On they walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a strange cottage in the middle of a glade. Â Â “This is chocolate!” gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of plaster from the wall. Â Â “And this is icing!” exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth. Starving but delighted, the children…
Spiritualism In The Digital Age
At this unsettling time in our universal history there is a new desire for incorporeal methods of communication. During the pandemic we have all learnt to use social media and video links to get in touch with each other. We have become newly aware of alternative places in the ether where we can join up…
Old Ways in a New Town
What are you doing for Solstice this year? I’m in my old home town of Milton Keynes to watch the sunrise from the Light Pyramid, and see what’s up at the Medicine Circle and the Milton Keynes Henge. Milton Keynes always had a bad reputation, the kind of place people would say “urgh!” about when…
Drink the Rainbow for the Holi Festival
Did someone shoot you in the face with a gun full of green water today? Or startle you with a pink powder shower? You should be pleased! It’s just time for Holi – the festival of colours, new beginnings, the repayment of debts and the ending of conflicts. This Hindu festival is celebrated at the…
Find the Red Thread of Fate
The Red Thread of Fate is the method that Yue Lao or The Old Man Under The Moon uses to bind people together who are fated to meet and spend the rest of their lives together. Also known as the Matchmaker Deity, he travels at night with his bundle of red silk cords, connecting people…
How To Throw A Swedish Crayfish Party or Kräftskiva
Sweden is an unusual country. What happens there is this. Most of the year they exist in a black dark. A few months of the year the sun is out all the time, even at midnight. At this time all Swedes shut up shop and go to stay in little red box houses on the…
I’m Fondue You, or Cheese Saucery
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the natural birth of fondue was long ago in remote Alpine huts when, snow-bound and with only stale bread crusts and cheese rinds left to eat, some genius melted the cheese, added a dash of home-made kirsch to stave off the cold, and created one of the most…
The Thirteenth Sign ⛎
1970 was a big year. The first episode of soap opera All My Children was broadcast. Black Sabbath‘s eponymous debut album was released. The Beatles split up. Apollo 13 was launched.The first Glastonbury Festival was held. Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin both joined the 27 Club in death. I was born, which important fact I think…
A Ghost Story For Halloween
I maybe saw a ghost in the late 1990’s. Marshall and I were exploring a then abandoned church on Balls Pond Road in Islington. I found a small anteroom on the side of the building, and was peering through a crack in the boards which covered its windows, trying to see what might be stored…
Tired out? Bake a Mabon Bread Demon
This period between the festivals of Lammas and Samhain is known to be an unchancy one, with high levels of supernatural activity. It’s wise to avoid most magical behaviour for now, as while you are likely to get heightened responses, it’s also extremely possible that the results may not turn out as you anticipated. So…
The New City Witches Cocktail Coven 