in your own way.

You can also find the podcast on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7

Folklore & Customs: Dandelions on St George's Day

2026-04-23T08:00:00.182+01:00

St George's Day, 23 April, is the traditional date to brew dandelion wine. Although National Dandelion Day is actually 5 April, folkloric customs state the cheery yellow flowers are most abundant and produce the sweetest wine if you pick them on the 23rd. Maybe the earlier date was chosen because climate change has meant they now ripen earlier. However, there are more of them in my garden at the moment than there were a couple of weeks ago.

In the Kitchen

If you want to give dandelion wine a go, here's a link to a recipe. I've not tried it personally, but I have made dandelion tea, which is supposedly good for the complexion. Cut off the yellow heads and steep four in a cup of boiling water for 20 minutes. I've also added the leaves to salad. They taste a little like rocket but are quite bitter. I recommend adding a few to other ingredients then use a sweet dressing.

Nowadays, some vegans make dandelion syrup from the flowers, which supposedly tastes like honey. Recipe link here. I've seen some critics remark that dandelions are best left for the bees, which is certainly true in early spring, but there are so many of them growing now that picking a few is no problem so long as you only take what you need. Also, many gardeners mow lawns in April, so you could ask to forage before the wildflowers get chopped down anyway.

By the way, if you make dandelion wine in April, it should be ready in time for Yule, when it's perfect to raise a glass in honour of newborn sun.

Flowers of the Sun and Moon

Dandelions are flowers with two different faces. The bright yellow flowers with petals like the radiant sun, close up in the evening and transform. They re-emerge as a dandelion clock - a moonlike white sphere - translucent and fragile. If you blow on one, the fluffy white seeds scatter to the wind. That's the time to whisper your dreams and make a wish.

The Wheel of the Year

I've written a book offering more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year

Please note: I earn commission from some links. None of my posts are medical advice, always consult a qualified medical professional if you have health concerns.