The beautiful photo of lilac in bloom at the top of this post was taken by my witchy friend Jane Mortimer. She sent it to me with the message: "Just thought I'd send you a snap I took of the lilac blossom in my back garden before it goes over. It smells absolutely divine, and each time I go out there I just have to bury my nose in it. I wish I could bottle the lovely scent.  The dried flowers don't smell anything like as good as when they're fresh, so I just have to accept that lilac blossom is one of the fleeting pleasures of April!" I replied: "Just the other day I was walking through ..read more

If you haven't seen The Cult of Beauty at London's Wellcome Collection, I recommend popping in and having a look before it closes. I was surprised at how many objects are related to magic, spirituality and world religions.  The photo at the top, which I took when I was there, shows the sculptures 'Esquiline Venus' and 'Idolino' from 500 BCE. They are typically what many think of as ideal male and female bodies. Behind them you can glimpse another marble statue: ‘Sleeping Hermaphroditus’, which apparently combines ideas of the beauty of Venus with that of Dionysus/Bacchus.  In anoth ..read more

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests. There are online things you can do anywhere plus in-person talks and workshops in or near London, and some conferences and festivals further afield.  Now - 22 June; Making More Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain. Folklore exhibition. Venue:  LCF East Bank, 105 Carpenters Rd, Stratford,  London E20 2AR. Time: 10am - 5pm. Free entry. https://www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/london-college-of-fashion/cultural-programme/making-more-mischief Now - 2 June; Rediscovering Gems - Exhibition of gems depicti ..read more

Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year,  which was published exactly 6 months ago, has reached a milestone! My publisher, Moon Books, has told me it's sold more than 500 copies.  A big thanks to everyone who bought it, left reviews, or told me they've enjoyed reading it. In the book I go into the history behind seasonal folklore, annual customs and modern pagan traditions as well as offering practical suggestions for celebrating the turning of the year. Here's the description: "Every month is full of magic, each day has its own energy, and the seasons rotate as par ..read more

Making More Mischief is an exhbition of folk costume that's currently on at the London College of Fashion's building on the bank of the River Lea in East London. It shows the variety of folk costumes in Britain, and explores the reasons people create them, wear them, and use them to perform traditional and annual customs.  I visited and took the pictures you can see on this post. All but the buttons are from the main gallery, which displays a variety of folkloric costumes I expect most of my blog readers will recognise, including those from Morris dancing, Jack-in-the-Green parades ..read more

Nature's Confetti is a beautiful animation of falling cherry tree blossom, and you can see it for free at the Now Building, behind Tottenham Court Road Underground station. I took the photo last weekend after teaching a practical magic class at Treadwell's and then doing a book signing. I felt I wanted to sit somewhere beautiful and chill out. This was perfect. The Now Building is a huge public atrium with LED screenson the walls, ceiling and everywhere except the floor. It shows a daily schedule of entertainment - usually short films, photography and animations. You can go in for free withou ..read more

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests. There are online things you can do anywhere plus in-person talks and workshops in or near London, and some conferences and festivals further afield. Now - 2 June; Rediscovering Gems - Exhibition of gems depicting deities, mythology and more. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Free entry. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/rediscovering-gems Now - 22 June; Making More Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain. Folklore exhibition. Venue:  LCF East Bank, 105 Carpenters Rd, Stratf ..read more

In this post, a feng shui practitioner shares six tips for wellbeing. Sarah McAllister, founder of Feng Shui Agency, gives some pointers on how the ancient philosophy can help improve a home layout and also put residents at ease. Tip 1: Keep the space free of clutter “For the entrance way, keep it clear of clutter so that you don’t block the door opening fully, as this can cause the energy to stagnate,” Sarah says. “Keep the external and internal space brightly lit with an eco-friendly lightbulb, otherwise the area can become too dark and lifeless.” However, Sarah says the space doesn’t have ..read more

Here's a photo of me signing copies of Erosion, my new Gothic novel, at Treadwell's on Saturday. It was lovely to see everyone who turned up to chat and show an interest in the book. Erosion isn't officially published for a couple of weeks, but my publisher, Moon Books, was very helpful in getting copies to Treadwell's for this event. The shop still has a few signed copies left, so if you want one pop in or order online.  If you want a taster of what the book's like, I blogged a few days ago with a short extract, which you can read here: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/04/sea-magic-e ..read more

Here are details of the talks, workshops and other events I'm involved with from now until the end of May. There's a mix of online and in-person tallks and workshops on practical magic, scrying and folklore plus launch events for my Gothic novel Erosion. April In-Person Candle Magic Workshop On Saturday 6 April I'm running workshop based on my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic at Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. It starts at 1pm and tickets are £22 per person.  https://www.treadwells-london.com/ This class will be repe ..read more