Something very exciting arrived in the post - the first physical copies of my novel Erosion. It won't be officially published until early 2024 - these are my advance author copies - but it feels so good to hold copies of the book in my hands after so much time writing it, editing it and submitting the manuscript to my publisher, Moon Books. Erosion is a contemporary gothic novel filled with magical weirdness, set in a run-down English seaside town in the year of the Great Storm. The subtitle is Of Friendship, Dreams and the Edge of a Cliff. Here's a little more detail from the synopsis: "'It ..read more

I love it when people ask me interesting questions about magic. The other day someone who reads this blog asked me: "Do you have a spell to enchant a book to make your wishes come true, or do have a spell to enchant a pen to make your wishes come true?"  Here's my suggestion: Find the perfect book with blank pages. If you're like me you might have a beautiful notebook you've been given or bought, but felt it was too nice for ordinary things. Well, an enchanted book of wishes could be its perfect purpose. That tiny Book of Secrets in the picture at the top is what I'm using for this spell ..read more

What do you think this structure in a small London park looks like? Is it an ancient stone circle, a strange but natural rock formation, a work of art, or something to climb on?  Actually, it's a mixture of the last two things. It's a sculpture designed to also be a climbing frame. So, if you've long desired to clamber over the stones at an ancient henge but felt it wasn't exactly appropriate, pay a visit to Bramber Green in London and climb this to get the experience without damaging a megalithic monument. Bramber Green is a pocket park in London's King's Cross area. It was created ..read more

If you're in London and like things weird, creepy and a bit occult, then do visit Sir John Soane's Museum. It's deeply strange and utterly worth seeing. During his life, from 1753 to 1837, the famous architect crammed his home with works of art, books, sculptures, and historic objects.  He bought three houses and a stables on the edge of Lincoln's Inn Fields, knocking them together and redesigning the interiors so he could cram his collection into every possible space to turn it into a museum as well as a home. The upper floors were rooms to live in, but the lower area is a maze of ..read more

I went for a walk through Eastbourne's Old Town last week, as I was in Sussex after the Faery Festival. I took these photos of sculptures and art I saw on the route. The structure that looks a bit like Seahenge is called Eighteen Thousand Tides. Artist David Nash constructed it from worn oak groynes that had once been on Eastbourne beach.  On the right you can see an ancient Cornish Celtic cross - or perhaps a pagan megalith - in the grounds of St Mary the Virgin in Eastbourne. According to Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon, It was effectively stolen 200 years ago by  ..read more

Here are details of the talks, workshops and other events I'm involved with in June and July. There's a mix of online and in-person events on candle magic, psychogeography and poppets. I'm also attending a book fair where I'll be talking about witchcraft and the Wheel of the Year. June Events Candle Magic In-Person at Treadwells  My next in-person in-person candle magic workshop is at Treadwell's in London on Saturday 3 June. It's based on my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic. Treadwell's Bookshop is at 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time ..read more

I absolutely love this cover: bright scarlet, big picture of Baphomet and the words The Aleister Crowley Manual in big letters. The book does what it says on the cover too - it's a no-nonsense workbook teaching Thelemic magic in straightforward and relatively easy to follow steps. I say relatively easy to follow, because mastering Thelemic magick takes a lot of time and effort, as author Marco Visconti states very clearly. At least, I believe him when he says that as I wouldn't in any way claim that I've mastered it myself. In fact, I've barely begun.  Each chapter details things to lea ..read more

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests over the next couple of weeks. I include things in the UK, especially in or near London, as well as online talks and workshops. Now to Saturday 17 June, Two exhibitions: Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse; Discovering a Bronze Age Hoard. Both exhibitions are at Maidstone Museum, St. Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1LH. Free entry. https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/ Now to 10 July; A Bestiary of Austin Osman Spare art exhibition. Venue: The Viktor Wynd Museum and The Last Tuesday Society, 11 ..read more

Here is a guided visualisation that I ran as part of my Magic for May workshop at the Faery Festival. The theme is entering a wood and meeting the spirit of the wood - a green person or green creature who seems to be made from foliage and flowers. You might want to record this then play it back as you visualise it. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take three deep breaths in and out, in and out, in and out, and relax. Visualise the following: Visualise that you are out in nature, in a beautiful place in the countryside on the edge of a wood on a sunny day in May. There is no other human be ..read more

Here are some photos I took at the Sussex Faerie Festival 2023. It's always a lovely event and is nestled in a beautiful valley in the South Downs in Sussex.  You reach the venue along a winding country lane from a lovely village, there are wooded slopes on two sides and a wildflower-covered hill rising at the far end. The Faerie Festival website explains more about why the site is so perfect:  "The words 'alf' and 'risten' in old Saxon literally translates as 'elf settlement'. So it's no surprise that the picturesque village Alfriston, which is nestled in the Sussex downs makes su ..read more