The first cross-quarter day following Midwinter this day falls on the first of February, and marks the first stirrings of Spring. It is a time for self-reflection and purification in anticipation of the new season. This is the festival of Imbolc. And it’s your time to be a Pearly King or Queen.
Feed your trees with toast and cider
It’s a Saturday night, and I expect many people are going out to dinner, maybe taking in a club or attending a party where the clink of glasses, muted lighting and soft music creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Suckers! WE have driven 2 hours out of London to attend a Wassail ceremony in the…
Adventures in Strega, Italian Witch Liqueur
Liquore Strega is a saffron-hued herbal liqueur from Benevento, Campania, Italy. Â “Strega” is Italian for witch, drawing on legends of witchcraft in Benevento that go back to truly olden times. Â Benevento was a hotspot for a cult of Isis, a temple for which was also devoted to Hecate and Diana, all representing goddess moon aspects….
“It’s in the leaves! It’s coming!” or “The Magic Cup”
Like many of the mystically-minded amongst us, from the very first time I found a Fortune Teller Miracle Fish in a Christmas cracker and laid it, pregnant with possibilities, in the palm of my hand to see if I was Jealous, Indifference, In Love, Fickle, False, Dead One or Passionate â I have been fascinated…
Making Diversion in Disguise
New Years Eve for witches is really Samhain, or October 31st, but we can go ahead and party along with the normals tonight, because for why not? Â A bit of wassailing and mumming would be fun. Itâs trad, dad. Mumming has been around since the ancient Romans started it all way back when, the basic…
Chocomancy: Divination by Chocolate Cocktail
As the new calendar year begins, bright with promise, it’s difficult to not want a peek – just a small one – into what fate has in store for us.  In Germany and Nordic countries a fortune-telling technique called Bleigiessen is traditional on New Year’s.  This is a form of molybdomancy, from the Greek molubdus (lead)…
Chocolate Logs, Marzipan Mushrooms & Crowned Cakes
Cakes & Ale is the most often performed ritual within witchcraft, as well as one of the most ancient in practice, and consists of the sharing of food and drink among sorcières to mark a gathering. The concept of sharing a meal with someone to show goodwill dates back to prehistory and is symbolic of…
Nog It Off.
Let me begin by saying that when it comes to eggnog, I’m a snob. Just call me a nog snob. #NogSnob History tells us that eggnog originated in medieval England and that the first recipe basically consisted of hot milk and eggs… Yum. What passes for eggnog today isn’t much better. They’ve added sugar, vanilla…
Host Your Own ĂlfablĂłt
Now that you have all your ducks in a row for the Christmas holidays you may feel like doing something quiet tonight before the festive revels really kick off, and what better way to spend your evening than hosting a ĂlfablĂłt for the elves of your region? It’s exactly the right time of year. People rarely…
Holly & Ivy & Horned Gods
The traditional celebrations of Yule involve so many of the minor and major gods with their associated traditions/symbolism and multiple identities that to the casual observer it looks like a cross between a class reunion, a family party, and one of those horror stories where people go walking down long dark hallways and meet themselves…
The New City Witches Cocktail Coven 