This would be a good night to wreath yourself with candles and lights, as it is Saint Lucia’s Day. Celebrated on 13th December in honour of a 3rd-century martyr who took food and aid to the persecuted as they hid in the catacombs, she wore a lighted headdress to leave her hands free to carry…
Category: recipe
Lock Love Away or Keep a Secret
If you keep your eyes peeled, you can find examples of everyday transcendence from our physical reality on a street corner, down an alleyway, or through a door left open which has previously to now, always been found closed. Â By instinct we are drawn to examples of sympathetic magic, where objects found or created form…
“Don’t be a sheep” this Elder Moon – Making an Elderflower Old-Fashioned
I used to say that he’d outlive us all. My father-in-law was a ballsy guy. He knew just what to say to break down barriers, and make friends of enemies. And his humour could reach anyone. He lied about his age so that the army would let him fight in Korea. But it didn’t take…
Black Magic, or Supper at the Crossroads
November 16th is the Night of Hecate, which begins at sunset. Her ability to see into the Underworld, or the “Otherwhere” of the sleeping and the dead makes her sympathetic to those who would generally be shunned out of fear and misunderstanding.  Other gods or goddesses might not feel at home roaming city streets at…
The SĂ©ance
The word “sĂ©ance” has come to be most associated with a group of people gathering and sitting to attempt to contact spirits, either loved ones who have passed away, or other entities who roam the alternative planes of reality. These entities are generally held to comprise of remnants of the ancient gods and pagan spirits….
Out Of Your Skull
Won’t somebody think of the worms? Time was, a worm in a bottle of tequila was all the rage, everybody loved the tequila worms. They proved it was all natural and made of agave plant, not something brewed up in a lab. Some said they were aphrodisiacs. Some said they were hallucinogenic. Agave farms needed…
Beer – here? A Lagerita for Oktoberfest
Although we generally lean towards arcane cocktails of subtle and complex composition on this site, we admit that there is a time and place for beer. Â The ideal time and place is Oktoberfest in Germany. Beginning as a celebration for the wedding of Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1810, this has grown into a worldwide…
The Time of the Singing Moon
Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel – Mabon is here again, a time when light and dark balance before the winter draws in. The late harvest festival, it coincides with the Chinese Moon festival or the Time of the Singing Moon.  To celebrate Mabon at home, you should gather…
Fomenting Friendship With Fermentation
Cue ominous music In the heart of Hackney…..a storm is brewing……..a storm with a heart of fire…. Or rather, a Dark’n’Stormy is brewing….. OK, I’ll just come out with it – I am brewing my own ginger beer. As a long time ginger fan, I can hardly believe it’s taken me this long to get…
The Last Frozé of Summer
Open all three of your eyes. Face south between 8.30pm and 9pm on a clear night this weekend. You’ll see a celestial triangle of three bright stars – Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila – also known as The Summer Triangle. starry starry night  As the end of summer approaches, this trio culminate and reach their…
The New City Witches Cocktail Coven 