A bad witch's blog

Pagan Eye: Samurai Goblin Helmet at the British Museum

2026-04-17T08:00:00.054+01:00

The helmet on the right depicts a Japanese mythological creature. I took the photo at the Samurai exhibition currently on at the British Museum. Here's the details about the two items of head gear:

"Helmet designs could be inspired by nature, myth, or the wider world. These helmets are formed to represent the mythological tengu goblin... The cylindrical brimmed hat shows how the arrival of European objects...also inspired new designs."

The Samurai is an iconic figure, evoking images of formidable fighters possessing ideals of courage, honour and self-sacrifice. The exhibition shows how much of this is actually invented tradition, but I was fascinated by the amount of mythology and spirituality that inspired customs and designs.

The Samurai exhibition runs until 4 May. The British Museum is at Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets are £25 but members get in for free. Find out more here: https://www.britishmuseum.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/2025/05/british-museum-exhibits-ancient-india.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-woodland-witch-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/pagan-eye-roman-dragon-standard-at.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

Review: Shadow Seer Tarot - Dark Archetypes

2026-04-16T08:00:00.252+01:00

Shadow work is an important part of spiritual development in many magical practices. It's about looking into aspects of ourselves that are unconscious or we shy away from because we don't like them. The Shadow Seer Tarot, by Maja D’Aoust, is a new deck of cards to help us do that.

It uses the traditional tarot format, but with dark archetypes relating to the familiar cards. For example, when I was trying out it out I drew Forlorn, the Shadow Seer version of the Star. The book that comes with the set said that everyone likes to wish upon a star, and is happy when the hopeful major arcana card appears. The flip side is relying too much on false hope, then feeling despondent if it fails. It's better to recognise that we don't know for sure what will happen in the future. We can best work towards a good outcome by being realistic.

The reading came when my moods were oscillating because I was going through a time of uncertainty. The message was helpful. Also, it wasn't a particularly nasty card to draw. I reckon most people would feel more uncomfortable if, for example, they drew the Murderer (Death) or even the Spoiled Brat (6 of Cups). This deck doesn't condone criminal activity or bad behaviour. What it does is show us that these are still part of the human experience.

Shadow work is about recognising that many of us might feel like we want to kill someone even if we never would, or behave in a selfish way without realising it. The messages are gentle reminders to consider our needs and desires. Rather than shove them back into our subconscious or, indeed, do something terrible, we can consciously take actions that are helpful for personal and social development.

This is what publisher Inner Traditions says on its website:

“The Shadow Seer Tarot deck and guidebook give methods to see through the blind spots of ordinary tarot readings into the heart of what is often hidden. Using Hermetic principles, Maja D’Aoust defines oppositional energies as they relate to the cards of the tarot. With the alchemical method of reconciliation through opposition, she looks deeper into the familiar meanings of the Major and Minor Arcana to give readers insight into the shadow energies at work in their lives to reveal a path toward wholeness. By inverting the archetypes and revealing their shadow side, or “darchetypes,” Maja opens portals of understanding to the bad behaviors that we often attempt to conceal, repress, or deny.”

The artwork on the cards is white line drawings on a black background, emphasising hands, faces and eyes. These are important to human communication. Maja D’Aoust writes that the art was inspired by a visionary journey to the underworld and seeing the images of hands in ancient cave paintings. Our hands are a major part of how we identify as humans, and the physical way we manipulate the material world.

While I like the artwork, and understand the symbolism, what impressed me most were the words in the book giving definitions of the cards and suggestions on how to work with them. I'll be continuing to use the deck for personal guidance going forwards.

You can view the Shadow Seer Tarot on Amazon as well as on Inner Traditions' website, linked to above. It is officially published in May 2026, and is available for pre-order, but I was lucky enough to see a preview copy for review.

(Please note: I earn commission from some links)

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-04-15T08:00:00.019+01:00

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests over the next couple of weeks. I mainly include in-person things in or near London, because that's where I'm based, as well as online talks and workshops you can do anywhere (bolded for easier identification) and some bigger events further afield.

Now – Friday 17 April; An Exhibition of Handcrafted Artifacts by the Artistic Workshop LOGOS 373, relating to Aleister Crowley and Thelema. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am – 6pm (closed Sunday) Free entry https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Now to 20 April; Welcome To Fairy Land - Luciana Nedelea Art Exhibition. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: Museum opening hours, free entry https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/museum/events-exhibitions/

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/

Now – 19 April; Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection Exhibition. Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE. Free https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/thirst-in-search-of-freshwater

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 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/?

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 - 1 November; Exhibition: The Saxons. Opening day has talks, storytelling, crafts and other live events. 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

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/

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 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 15 April (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 £12. Price includes a Cocktail with Devil’s Botany. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Wednesday 15 April; Tarot Twins: Doppelgangers and Duals, workshop with Laetitia Barbier. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 15 April; Manifestation Poppet Workshop. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Wednesday 15 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 15 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 15 April; 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 15 April (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 15 April; Enchanted Words for Strength. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 15 April; Spring Witchcraft Practices. Workshop with Levannah Morgan via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 15 April; Researching the Weird and Wonderful. Talk by Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe 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 16 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 16 April; Awakening the Serpent Power. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2.30pm. Tickets £20. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Thursday 16 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 16 April; Respell Your Reality with Lisa Lister. 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 16 April; Swedenborg’s core texts: Afterlives: Influence and Legacy. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 6pm. Tickets £3. https://www.swedenborg.org.uk/events/introducing-core-texts-swedenborgs-heaven-hell/

Thursday 16 April; The Art of Intuitive Colour. Start of 2-session course run by Tyrone Cusack, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 16 April; May Folklore with Three Ravens. 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 16 April; 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 16 April; Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris on The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss. Vemue: The MCT at Alleyn's School, Townley Road, London, SE22 8SU. Time: · 7.30pm. Book plus ticket: £45 (includes a signed copy of The Book of Birds, book RRP £35) Standard ticket: £12. Concession ticket (under 18): £10. https://www.village-books.co.uk/events/robert-macfarlane-and-jackie-morris-on-the-book-of-birds-a-field-guide-to-wonder-and-loss

Thursday 16 April; New Moon Women's Circle - Spring Renewal. Venue: East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-50 Darrell Road, London SE22 9NL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £16.96. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Thursday 16 April; Sister Sharing Circle by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £14.79. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Friday 17 April (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/

17-19 April; Inipi Sweatlodge Ceremony Weekend with Joseph Christlow organised by Aho Studio. In-person camping event. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Tickets: Full event £210, day tickets from £70. https://www.aho.community/

Friday 17 April (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 17, Saturday 18 April (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/2pm. Tickets: £19.12. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/25512092243?

Friday 17 April; 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/

Friday 17 April; 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/

Saturday 18 April; Strange Central: Mysteries, Monsters, Ghosts and UFOs. One-day conference with London Fortean Society. Hybrid event. In-person venue: Conway Hall Ethical Society, London, WC1X 8. Time: 9.30am-5pm. Tickets from £12. https://conwayhall.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173671347?f

Saturday 18 April; Special Event: Techniques of Prediction, talks by four top astrologers. Online event the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 10am. Tickets £10/£15/£20. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Saturday 18 April; Madder Mill Molly. Venue: various locations around London Bridge, SE1. Time: from 10.30am. Free, just turn up to watch. https://www.facebook.com/events/1272810307803031?

Saturday 18 April; Enhancing Your Mediumship Messages. Workshop with Tony Stockwell. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 18 April (and other dates); Reiki and Sound Healing. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 11am. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 18 April (and other dates); 9D Transformative Breathwork. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 12.30pm. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 18 April (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 18 April; Walking the Weirdstone. Archaeology and the Works of Alan Garner lecture by Dr James Wright. Online event via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Sunday 19 April; Group Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: 30 Friern Watch Avenue, London N12 9NT. Time: from 10am to 5pm. From £53.80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

Sunday 19 April; Year of the Fire Horse. Start of three-session lunar experience with Crystal Wicca. Venue: West Wickham, BR4. All-day workshops. Tickets: £200 for the entire course. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Sunday 19 April; Women's 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 19 April; Birthing the New Earth with 5D Energy. Workshop with Natasha Astara. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 19 April (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 19 April; The Riddle of the Sphinx. Museum visit with London Wiccans. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG. Time: 2.30pm. Tickets tbc. https://www.meetup.com/london-wiccans/events/313308728/?

Sunday 19 April; 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 19 April; Shamanic Breathwork Journey withg Linda Star Wolf. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 19 April; Pagan Speed Folk Acoustic Night with PerKelt and guests.Venue: Top Floor, 6 Manor road, Stoke Newington,, London, N16 5SA. Doors open 6.45pm. Tickets: £16.75. https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/London/The-Others/Pagan-Speed-Folk-Acoustic-Night-with-PerKelt-and-guests/42278085/

Sunday 19 April; Works from The Witchcraft Series: Anne Jackson. 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 20 April; Meditative Art and Visualisation. Online via Rest Less Events. Time: 10am. Tickets £3.99 per class. https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/

Monday 20 April; The Rise and Fall of Witch-hunting 1450-1700. Start of evening class course with Vanessa King via City Lit. Online event. Time: 3.15pm. Full fee: £139. https://www.citylit.ac.uk/

Monday 20 April; Beltane by Bibi's Circle. 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 20 April; Initiatory Wicca vs Solitary Witchcraft Class with Rebecca Beattie, author of Planetary Magic and Nature Mystics, via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Monday 20 April; The Cleveland Experiment: An Experimental Approach to Sufi Healing Phenomena, with Jamal Hussein. 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/

Monday 20 April; Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism 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 20 April (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 21 April; Introduction to Astrology - The Houses. Part of series of astrology talks via Rest Less Events. Time: 2.30pm. Tickets £3.99 per class. https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/

Tuesday 21 April (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 21 April; Picturing The Dead: Spirit Photography c.1860-1940. Talk by Dr Helen Frisby via the Folklore Society online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-society-32190494089

Tuesday 21 April; Intermediate Tarot (Essential Spreads), 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 21 April (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

Wednesday 22 April; Earth Day Ceremony with Sacred Earth Activism, Faith Bridge, Red Rebels, XR, Safe Landing and Movements. Starts at Trafalgar Square, London, with gentle march toward Parliament Square . Time: 10.30am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/SacredEarthActivism

Wednesday 22 April (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 22 April; A Quest into the Past, Present and Future Akashic Records. Workshop 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 22 April; The Grammar of Tarot. Start of 2-session course run by Laetitia Barbierk, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 22 April; Shakespeare's Magic and Creative Writing. Online Workshop with Bernadette Russell via Treadwell's Bookshop. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person. Delayed viewing available https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 22 April; Book Launch: Treasures on Earth by Jeremy Harte. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 7pm. Tickets for talk free but reserve a place, signed book £15.99. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 22 April; Woodland Cacao - Earth Day special with EcoMagic 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 £11.55. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803 or https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/PaganFrontiersOfLondon.

Wednesday 22 April; A Short History of Celebrity Seances 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

Thursday 23 April - 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/

Thursday 23 April; Water by Jalal Ad-Din Muhammad Rumi with Haleh Liza Gafori. Online poetry reading and talk via Watkins. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 23 April; 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 23 April; 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

Thursdays 23 April; Work with the Fae and Forest Elementals. Start of 2-session course run by Pixie P Carney, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Healing in Everyday Life. Start of 6-session course run by Lars Muhl & Naleea Landmann, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £375. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 23 April; PF London Beltane Open Ritual via Pagan Federation London. Venue: Pirate Castle, Gilbey's Wharf Oval Road NW1 7EA London, UK Time: 7.15pm. Entry £8 for PF members, £10 for non-members (cash only). https://www.facebook.com/PaganFederationLondon

Thursday 23 April; James Macpherson’s Epic Journey with 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

Friday 24 April; 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 24 April (4th Friday of the month); The Wild Wood Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 24 April; Demonstration of Spirit Portraits with June-Elleni Laine. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 25 April; To Sleep Perchance for Psi. Full day event via The Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Venue: 1 Vernon Mews, West Kensington, London, W14 0RL. Doors open 9.45am. Tickets: Members £32/£25, Non-Members £38. https://www.spr.ac.uk/

Saturday 25 April; Crystals to Heighten Your Creativity. Workshop with Melissa Alley. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 25 April; Sacred Sweat Lodge. Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain Kent. Run by Lynn Gosney. Time: noon Tickets £30, email lynn.gosney@hotmail.com for info and to book. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain/

Saturday 25 April; The Warrior of Love Tarot by Luna Marie. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: noon. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Saturday 25 April; An Afternoon with Goddess Lilith. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: noon . Tickets £55. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 25 April; Caer Corhrain Shamanic Development Centre Beautiful Beltane Celebrations . Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain Kent. Run by Lynn Gosney. Time: 1pm. Donations welcome, email lynn.gosney@hotmail.com for info and to book. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain/

Saturday 25 April; Connecting the Trees ritual with Trefor Wickens. Venue: Oxleas Wood, Crown Woods Lane, London, SE18 3JA. Time: 1.30pm. Tickets free. https://www.facebook.com/events/950316210811851/?

Saturday 25 April; The Kings and Queens in Tarot. Workshop with Amanda Watson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 25 April; Woodland Beltane and Maypole dance 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. Time: 2pm. Tickets £7/£5. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803 or https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/PaganFrontiersOfLondon.

Saturday 25 April (and other dates); 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

Sunday 26 April; Shamanic Journeying for Beginners. Workshop with Andréa Ararê. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 10am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 26 April; Healing Through Ancestral Wisdom. Workshop with Frances Billinghurst, author of Contemporary Witchcraft and other books, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 10.30am. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 26 April; 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 26 April; 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 26 April; The Folklore and Women Course. Start of 6-session online course by Prof Diane Purkiss via Seed Talks. Time: 5pm. Tickets £35 - £80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/36463428713?

Sunday 26 April; Medieval Necromancy and the Cursed Imagination with Sophie Page. 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

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of these events except my own talks and workshops. 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 Also please note I earn commission for some links.

Rounding the Year: Helping Birds in the Nesting Season

2026-04-14T08:00:00.012+01:00

Here's a coot sitting on a nest in Crystal Palace Park, near where I live. I took the photo at the weekend, but I've also been watching bluetits, magpies and other birds getting reading to raise chicks.

I regularly go for walks in my local parks and see birds returning to the same sites each year, including coots at Crystal Palace. Sometimes they're successful, sometimes the weather is against them and the nests flood or a dry spell causes other problems. At the moment, avian flu is also killing many birds.

This year the RSPB is pointing out that bird feeders can spread diseases as birds congregate there, so it's best to pause them from early May to October. Only have them up in the colder months and keep them scrupulously clean. You can put out fat balls or mealworms during the breeding season. Better still, plant wildllife friendly flowers and plants in your garden.

Share your Pictures

Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.

Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:

Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear

Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year

My book 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/2008/03/springtime-camellias.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/rounding-year-damson-blossom-green-buds.html

Celebrating My Gothic Novel Erosion Being 2 Years Old

2026-04-13T08:00:00.035+01:00

Two years ago my Gothic novel, Erosion, was officially published. I'll be celebrating the anniversary.

I'm still hugely proud of my story about a group of friends finding an ancient burial site on an eroding Kent cliff. Rather than tell the authorities, they decide to do a seance to contact the spirit of the woman they believe is buried there. You can see a quote from the book in the graphic above.

It's a magical ghost story, but it's also about friendship over a summer by the sea. Here's the synopsis from my publisher Moon Books' website:

''It all began when we found the bones…'' This is the start of Erosion, a gothic novel set on the English coast, in 1987, the year of the Great Storm. Violent weather is but one of the problems a group of friends face when they discover an ancient grave inside a crumbling cliff and decide to unearth a skull. Supernatural mystery intertwines with the problems of human relationships, of earning money, of following dreams.

If you want a further taster, I blogged with a short extract from the text. You can find it here: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/04/sea-magic-extract-from-erosion-my.html

Endorsements and Reviews

I'm still very grateful to Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Rivers of London series of novels, for writing the endorsement that appears on the cover of Erosion:

"An elegiac tale of memory, growth and regret set along the crumbling coast of 1980s Kent."

Other reviews have also been highly positive. Witch and author Ness Bosch wrote:

"Erosion is a great read. Lucya weaves a colourful story with great characters and the bittersweet emotional turmoil of the drama. Yes you need to get the bigger picture at the beginning, once you have it, it flows like water.
"No only is it engaging but Lucya manages to transport us back in time, to younger years, to the intense emotions, the frustrations, the bravery, the fears. That is pretty good already, but on top of that is the magic inside the book, the mystery, I would say beyond Gothic. I see proper Necromancy in these pages. I even loved the name of the ghost."

Arietta the Crafty Witch has reviewed my Gothic novel Erosion on her YouTube Channel. You can find the link here.

I put a few of the other comments I've received on an image that you can see below.

Where to Find my Books

Here are some of the places you can find Erosion and my other books:

My publisher is Moon Books, an imprint of Collective Ink. You can see Erosion on the website via this link: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/erosion-novel
Before most shops had copies of Erosion, Treadwell's bookshop in London hosted a signing event. The shop still stocks copies of my titles. Pop in or order online. Treadwell's Bookshop is at 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. The website is: www.treadwells-london.com/ .
Paperbacks can be ordered from Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookshops.
Erosion can be also be viewed on Amazon

(Note: I earn commission from some links.)

Other Previous Related Posts

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/08/art-and-writing-coastal-erosion-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/04/video-launch-of-erosion-my-gothic-novel.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/04/my-gothic-novel-erosion-is-published.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/11/heres-how-to-read-my-christmas-ghost.html

Book Review: The Fairy Courts by Morgan Daimler

2026-04-10T08:00:00.163+01:00

In popular imagination, fairies are largely divided into two types: the nice Seelie court, and the bad boys of the Unseelie. In a new book, The Fairy Courts, Morgan Daimler delves into the history of this concept - and finds it isn't quite that clear-cut. In fact, the terms seelie and unseelie were originally only used in lowlands Scotland, not in Ireland, Wales, England, France or indeed anywhere else in the world.

Nevertheless, fairies have frequently been described as being part of a royal court system, usually under a queen, but sometimes also a king. This has nothing to do with how mean they were likely to be if a human encountered them. It was more a set-up in the same model as human royal retinues, with knights, ladies in waiting, and servants etc.

Here's a synopsis of The Fairy Courts, from Moon Books' website:

"The Fairy Courts is an in-depth exploration of its subject, from the original Scottish to modern fiction, mapping out beliefs and how they have evolved. It covers the social structure of fairies, the history of the Scottish Seelie and Unseelie courts, the fairy courts outside Scotland, and it offers a look at how fairy courts are being adapted today in fiction and belief. The Seelie and Unseelie courts have become a staple in fiction and a common idea in pop culture, yet their origins and how they were and are understood in Scottish folklore have become obscure. The Fairy Courts discusses the history of belief as it is traced from the 1500s to today, concluding with a chapter about the ways that folk belief and anecdotes show us how a human might survive in a fairy court."

As that synopsis says, Morgan explores exactly how the terms Seelie and Unseelie developed and spread. To a large part, it's down to fiction of the past 50 or so years. So, as well as delving in to folk beliefs through 500 years of history, The Fairy Courts has a chapter on urban fantasy, showing that a literary need for easy protagonists, antagonists, threats, allies and love interests, popularised the concept of opposing groups of fairies. Another chapter on RPGs shows how the concept of seelie and unseelie fairies fitted nicely in the Dungeons and Dragons alignments system, and the different houses and clans of the World of Darkness games.

Overall, it's a fascinating read - a must for anyone with an interest in the history of fairy beliefs and fantasy literature.

About the author
Morgan Daimler teaches classes on Irish myth and magical practices, fairies, and related subjects internationally. She has been published in multiple anthologies as well as articles in various magazines, and she is one of the world's foremost experts on all things Fairy. Besides the titles available through Moon Books Morgan has a high fantasy novel Into Shadow through Cosmic Egg and has an urban fantasy/paranormal romance series called Between the Worlds. Morgan has also presented papers on fairies and on fairies and witches at several university conferences.

You can find The Fairy Courts at publisher Moon Books' website (linked to earlier), and view it on Amazon.

Please note I earn commission from some links

Occult London: Atlantis Bookshop Celebrates Crowley

2026-04-09T08:00:00.111+01:00

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is Aleister Crowley's most famous quote, and it comes from The Book of the Law.

Every year, the Atlantis Bookshop in London celebrates the anniversary of Crowley's reception of The Book of the Law by publicly declaring the three chapters, over three days. There's an open invitation to pop in and experience this annual occult event. I was there yesterday and listened to Geraldine Beskin reading Chapter One – Nuit (pictured above).

Today, Thursday 9th April, you can go along to hear Chapter Two – Hadit, starting at noon. At the same time on Friday you can hear Chapter Three – Ra Hoor Khuit.

What's special this year is that from now until Friday 17th April the shop is also hosting an exhibition of magical robes and handcrafted ritual artifacts relating to Thelema, the magical tradition founded by Aleister Crowley. The Art and Beauty of True Will is the creation of the artistic workshop LOGOS 373. You can see a photograph of part of it below.

The Atlantis Bookshop is at 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. It's open from 11am – 6pm (closed Sunday). Entry to the exhibition and readings is free. You can just turn up. More details here: https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-04-08T08:00:00.022+01:00

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/

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/

Every Tuesday to Sunday; 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/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 8 – Friday 17 April; An Exhibition of Handcrafted Artifacts by the Artistic Workshop LOGOS 373, relating to Aleister Crowley and Thelema. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am – 6pm (closed Sunday). Free entry https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 8 - Friday 10 April; Celebrating Aleister Crowley's Three Days of the Writing of The Book of the Law. Annual event. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49A Museum St, London WC1A 1LY. Time: noon. Free event, just turn up. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 8-10 April; Finding Your Life’s Purpose: An Interactive Workshop on the True Will with Dr. David Shoemaker, hosted by Atlantis Bookshop. Venue: The Plough, 27 Museum St, London WC1A 1LH. Time: 7pm each evening. Tickets £16 www.totss.org or https://theatlantisbookshop.com/events/event/finding-your-lifes-purpose-an-interactive-workshop-on-the-true-will/

Wednesday 8 April; Meet Your Guides, Helpers and Gatekeepers. Start of 8-session course run by Hernan Cotroneo, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 8 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 8 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 8 April; An Evening With the Author of 'Pixie', Jill Dawson. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 7pm. Tickets: free, but reserve a place. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 8 April (2nd Wed each month); Spirits of Place 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 8 April; Crowley's 'Book of The Law'. Start of 2-part workshop with Julian Vayne via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 8 April (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 8 April; Calm Within: A Breathwork and Sound Bath Journey. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Wednesday 8 April; Wealth and Wicca Series: Protection, Banishing and Reversal. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 7.15pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Wednesday 8 April; Britain’s Black Hauntings and The Future. Talk by Tré Ventour-Griffiths 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 9 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 9 April; HERMĒNEIA 2026 Esotericism in the Modern World: Bridging Scholarship

and Public Engagement. Venue: Swedenborg House, The Swedenborg Society, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 2TH. Time: 11am - 6pm. Tickets £100 https://www.marcovisconti.org/hermeneia?

Thursday 9 April; Heal Your Shadow, Reclaim Your Power, workshop with Abiola Abrams, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 9 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 9 April; The Going Down by Duncan Barford. 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 9 April; Magick Without Tears Moot. Venue: Fitzroy Tavern, 16 Charlotte St., London W1T 2LY. Time 6pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwtpubmoot

Thursday 9 April; Swedenborg’s core texts: Reading Heaven and Hell. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 6pm. Tickets £3. https://www.swedenborg.org.uk/events/introducing-core-texts-swedenborgs-heaven-hell/

Thursday 9 April; Noke Kuin Fundraising Hapé Circle and Concert with Pana and Memy Kamanawa. Venue: Shoreditch and Soul, The Sanctuary, London E2 6EJ. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £37.50. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/junglegateway/2090848

Thursday 9 April; Bran: A Mabinogion Tale. 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 10 April (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 10 April; Celtic Magic: A Practitioner's Guide by Brigid Ehrmantraut. 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

Friday 10 April (and other dates); Southwark Hyseries with Maria Beadell of Herstorical Tours. Meet: Green Dragon Court, London SE1 . Time: 6pm. Tickets: £22.50. https://www.herstoricaltours.co.uk/book

Friday 10 April (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 10 April; 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/

Fri 10 April; Greco-Egyptian Statue Magic. In-person workshop with Jules McArthur. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets £25 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/.

Friday 10 April (Normally the 2nd friday of every month); Wiccan Apprentice Circle (1 of 9) 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: free, but donations welcome. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Friday 10 April; Game of Crones - performance. Venue: Stanley Hall; 12 South Norwood Hill, London, SE25 6AB. Time 7:30 pm till 9:15 pm. Tickets £17. https://stanleyarts.org/event/game-of-crones/?

Friday 10 April (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 11 April; Palmistry for Beginners workshop with Madalyn Aslan. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 11 April; The Tools of a Medium, workshop with Maria Antoniou. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 11 April; Belostra 2026 organised by Pagan Future Fests. Live music, market stalls, readers, talks and workshops. Venue: Cryer Arts Centre, 39 High St, Carshalton SM5 3BB. Time: noon - 11pm. Tickets: £30 all day - £15 evening only (5pm - 11pm) https://www.paganfuturefests.org.uk/tickets-for-belostra-2026?

Saturday 11 April; Brothers: Meet Up, Work and Fireside Gathering. Berkeley Farm. Event organised by Aho. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time noon-6pm Tickets: free. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 11 April; Candle magic workshop based on my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic. The venue is Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. It starts at 1pm and tickets are £25 per person. To find out more and reserve a place visit: https://www.treadwells-london.com/.

Saturday 11 April; Death and Dreams: The Liminal Realms. Workshop with Tree Carr, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April; Festival of Magical History with 4 talks each day. Online 2-day event via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £11.55 per day. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Saturday 11 April; Moon Magic Circle. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2.30pm . Tickets £20. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Sunday 12 April (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 12 April; Malice Market. Venue: Chislehurst Caves, Imperial Place, Chislehurst, NW Kent. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 12 April; Learn to Interpret Playing Cards with Bel Senlle. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 12 April; Poetry as Ritual and Revelation. Workshop with Sarah Fletcher. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 12 April; 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 12 April (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 12 April; Magic For Overcoming Creative Blocks. In-person workshop with Mark Vincent. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Tickets £60 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/.

Sunday 12 April; Crystals for the Heart and Soul, workshop with Nicholas Pearson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 12 April; Mindful Stroll and 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 12 April; 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 12 April; Labyrinth Walking Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Monday 13 April; Graveyards, mourning and boozy burials: Talk and tasting with Millie Milliken of Wet Ink. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6pm. Tickets from £26.20. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 13 April; Rachel Pollack's 'Trans Central Station. Talk and Soirée with Sarah Schulman and Morgan M Page. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10, or £15 with book. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Monday 13 April; Hermetic Magical Training. Start of 4-Part course with Course with Julia Phillips via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £120. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Monday 13 April (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 13 April; River Spirits, Drowned Ghosts and Water-Witchest. Talk by Lena Heide Brennand 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 13 April (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 14 April (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 14 April (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/

Wednesday 15 April; Manifestation Poppet Workshop. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £44. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Wednesday 15 April; Spring Witchcraft Practices. Workshop with Levannah Morgan via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 15 April; Researching the Weird and Wonderful. Talk byDr Ciaran O’Keeffe 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 16 April; 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 17 April (tbc but usually 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 17 April (tbc but usually 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 17 April 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/

Friday 17 April; 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/

Saturday 18 April (and other dates); Reiki and Sound Healing. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 11am. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 18 April (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 19 April; Group Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: 30 Friern Watch Avenue, London N12 9NT. Time: from 10am to 5pm. From £53.80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

Sunday 19 April; Women's 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 19 April; Shamanic Breathwork Journey withg Linda Star Wolf. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Pagan Eye: Constable's Stonehenge at the Tate Britain

2026-04-07T08:00:00.005+01:00

Constable's watercolour of Stonehenge with a rainbow in the sky above it is one of my favourite paintings of the famous ancient monument. I took this photo of it at the Turner and Constable exhibition at the Tate Britain, in London, which I went to see over the bank holiday. It's only on until 12 April. I'm so glad I managed to get there before it closed as it's a fabulous chance to view paintings by two of England's most famous artists.

Many years ago I managed to take an actual phtograph of Stonehenge with a rainbow above it. It's hardly anything to compare with Constable's work of art, but if you want to have a look, here's the link: www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/pagan-eye-rainbow-over-stonehenge.html

My Pagan Eye posts show photos that I find interesting - seasonal images, pagan sites, events, or just pretty pictures. 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.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/08/pagan-eye-women-artists-and-moon-goddess.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/08/art-tate-britains-ithell-colquhoun.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/02/british-museum-exhibition-world-of.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-woodland-witch-from.html

Craft: I Painted Pebbles - It was Easier Than Expected

2026-04-03T08:00:00.039+01:00

Ages ago I picked up a craft kit called Paint Your Own Mandala Stones, but the designs on the front looked so complicated I put off using it. This week, with Easter coming up, I realised the techniques might not be much different from painting seasonal eggs. As I didn't have any wooden eggs to paint, and didn't want to waste real eggs for environmental reasons, I thought I'd give rock art a go. You can see my attempts in the picture at the top.

The kit contained four pebbles, tiny pots of paint, brushes, thin dowels or sticks and the booklet. The instructions gave a clear explanation of how to get those dot patterns. You use a stick to dob tiny spots of paint onto the surface. You also need a set of compasses to draw circles and arcs, and a ruler for straight lines.

My attempts weren't as neat as those in the book, but it was pretty easy to do and I quickly got better with practice. Apart from teaching the techniques and instructions for various patterns, I'd say you don't need the kit if you already have paint and paintbrushes. You can use flat pebbles you find in your own garden, if you have one, or buy them cheaply from craft shops. The wooden end of a paintbrush can be used to apply the blobs of colour if you don't have dowels, or you can paint things freehand of course.

The kit calls them mandala stones because they're loosely inspired by Hindu and Buddhist spiritual symbols used for meditation and to contemplate harmony in the world. I actually found the process of creating them was relaxing - the perfect antidote to a stressful week. They will go on my altar.

Previous related posts

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/04/craft-slow-stitch-scraps-and-scents-egg.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/magical-craft-my-2026-wheel-of-year.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/09/craft-autumnal-wheel-of-origami-leaves.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/04/april-mandala-blossom-and-shadows.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/upcycling-crafts-paper-flowers-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/08/mandalas-spiritual-circles.html

Witchcraft: Is it a Bad Omen if Your Spell Goes Wrong?

2026-04-02T08:00:00.035+01:00

I did a spell at the Spring Equinox. It involved planting a seed and setting an intention, with the idea that as the seed grew into a flower, so my wish would come true. Sadly, I have to report that the things I used didn't quite do what I wanted them to do. In fact my potting compost went mouldy and I had to throw the whole thing away. Does that indicate I'll never get whatever I wished for?

It's the kind of question I often get asked when I teach practical magic classes. If a spell candle goes out, a wax or clay effigy cracks, or indeed a seed fails to germinate or even goes mouldy, is it a bad omen? Will the spell backfire?

My answer is that it's far more likely to just mean that particular spell attempt didn't work. It won't backfire on you. You can try again. You can always try again. In fact, trying again is the best thing to do.

Most spell component failures are for boringly mundane reasons. In my case, I'm pretty sure I know what I did wrong. I improvised a propagator, upcycled from two clear plastic food pots. However, I later realised I hadn't cleaned the pots properly before reusing them. They were in a warm place and obviously moist inside, which is the perfect environment for things to go mouldy.

Of course I'm a bit annoyed this happened, but I'm not taking it as an omen of doom and catastrophe. Instead, I'm going to have another go with more seeds and cleaner pots. The lesson I'll take is not to rush things and to check my spell ingredients more carefully in future.

The picture at the top shows the ingredients for a seed-planting spell I did a few years ago, which worked perfectly. I thought I'd show you that rather than a photo of something mouldy. The reason is that you shouldn't overly dwell on mistakes or things that go wrong. Recognise any error, learn from it, and move forwards with the intention of doing better in future.

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-04-01T08:00:00.013+01:00

Now to 2 May (but closed for Easter from 1-8 April); 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/

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/

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 1 April; 7 Essential Plants for Enchantment. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 1 April; The Magical Fool. Talk by Julian Vayne via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 1 April (first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Wednesday 1 April (and other dates); Moonchild - A Libra Full Moon Gong Bath Journey in the Mansion. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Wednesday 1 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 1 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 1 April; The Making of Medusa: Why does she still haunt popular art and culture? with Dr. Natalie Lawrence. Hybrid event via By Seed Talks. In-person venue: The Blues Kitchen Brixton, 40 Acre Lane, London SW2 5SP. Time 7pm. Tickets £13.37/ £18.20. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/seed-talks-36463428713

Wednesday 1 April (usually on a Wednesday each month); Anna Milon on The Horned God of the Witches. Online talk via the Folklore Centre. Time: 7pm. Tickets £5. https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Wednesdays 1 April; An Evening of Psychic Mediumship with Nicoletta Stephens. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 7pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 1 April; Create a Successful Psychic Business. Start of 3-session course run by Aude Firmin, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 2 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 2 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 2 April; The Korean Art of Living Well. Online talk by Dr Jenelle Kim via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 2, 9 and 16 April; Soul-Loss Retrieval Ceremony with Pixie P Carney. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 2 April; Core Texts: Exploring Swedenborg’s Heaven and Hell. Venue: Swedenborg House, The Swedenborg Society, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 2TH. Time: 6pm. Tickets £5 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/8460713300?

Thursday 2 April; 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

Thursday 2 April (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

Thursday 2 April; Women's Full Moon Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £25.63. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Thursday 2 April; 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.

Thursday 2 April; 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, 2 April; The Reality of the Invisible. Talk by Dr Serge Kahili King 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 3 April (tbc but usually 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 3 April; Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn by Felix John Taylor. 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

Friday 3 April (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 4 April (and other dates); Reiki and Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls Healing. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 11am. Tickets £30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 4 April (and other dates); New Moon, Full Moon or Divine Union Cacao Ceremony, Heart Ritual and Gong Bath. Venue: Private Location near Wandsworth Town/Clapham Junction, London. Time: 3pm. Tickets: From £32.93 https://www.eventbrite.com/o/fouzia-javaid-7885666957

Saturday 4 April (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 5 April; Group Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: 30 Friern Watch Avenue, London N12 9NT. Time: from 10am to 5pm. From £53.80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

Sunday 5 April (and other dates); 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 5 April; Throat 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 5 April (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: £9.73. https://www.hildegardmaier.co.uk/luna-iter or https://www.facebook.com/groups/1230392930656154

Sunday 5 April; Mr. Punch’s journey from Napoli to somewhere-on-sea. Talk by John Rudlin 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 6 April; Greenwich Easter Lifting. Folklore event with Blackheath Morris group. Venue: Cutty Sark gardens, Greenwich, London SE10 9HT. Time: 11.45am. Tickets free but reserve a place. https://www.meetup.com/saturday-morning-folklore-club/

Monday 6 April; The Rowan Tree: Myth, Folklore, Art. Talk by Oliver Southall 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 6 April (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 7 April; Pir Zia Inayat Khan on Tears from the Mother of the Sun. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Tuesday 7 April; 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/

Tuesday 7 April; An Introduction to the Ancient Runes with Andreas Kornevall. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 7 April; 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 7 April; Macbeth: The Fairy Tale?. Talk by Tom Barnes via the Folklore Society online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-society-32190494089

Tuesday 7 April (tbc but usually 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 7 April; Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Talk by Mariska Beekenkamp 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 8 – Friday 17 April; The Art and Beauty of True Will BEAUTY of – Magical Robes and Sacred Implements of Thelema. An Exhibition of Handcrafted Artifacts by the Artistic Workshop LOGOS 373. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am – 6pm (closed Sunday) Free entry https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 1 April; Crowley's 'Book of The Law'. Start of 2-part workshop with Julian Vayne via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £50. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 8 April (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/

Wednesday 8 April; Wealth and Wicca Series: Protection, Banishing and Reversal. Venue: Crystal Wicca, West Wickham, BR4. Time: 7.15pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.facebook.com/TheCrystalWicca

Wednesday 8 April; Britain’s Black Hauntings and The Future . Talk byTré Ventour-Griffiths 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 9 April; HERMĒNEIA 2026 Esotericism in the Modern World: Bridging Scholarship

and Public Engagement. Venue: Swedenborg House, The Swedenborg Society, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 2TH. Time: 11am - 6pm. Tickets £100 https://www.marcovisconti.org/hermeneia?

Thursday 9 April; The Going Down by Duncan Barford. 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 9 April; Magick Without Tears Moot. Venue: Fitzroy Tavern, 16 Charlotte St., London W1T 2LY. Time 6pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwtpubmoot

Friday 10 April; 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 10 April; Game of Crones - performance. Venue: Stanley Hall; 12 South Norwood Hill, London, SE25 6AB. Time 7:30 pm till 9:15 pm. Tickets £17. https://stanleyarts.org/event/game-of-crones/?

Saturday 11 April; Moon Magic Workshop. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 2.30pm . Tickets £20. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Sunday 12 April; Malice Market. Venue: Chislehurst Caves, Imperial Place, Chislehurst, NW Kent. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 12 April; Labyrinth Walking 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.

Black Stars in Dim Carcosa: Necronomicon Field Notes

2026-03-31T08:00:00.461+01:00

Why does anyone attempt the rites of Necronomicon, the madness-inducing grimoire first mentioned in the horror fiction of HP Lovecraft?

It's a question I've often asked myself. I've heard a few people talk about it in the past, from chaos magician Steve Ash to occulture scholar Dr Justin Woodman. I've also previously read a few books by ceremonial magicians, including Kenneth Grant and Donald Tyson.

The answers I got ranged from the lure of forbidden knowledge to actually wanting to bring about the end of the world. The first I kind of get, the second seems a daft act of nihilistic rebellion.

Nevertheless, I have a fascination with the Cthulhu Mythos, as it's called. I love the stories and have myself written scenarios for Chaosium's roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu, under the name Lucya Szachnowski. But I was still wondering why people don't simply appreciate it as fiction? Why attempt to contact - or bring into being - powers described as utterly inimical to humanity?

I've just read a new book called Black Stars in Dim Carcosa - Necronomicon Field Notes which fully explains the various approaches to it, and the reasons, with clear guides on how to do it without going mad or ending the world. Here's a description from author Marco Visconti's website:

"Black Stars in Dim Carcosa is the definitive Necronomicon field notes, the bridge between the book’s messy legend and the step-by-step reality of practice. [It] opens with the strange, contested story of the Simon Necronomicon and the postmodern current it helped catalyse, a volatile braid of Mesopotamian sorcery and the literary mythos of H. P. Lovecraft."

As Black Stars in Dim Carcosa explains, the Simon Necronomicon was the first non-fiction book that claimed to be the tome Lovecraft described. It wasn't. Instead, it was written later and inspired by the fiction, overlaying that onto traditional Mesopotamian deities and planets. It offered an initiatory system of ceremonies to walk through seven "gates" on a spiritually transformative journey. It also offered ways to contact the Ancient Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos.

I'll admit I've never read the Simon Necronomicon so I was fascinated to read Marco Visconti's description of it, commentary on how it works in practice, and guidance to: "What changes when you practice it with discipline rather than curiosity?"

Marco adds: "The first half [of Black Stars in Dim Carcosa] offers a clear, operational reading of the Seven Gates and the logic that drives them, then moves into step-by-step gatewalking as a repeatable method."

He goes into similar analysis of the other, later, occult grimoires and types of working that have been inspired by the Mythos. These are primarily:

Kenneth Grant's Typhonian Trilogies and other material, which "wove together strands of Thelema, Tantric and Qabalistic mysticism.
Polish occultist Asenath Mason's book Necronomicon Gnosis: A Practical Introduction.
Karl Stone's The Moonchild of Yesod: A Grimoire of Occult Hyperchemistry.

I found Marco's book fascinating. I absolutely loved it! Black Stars in Dim Carcosa is well written and engaging. It clearly explains and describes the different approaches and where they fit in to postmodern occult theory. If you want to work with the forces of the Necronomicon, I thoroughly recommend Marco Visconti's book as a helpful and common-sense companion on the potentially dangerous path. It's also worth reading if, like me, you're just curious.

But what are the sensible reasons one might choose to work Necronomicon rituals?

Well, facing one's fears and active taboo-breaking are initiatory techniques in many spiritual and magical traditions. Many chaos magicians work with fictional entities, saying they can be as powerful as more traditional gods, goddesses, and demons because of the belief invested in them. But what if the Ancient Ones are real? Well, in that case, learning about them in a managed and controlled way is perhaps safer than sitting around waiting until the stars are right.

At the end, Black Stars in Dim Carcosa offers another approach to Mythos magick apart from gatewalking or invoking entities. It's a Lost Carcosa guided visualisation, shaped around Hastur and the King in Yellow, which is a ruined city and it's mysterious ruler originating in the fiction of Robert W. Chambers.

Marco writes that integration is the point of the work. "Dread is treated as a way of knowing, and tangential tantrums as usable data, those sideways eruptions that may signal real contact, real risk, and, sometimes, real initiation."

I'll probably not do any of these magical workings. However, Marco points out: "Grant and those inspired by him often treat art, whether writing, painting, music, or even performance, as a magical act and a channel for the Nameless forces."

Grant believed that Lovecraft had in fact been inspired by those forces, even though the horror author didn't know it. Perhaps that's true for me too. Perhaps my own writing, fiction and roleplaying scenarions (pictured), are magical workings of a kind. That's certainly something to think about.

You can view Black Stars in Dim Carcosa on Amazon as well as on Marco Visconti's website, which I linked to earlier.

Please note: I earn commission from some links

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/05/books-aleister-crowley-manual-thelemic.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/necronomicon-lecture.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/review-grimoires-history-of-magic-books.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/god-of-week-dagon.html

My Witchy Events: Divination, Books and Candles

2026-03-30T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here are details of the witchy events I'm involved with from now until the end of May. There are workshops on scrying, candle magic. I'll also be giving a free talk at the Beckenham Library Wednesday Waffle.

April

Candle Magic Workshop In-Person at Treadwell's

On Saturday 11 April I'm running an in-person workshop on candle magic at Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time:1pm Cost: £25 per person. Visit https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

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

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.

Rounding the Year: Damson Blossom & Green Buds

2026-03-27T08:00:00.010+00:00

Spring is marching on! Yes, that's a deliberate pun, as we're nearly at the end of the month of that name. I took this photo of my damson tree in blossom with the first few tiny green leaves just starting to show. A few days ago it was full of white flowers and not a leaf to be seen. The tree in the background is still bare.

I love this time of year, although sometimes I feel it rushes on just a little too fast. Earlier this month I photographed my garden's first camellia bloom this year. More flourished, and fell. The forsythia is now turning from yellow to green. But spring and the blossom season aren't over yet.

Share your Pictures

Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:

Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear

Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year

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

Pagan Eye: Gods from Hawaiʻi at the British Museum

2026-03-26T08:00:00.049+00:00

I took this photo of feathered gods at the Hawaiʻi exhibition at the British Museum. The label by the display reads:

"Akua hulu manu (feathered gods) are sacred vessels made to house specific gods. They were made by skilled makers and cared for by kahu (guardians) through ritual practices. Placed in the service of their ali'i (chiefs) they could be housed in sacred sites or carried into battle."

Apparently the three in the picture were gifted to British naval officers by a high chief in 1798. Today the British Museum and members of the Hawaiian community in London share the stewardship of these important ancestral manifestations.

These are only a few of the deity effigies on display at the Hawaiʻi - a Kingdom Crossing Oceans, which runs until 25 May. The British Museum is at Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Adult tickets are £18, but members get in for free. Find out more here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Pagan Eye Posts

Previous Related Links

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/05/british-museum-exhibits-ancient-india.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-woodland-witch-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/pagan-eye-roman-dragon-standard-at.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

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

2026-03-25T08:00:00.016+00:00

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 - 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 - 27 March; Sean Jefferson 'Fairy Phenomena' art exhibition. Venue: David Messum Fine Art. St. James's, London. Free entry. https://www.messums.com/exhibitions/view/972

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

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 25 March (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 25 March; Book Launch: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - Magic Arts and the Occult Revival by Felix John Taylor. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm. Free entry but reserve a place and a copy of the book https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 25 March (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 25 March; The Wandering Womb, talk by Bibi's Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 7pm. Tickets £8.30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Wednesday 25 March (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 25 March; Sacred Gong Meditation with Joe Summerfield. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 7pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 25 March (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 26 March (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 26 March (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 26 March; Posture Power by Eleanor Dalton. 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 26 March; 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 26 March. 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 26 March; An Introduction to Crystals. Online workkshop by Gemma Petherbridge, via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 26 March; Toby Litt: On Swedenborg, Skateboarding and Sunlight. Talk via the Swedenborg Society. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/8460713300?

Thursday 26 March; Talk and Soirée on the Horned Goddesses in History, with Dr Anna Milon Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 26 March; Awakening the Volva. Start of 4-Part Course with Katie Gerrard and Andre Henrique via Treadwells Online, with optional extra in-person rite in London. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £80/£90. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 26 March; Wild Women Writers Salon 22 - Where the Wild Things Grow: tending the wild within and around us. Live online, BSL supported. Recording available. Time 7–8.30 pm. Tickets: Pay what you can. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-women-writers-salon-22-where-the-wild-things-grow-bsl-supported-tickets-1984287994808?

Thursday 26 March (and other dates); 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 26 March (last Thursday every month); Spring Energy. Talk 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 26 March; Death and Rebirth in Ancient Egypt. Talk by Dr Chris Naunton 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 27 March (usually 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 27 March; Michele Knight-Waite - The Power Of You. Hybrid event. In-person venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. Doors open: 6.30pm. Tickets from £40. https://www.mindbodyspirit.co.uk/whats-on/michele-knight-waite-the-power-of-you

Friday 27 March (4th Friday of the month); The Wild Wood Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 27 March; Parzival and the future. Online talk via Rudolf Steiner House. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Friday 27 March; An Interactive Evening of Hand Reading with Robin Lown. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 27 March (and other dates); 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

Friday 27 March; Michele Knight-Waite - The Power of You, organised by By Mind Body Spirit. Hybrid event. In-person venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Street, London WC1R 4RL. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: from £43.64. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/6186126875?_

Friday 27 March; The Aust Goddess. Online talk by Join Nicola Haasz via the Sabrina River Folk Podcast. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-aust-goddess-tickets-1983682111595?

Saturday 28 March; Witchfest Market. Venue: Cheese and Grain, Frome, BA11. Time: 9am - 3pm.

Free entry. https://veiledmarket.com/?

Saturday, 28 March; Leaping Hare convention 2026. Market, workshops, performances and ritual. Venue: Highwoods Community Centre, Colchester, Essex. Starts 9.30am. Tickets £8 on the door. https://www.facebook.com/events/2555872171416568?

Saturday 28 March - 1 November; Exhibition: The Saxons. Opening day has talks, storytelling, crafts and other live events. 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

Saturday 28 March; Goddesses Athena Workshop led by Caroline Wise and Carrie Kirkpatrick. Venue: Highgate, North London. Time: 11am - 6.30 pm. Price: £80. https://www.goddessenchantment.com/

Saturday 28 March; The Dark Mother – Reflections on Darkness and Light. A one-day workshop with Rev. Maggy Whitehouse. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am. Tickets £50. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Saturday 28 March; Mary Magdalene: The Sacred Feminine workshop with Mel Collins. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 28 March; Authentic Andean Shamanism workshop with Dr Ruben Orellana and Michele Costa-Lukis. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 28 March (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

Saturday 28 March; The WhimsyGoth Market. Venue: Cecil Sharp House, Camden Town, 2 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 7AY. Time: 11.30am. https://www.facebook.com/events/4155416168046575?

Saturday 28 March; The Warrior of Love Tarot by Luna Marie. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: noon. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Saturday 28 March; An Afternoon with the Goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: noon. Tickets £55. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 28 March; Whose Voice? Inner Guidance Decoded. Online workkshop by Sarah Tyler-Walters, via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 28 March; Connecting the Trees - a Call to Arms open ritual. Venue: Highgate Woods, North London. Time: 1.30pm. Free event. https://www.facebook.com/events/1414912593062386/?

Saturday 28 March; Goddess of the Moon – March 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

Sunday 29 March; The Andean Mesa: A Tool for Healing workshop with Dr Ruben Orellana and Michele Costa-Lukis. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 29 March; Spring Equinox Foraging and Medicine Walk. Venue: South Norwood Country Park, 193 Albert Road, London SE25 4NE. Time: 11am. Tickets up to £35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/45005286073?

Sunday 29 March (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: noon. 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

Sunday 29 March; Women's Mindful Stroll and 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 29 March; 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://allevents.in/london/london-heathen-kindred-seasonal-bl%C3%93t-ceremony-29-3-26-tickets/80009222581317

Sunday 29 March; Earth and Magick: A Gathering to Reconnect with Your Intuition By Daniela Londono. Venue: Hackney Marshes - Closes bus station Lee Valley Riding Centre, London E10 7QS. Start time: 2pm Tickets £14.79. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/113245742731?

Sunday 29 March; The Star, The Moon and The Sun in Tarot. Online workkshop by Amanda Watson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 29 March; Isis Blessing of the Fleet Ritual with Mani of London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Venue: Terrace Gardens, Richmond Riverside, 116 Petersham Road, Richmond, TW10 6UU, Time: 3pm. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/PaganFrontiersOfLondon. Tickets free- £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Sunday 29 March; Wanderer of the Wastes: Aleister Crowley. Talk by Andrew Wiseman 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 30 March; The Aspects and Chart Interpretation Basics. Free online talk via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 5pm. Tickets free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 30 March; An Inquiry into Dragons Old and New. Talk by Professor Thomas Honegger 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

Monday 30 March; Finding Albion – Myth, Folklore, and the Quest for a Hidden Britain. Zakia Sewell in Conversation with Jeremy Deller. Venue: The Conduit, 6 Langley Street. London WC2H 9JA . Time: 6.15 pm - 7.30 pm. Ticket £37 https://howtoacademy.com/events/finding-albion-myth-folklore-and-the-quest-for-a-hidden-britain/?

Monday 30 March; Sacred Rose Lore. Start of 4-week online workshop by Bibi's Circle. Time: 7pm. Tickets £80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Monday 30 March (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 30 March; The Mysteries of Easter Island. Talk by James Grant 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 31 March (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 31 March; The History of Mermaids, Sea Spirits and Women. Hybrid talk via By Seed Talks. In-person venue: Arches London Bridge, 8 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 2ER. Time 7pm . Tickets from £13.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/seed-talks-36463428713

Tuesday 31 March. Dr Kate Cherrell on Celebrity Seances. Talk 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/

Wednesday 1 April (usually on a Wednesday each month); Anna Milon on The Horned God of the Witches. Online talk via the Folklore Centre. Time: 7pm. Tickets £5. https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Wednesday 1 April; The Magical Fool. Talk by Julian Vayne via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 1 April (first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Wednesdays 1 April; Create a Successful Psychic Business. Start of 3-session course run by Aude Firmin, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 2 April; The Korean Art of Living Well. Online talk by Dr Jenelle Kim via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 2, 9 and 16 April; Soul-Loss Retrieval Ceremony with Pixie P Carney. Online via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 2 April (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

Thursday 2 April; Women's Full Moon Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, 5a Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £25.63. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Thursday 2 April; 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

Thursday 2 April; Full Moon Ritual by the Thames with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Millennium Bridge, Thames Embankment, · London. Time: 7pm. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Saturday 4 April (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 5 April; Group Constellation Workshop by Avideya. Venue: 30 Friern Watch Avenue, London N12 9NT. Time: from 10am to 5pm. From £53.80. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/avideya-30020254011

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Planting Magical Seeds at the College of Psychic Studies

2026-03-24T08:00:00.160+00:00

This is the perfect time of year to plant seeds as part of a spell to set intentions and manifest wishes. I did this at home with basil seeds a couple of years ago, but the photo shows an altar at the College of Psychic Studies at the Spring Equinox on Friday this year. Members were invited to plant nasturtium seeds.

Many modern witches consider nasturtiums as symbolising loyalty, victory or success in general, although older books on the language of flowers say they represent patriotism and conquest. Whatever they mean, nasturtiums are brightly coloured flowers that grow easily and are also edible.

At the college, everything was set out for us on an altar that also had dark and light crystals representing the balance of light and dark. If you're doing this at home, the altar is optional, but here are the essentials you'll need:

Compost or clean soil.
A seed of your choice.
A small pot - you could upcycle an old yogurt pot.
A spoon or small gardening trowel.
Water.

Here's a precis of the instructions you can see printed on the paper in the bottom left of the photo:

Clear your mind and centre your thoughts by sitting still and being present in your space.
Write an intention on a small slip of paper, fold it and put it in the bottom of your pot.
Half fill your pot with compost or soil.
Place a seed in the centre, then put a layer of soil or compost on top.
Put your hand over it and ask the earth to support you in your intentions.
Water the seed, pot then place the pot on a sunny windowsill.
Visualise your seed growing and your hopes manifesting

Watch your plant pot daily and keep the soil moist. I put mine into an improvised propagator, upcycled from two clear plastic food pots. One went underneath the plant pot, the other went on top. If you don't have a propagator then you will have to water your seed more frequently.

When my nasturtium has grown into a good sized seedling I will replant it in my garden.

Happy Birthday to 3 Magical London Locations

2026-03-23T08:00:00.117+00:00

Three of London's best-loved magical venues celebrated birthdays over the Spring Equinox. Pictured on this post is the oldest of them: The Atlantis Bookshop. The esoteric bookshop and hub for occult gatherings has been at 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, for 104 years. Proprietors Geraldine and Bali invited customers old and new into the shop on Saturday to enjoy a glass of bubbly and cake.

The College of Psychic Studies is 100 years old. On Friday, the venerable seat of learning about all things psychic had a special evening at its beautiful venue at 16 Queensberry Place, South Kensington. I went along and enjoyed a glass of wine or two and a chance to chat with staff and members. Everyone who attended was invited to do a little springtime spellwork by planting a seed and making a wish. I'll be blogging more about that tomorrow.

Wicca Moon, the lovely witchy shop in Eltham, had a 21st birthday tea party on Friday afternoon. Sadly I wasn't able to get along for that as I was busy working then.

I wish all three magical venues very happy solar returns, and hope they will be celebrating more years of success in future.

Flower Folklore: Heather for Luck and Sweet Dreams

2026-03-20T08:00:00.001+00:00

White heather is one of the plants most associated with luck. It's a bit of folklore that pretty much everyone knows, although Queen Victoria gets the honour for popularising the belief beyond Scotland.

Wearing a sprig is supposed to bring you good fortune, while having some in the home will protect it from all sorts of problems, from fire to fairies. Brides can include a sprig in their bouquet as a symbol of purity, constancy and fertility. Heather pillows are said to help bring sleep and sweet dreams.

Heather is more associated with late summer than with the time of the Spring Equinox, but there are winter and early spring varieties. That's the kind that grows in my garden. There's so much at the moment that I had to prune it back from the path when I did weeding the other day. I brought the cuttings in to put in the vase you can see in the photo.

It might not be the usual thing to put on a Spring Equinox altar, but I believe in witchcraft we should go with what nature is providing rather than purely stick to what's stated in text books. That vase is going on my altar.

One of the great things about heather and it's use as a good luck charm or protective amulet is that it dries really well. You can continue to wear it or have it on show it for a long time after you pick it, but please don't gather more than you need. Another thing about white heather is that it's rarer than the usual pink or purple type.

All wildflowers, especially the rarer ones, are best left for wildlife to enjoy if possible. Winter heather is an extremely valuable source of food for insects in the early months of the year.

Rachel Patterson in her book A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Herbs writes that it can be used in incense blends to cleanse space. I'd suggest letting it dry, then grinding it up before adding it to mixtures. She adds that apparently the incense can also be burnt while doing spells to bring rain.

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/rounding-year-camellias-another-spring.html

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/iris-bad-witchs-goddess-of-week.html

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/green-london-flowers-on-street-where-i.html

Pagan Eye: Woodland Witch from a Witch/Craft Exhibition

2026-03-19T08:00:00.005+00:00

Here's one of Sara Hannant's captivating photos of a woodland witch. It's part of a new exhibition called Witch/Craft that's on at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery in Hampshire. It brings together two bodies of work exploring changing attitudes to witches and witchcraft from the 16th century to the present.

Anne Jackson’s knotted tapestries draw on trial records, historic imagery and symbolism to reflect on persecution and prejudice and to tell the stories of the last women to be hanged for witchcraft in England.

Sara Hannant presents photographic portraits created collaboratively with contemporary magical practitioners in the New Forest and London. Her images explore the ways in which they define their identity and express their beliefs. A further photographic series presents her personal interpretation the Wiccan Wheel of the Year.

A link between the two artist's work is archaeologist, anthropologist and folklorist Margaret Murray who argued that records from historic witch trials revealed a remnant pre-Christian Pagan religion. Although her ideas have since been largely rejected, they were an important influence on Gerald Gardner who established Wicca, a form of modern Pagan Witchcraft.

Witch/Craft runs from 21 March to 16 May at St Barbe Museum, New Street, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9BH. The museum is open Monday – Saturday, 10am-4pm. Adult tickets are £6. You c an find out more here: www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/witch-craft/

Pagan Eye Posts

The photograph at the top is copyright Sara Hannant

Previous Related Links

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/10/art-ronald-hutton-and-sara-hannant-on.html

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/09/art-unsettling-landscapes-exhibition-of.html

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/04/event-numinous-clouties-transformed-in.html

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/10/review-of-shadows-museum-of-witchcraft.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/pagan-eye-me-at-beckenham-library-book.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/pagan-eye-birth-belief-protection.html

Magical Online & London Events over the Equinox

2026-03-18T08:00:00.029+00:00

The astronomical equinox is on 20 March in 2026. The day and night will be equal and it is a celebration of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. There are magical events taking place from now onwards, and here's a list of online and in-person things to do. I generally list events in the UK, especially in or near London because that's where I live, but some are a bit further afield. With online events I have bolded the text to highlight that.

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 - 27 March; Sean Jefferson 'Fairy Phenomena' art exhibition. Venue: David Messum Fine Art. St. James's, London. Free entry. https://www.messums.com/exhibitions/view/972

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

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Now - 22 March; The History of Witchcraft. 7-module on demand online course. By Seed Talks. Time on demand. Tickets £59.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/seed-talks-36463428713

Wednesday 18 March (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 18 March; Discover Your Flower Spirit Guide. Start of 2-session course run by Rachel S Roberts, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 18 March; Renew Your Energy at Spring Equinox., Workshop with Alla Svirinskaya. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 7pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 18 March; 7 Essential Trees for Magic. Class with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 18 March (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 18 March (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 18 March; 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 18 March (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

Wednesday 18 March; Tarot Magic. Start of 2-session course run by Julian Vayne, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 18 March; UFOs, Telepathic Cats and a Fake Tibetan Guru Talk online with Ray Russell on Zoom 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 19 March (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 19 March (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 19 March; Author talk 'Blake in Mayfair,' by Steve Micallef. Venue: Mayfair Library, 25 South Audley Street, London W1K 2PB. Time: 6pm. Tickets by donation. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/author-talk-blake-in-mayfair-by-steve-micallef-at-mayfair-library-tickets-1984566423596?

Thursday 19 March; Quantum Intuition and the Akashic Field. Start of 2-session course run by Kim Chestneye, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 19 March; 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 19 March; New Moon Serenity Sound Bath. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £20. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Thursday 19 March; Witch Choir with Nicole Bettencourt Coelho 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.

Thursday 19 March; Jung's Red Book Class with Stuart Lee and Rebecca Neale via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 19 March; New Moon Women's Circle - Spring Renewal. Venue: East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-50 Darrell Road, London SE22 9NL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £16.96. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Thursday 19 March; PF London Spring Equinox Open Ritual via Pagan Federation London. Venue: Pirate Castle, Gilbey's Wharf Oval Road NW1 7EA London, UK Time: 7.15pm. Entry £8 for PF members, £10 for non-members (cash only). https://www.facebook.com/PaganFederationLondon

Thursday 19 March; Sister Sharing Circle by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £14.79. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Friday 20 March (usually every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 20 March; Morning Sister Sharing Circle and Chakra Clearing by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 10.30am. Tickets: £8.30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Friday 20 March; Witches’ Tea Party 21st Birthday Celebration. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: noon - 5pm . Free event, just turn up. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Friday 20 March (usually 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 20 March; Kilburn Spring Equinox Fest. Venue: 8 Fairhazel Gardens, London NW6 3SG. Time: 3pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kilburn-spring-equinox-fest-tickets-1982892284200?

Friday 20 March; Members Night: Celebrating 100 Years. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 6pm. Tickets free, but members only. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 20 March; Heartspaces - Ostara Pagan Ceremony. Venue: Essex Hall, Essex Street, London. Time: 6.30pm. Free. WC2R 3HY. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/121061473538?

Friday 20 March; The London Launch of The Honest Forger, about Iolo Morganwg Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm Tickets free, but reserve a place. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Friday 20 March; Ostara Pagan Ceremony Online via Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Friday 20 March; 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 21 March; Great Goddess Gathering - Celebrating Spring Equinox, Full Day Retreat. Venue: Laughing Waters, Las Palmas, Shepperton TW17 9HU. Time: 10am. Tickets £119.66 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/120672748377?

Saturday 21 March – 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/?

Saturday 21 March; The Atlantis Bookshop Birthday celebrations. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 10.30am - 6pm . Free, pop in and enjoy a cup of tea and cake. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Saturday 21 March; Wild Witchcraft Conference 2026. Venue: Merchistoun Hall, 106 Portsmouth Road, Horndean, PO8 9LJ Time: 10.30am – 5pm. Tickets £25. https://witchfest.net/events/sponsored/wild-witchcraft-conference/

Saturday 21 March; Reading Tea Leaves and Coffee Grounds. Workshop with Kylie Holmes. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 March; Dowsing for Energetic Health. Workshop with Vicky Sweetlove. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 March; Hearing Spirit: Clairaudience. Workshop with Hernan Cotroneo, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 11am. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 March; Spring Equinox at Coldrum Stones with Kent Gorsed. Venue: Coldrum Long Barrow, West Maling, Kent. Time: noon. Free. https://www.facebook.com/kentgorsedd/

Saturday 21 March; Sisters Gathering to Celebrate the Spring Equinox. Event organised by Aho. Venue: Berkeley farm, a few miles outside London. Time noon-6pm Tickets: free. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 21 March; Sacred Sweat Lodge for Spring Equinox. Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain Kent. Run by Lynn Gosney. Time: noon Tickets £30, email lynn.gosney@hotmail.com for info and to book. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain/

Saturday 21 March (tbc but usually on the Saturday closest to the festival); Spring Equinox 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 21 March; Protection Magic Workshop. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: noon - 2pm . Tickets £20. https://www.wiccamooninherservice.co.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 21 March; Spring Equinox / Ostara celebration with Gail Hart. Venue: Flopsy Wood, Cock Lane, Hoddesdon, EN11 8NS. Time 1pm. Tickets by donation. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-equinox-ostara-celebration-with-gail-hart-tickets-1980826731075?

Saturday 21 March; Spring Equinox Picnic with South East London Pagans. Venue: Greenwich Park, South London. Time: 1pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Saturday 21 March; Spring Equinox Ritual Gathering with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at the entrance to Queen's Woods, Queen's wood Road, London N6 5UU, to be led to the ritual spot. Bring a torch and wear suitable clothing and footwear. Time: 2pm. Tickets: up to £8.30 . More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Saturday 21 March; New beginnings: Spring Equinox vision boarding by SoLo Craft Fair. Venue:

SoLo Craft Fair Leadenhall, 43-45 Leadenhall Market, London EC3V 1LT. Time: 3.30pm. Tickets £7.21. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-beginnings-spring-equinox-vision-boarding-tickets-1984291551446?

Saturday 21 March; HART Shoreditch – Spring Equinox Ceremony, via Curio Collection. Venue: Hilton, 61 - 67 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU. Time: 4pm. Tickets £40. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/121074557489?

Saturday 21 March; Learn to Draw Spirit Portraits. Start of 2-session class with June-Elleni Laine, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 4.30pm. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 March; Soul Sanctuary: Spring Equinox. Venue: Belvoir Road, London SE22 0QY. Time: 5pm. Tickets From £16.96. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/83306631773?

Saturday 21 March; Spring Equinox Shamanic Ceremony with Beáta Alföldi, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £25. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 March; Spring Vernal Equinox Yin Yoga, Ceremonial Tea and Sound Ceremony

By Little Pause Retreats. Venue: Light Centre Monument, London. Time: 7:30 pm. Tickets: £38.62. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/79056316383?

Saturday 21 March; Invasion of the Saucer Men. Online talk via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Sunday 22 March; Meet the Spirit of the Rose with Anji Main. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 11am. Tickets £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 22 March (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 22 March; 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 22 March; The Darker Aspects of a Tarot Reading. Workshop with Avril Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 11am. Tickets: £120. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 22 March; Canterbury Mystical Market. Venue: Westgate Hall, Canterbury, Kent. Starts 11am. https://www.facebook.com/events/1989091408579950?

Sunday 22 March; 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 22 March; CrossBones Day of Dance 2026. Venue: Crossbones Graveyard, Union St, London SE1 1TA. Time: 1-5pm. Free but donations to charity BOST are welcome.

https://crossbones.org.uk/

Sunday 22 March (on the closest Sunday to the festival); Druidic Ritual to celebrate the equinox 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 22 March; Paradise Nature Club: Spring Equinox Social for all ages by the Paradise Co-operative. Venue: The Paradise Cooperative, Heathfield Road, London SW18 3HT. Time: 1.30pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/paradise-nature-club-spring-equinox-social-tickets-1984069314730?

Sunday 22 March (tbc but usually on the closest Sunday to the festival); Anderida Gorsedd Equinox 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 22 March; Storytelling Sunday: Spooky by London Dreamtime. Venue: Love Shack 299 Cambridge Heath Road #Arch 298 London E2 9HA. Time: 2pm. Tickets £6.66 https://londondreamtime.com/calendar/

Sunday 22 March; Temple of the Silver Star will be hosting a Vernal Equinox Ritual of Tiphareth. Venue in Central London. Time: 2.30pm. For tickets and details email anahata@ottss.org or visit www.totss.org

Sunday 22 March; Wheel of the Year: Spring Equinox/Ostara 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 22 March; Spring Equinox women’s circle. Venue: move studio London, Dane Place, London E3 5EJ. Time: 7pm. Tickets £31.05. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spring-equinox-womens-circle-tickets-1981478040158?

Sunday 22 March; The History of Witchcraft and Women with Prof Diane Purkiss. Online event via By Seed Talks. Time 9pm. Tickets $19 - $35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/seed-talks-36463428713

Monday 23 March; Meditative Art and Visualisation: Nature. Online via Rest Less Events. Time: 10am. Tickets £3.99 per class. https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/

Monday 23 March; The Lunar Nodes. Free online talk via the Astrological Lodge of London. Starts 5pm. Tickets free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 23 March; Dark Irish Fairy Tales with Viktor Wynd. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets from £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Monday 23 March; 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

Monday 23 March (4th Monday each month); Patricia MacCormack on Chaos Beyond Chaos: Queer Chaos and the Infinite World .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?

Monday 23 March; The Scottish Highlands: Epic Mode. Talk by Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart 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 23 March (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 24 and 25 March; The Private and Public Medium. 2-day course run by Jeremy Turner-Welch. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Times 10am. Tickets: £265. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 24 March (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 24 March (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 24 March; Beginner's Tarot (Minor Cards). Start of 4-Part Course with Adrien Mastrosimone via Treadwell's online. Time: 7pm. Delayed viewing available. Tickets: £150. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 24 March; Early findings from The National Folklore Survey for England. Talk via the Folklore Society online. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-society-32190494089

Tuesday 24 March; Breathe into Light. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £40. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday 24 March; Can Photography Capture the Soul? Online talk by Tia Price, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 24 March; The Astrology of Life and Death. Start of 8-session course run by Sue Brayne, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £255. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 24 March; The Brompton Time Machine. Talk by Stephen Coates 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 25 March (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 25 March; The Wandering Womb, talk by Bibi;'s Circle. Venue: Rons Coffee House, Holdrons Arcade 135a, Rye Lane London SE15 4ST. Time: 7pm. Tickets £8.30. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Wednesday 25 March (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 26 March; Posture Power by Eleanor Dalton. 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 26 March. 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 26 March; An Introduction to Crystals. Online workkshop by Gemma Petherbridge, via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 26 March; Toby Litt: On Swedenborg, Skateboarding and Sunlight. Talk via the Swedenborg Society. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: 7 pm to 8:30 pm. Tickets free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/8460713300?

Thursday 26 March (tbc but usually last Thursday every month); Talk 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

Friday 27 March; Michele Knight-Waite - The Power Of You. Hybrid event. In-person venue:

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. Doors open: 6.30pm. Tickets from £40. https://www.mindbodyspirit.co.uk/whats-on/michele-knight-waite-the-power-of-you

Friday 27 March (4th Friday of the month); The Wild Wood Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 27 March; Parzival and the future. Online talk via Rudolf Steiner House. Time: 7pm. Tickets free https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiner-spiritual-science/events/

Friday 27 March (and other dates); 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

Saturday 28 March; Witchfest Market. Venue: Cheese and Grain, Frome, BA11. Time: 9am - 3pm.

Free entry. https://veiledmarket.com/?

Saturday 28 March; Goddesses Athena Workshop led by Caroline Wise and Carrie Kirkpatrick. Venue: Highgate, North London. Time: 11am - 6.30 pm. Price: £80. https://www.goddessenchantment.com/

Saturday 28 March; Connecting the Trees - a Call to Arms open ritual. Venue: Highgate Woods, North London. Time: 1.30pm. Free event. https://www.facebook.com/events/1414912593062386/?

Sunday 29 March; Spring Equinox Foraging and Medicine Walk. Venue: South Norwood Country Park

193 Albert Road, London SE25 4NE. Time: 11am Tickets up to £35. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/45005286073?

Sunday 29 March; The Star, The Moon and The Sun in Tarot. Online workkshop by Amanda Watson, via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 29 March; Wanderer of the Wastes: Aleister Crowley. Talk by Andrew Wiseman 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

For activities after these dates please visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of events other than my own talks and workshops. 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 some links.

Flower Folklore: Hyacinths and a Tragic Love Story

2026-03-17T08:00:00.060+00:00

Hyacinths always bloom in my garden just after the first daffodils and before the bluebells come out. I took this photo yesterday and was reminded of the tragic love story associated with this beautiful flower.

In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus, prince of Sparta, was Apollo's boyfriend. They were devoted to each other and spent all their time together, sharing enjoyment of music, divination, and sports - all things Apollo excelled at, of course. It was the latter that caused the tragedy.

Hyacinthus went to catch a discus Apollo had thrown in a friendly contest, but it bounced up and killed the mortal. Apollo was devastated as his lover died in his arm. He tried everything to restore him to life, but all he could do was create a beautiful flower from Hyacinthus' blood.

However, I should probably also say that the flower we currently call hyacinth is probably different from the one mentioned in the mythological story, as that was purple and described as having a symbol of sorrow on the petals. It might instead have been larkspur, delphinium or even a type of gladiolus.

Magical uses include love spells and anything to do with LGBTQ+ relationship, as well as for help overcoming grief and loss. In aromatherapy, hyacinth oil is sometimes used to help with stress, depression and tiredness. It can also aid deep sleep.

Warning: Don't eat any of the plant as it is toxic.

Some other spring flowers are also associated with tragedy in mythological tales, including daffodils, which I wrote about last month.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/rounding-year-camellias-another-spring.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/iris-bad-witchs-goddess-of-week.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/upcycling-crafts-paper-flowers-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/green-london-flowers-on-street-where-i.html

Revealing the Cover of My Next Book: Dowsing

2026-03-16T08:00:00.010+00:00

Here's a first glimpse of my next book cover in the Pagan Portals series, published by Moon Books.

It's called Dowsing: A Witch’s Guide to Divining with Pendulums and Rods. This is the description in the catalogue:

"In Pagan Portals - Dowsing Lucya Starza teaches the basics of using pendulums, rods, and the tingles in your fingers to find what you are looking for, whether that falls within the elemental categories of earth, air, fire, and water, or the boundless remit of the realm of spirit."

The book is due to reach shops early in 2027 and I'll let you know when it can be pre-ordered. I'll also be teaching some workshops on dowsing, including one at the Greenoaks Gathering this June.

More About My Books

I'm Lucya Starza. My earlier books in the Pagan Portals series are on Candle Magic, Guided Visualisations, Poppets and Magical Dolls, Scrying, and Rounding the Wheel of the Year. They are published by Moon Books, as is my Gothic novel Erosion.

If you want to buy copies of those titles, you can do so 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.)

March Customs: Braggot Sunday - Time for Honey Beer

2026-03-13T08:00:00.003+00:00

Everyone in England knows this Sunday is our Mother's Day - a different date from that celebrated in the US. You might not know it's also Braggot Sunday, a traditional time to partake in one of the oldest alcoholic beverages: braggot. I learnt this snippet of folklore from Steve Roud's book The English Year, a month-by-month guide to customs and festivals.

Braggot is fermented honey and ale, which is apparently similar to mead or metheglin, but with a more beery taste. I'd love to give it a try. A bit of web searching showed that Colchester Brewery still produces it, sold as a type of honey beer. I've posted a picture of the label, which I found on the brewery website. You can find the link here. A bit of research also revealed that braggot is still often drunk in Wales.

Steve Roud mentioned that Braggot Sunday always falls on the same day as Mothering Sunday, in mid Lent. The drink is mentioned in Chaucer's The Miller's Tale: "Her mouth was swete as bragot or the meeth."

So, if you aren't visiting your mum this weekend, or you need a drink after you've got home, you could treat yourself to a glass of braggot if you can get hold of it. I think any honey beer, or mead, would do at a pinch.

You can find out more about seasonal customs and crafts in my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/january-folklore-distaff-day-when-women.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/customs-galentines-day-and-tarot.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/folklore-shrove-tuesday-pancake-day.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/pagan-eye-horse-brasses-in-south-london.html