Lucius Apuleius is best known to us as the author of The Golden Ass, one of the most famous romances in the world, containing as it does the story of Cupid and Psyche. His importance to the study of witchcraft rests on the fact that The Golden Ass is a romance of witchcraft, andillustrates the […]

Bellarmine jugs, bottles, and drinking-mugs were produced by the potteries of the Rhineland area, from the sixteenth centuryonwards. They were exported in large numbers to this country, where they became very popular. These handsome stoneware vessels take their name from the fierce, bearded face embossed upon them, which was supposed to be that ofCardinal Bellarmine. […]

Prickling in the legs Prickling in the legs can drive you crazy when you’re trying to go to sleep. One remedy is to eat banana – there’s a lot of potassium in bananas and the prickling sensation can come from a potassium deficiency. Chafe When you’ve gotten a chafe, you can crack a couple of […]

A name applied to English ale-wives, wise women and witches. It was also given to familiar animals. One Mother Redcap was an elderly woman who lived in a village about 14 miles from Cambridge, England, who was known as a witch. She said she was endowed with her witch powers in circumstances reminiscent of the […]

Participants in the lingering remnants of an ancient agrarian cult in northern Italy, which came to the attention of the Inquisition in the late 16th century because of the cult’s nocturnal battles with witches and warlocks over the fertility of the crops and livestock. The term benandanti means “good walkers.” The cult flourished in the […]

Spells designed to bring about a difference in bodily appearance in order to dissolve mischievous enchantments by the fairy folk or frequenters of the lower world were legion in most cultures. In Celtic lore for instance, during the process of dissolving the enchantment, having cast a magic circle, the rescuer had to keep repeating the […]

It is the duty of the banshee or ‘woman of the fairies’ to foretell the death of an individual. Banshees are attached to particular families and their cry is only heard when a family member is about to die. Banshees are reported either to be young women of mournful aspect or else to take the […]

An old technique of magical healingby wise women and men, wizards and witches involvingthe measuring of the patient’s girdle or belt. Changes ingirth revealed the presence of evil spirits or fairies whichhad invaded the body to cause the illness. After exorcisingthe entity, usually through charms, the witch tookanother measurement to verify that the spirit was […]

A 15th-century English witch and seer who supposedly prophesied scientific inventions, new technology, wars and politics through several centuries, all written in crude rhymes. The books of her “prophecies” are likely the invention of later writers, among them Richard Head, who published a book of her predictions in 1667; an anonymous writer who published the […]

An old, ugly woman believed to be a witch or sorceress;also, a supernatural, demonic being whose powersenable her to live an incredibly long time.The origin of the term “hag” is found in the ancientGoddess beliefs and myths of the Egyptians, Greeks,Celts and pagan Europeans. The Egyptian heq was amatriarchal ruler in predynastic times, one who […]

Evan John Jones claimed that Robert Cochrane informed him that there were three branches of witchcraft. These were said to be memorialized on a megalith detailed in Justine Glass’s much-maligned book Witchcraft: The Sixth Sense for which Cochrane was a source of information.  Though he intentionally provided Ms. Glass with misinformation throughout the book, he claimed until […]

Apples, cultivated in Britain as early as 3000 b.c.e., have had a long association with magic, witches, and goddesses. Magic apple lands, whose fruit gave eternal life, were cultivated by various Western pagan goddesses, among them the Greek Hera, the Scandinavian Idun (Idhunn), the Teutonic Freya and the Norse Hel, Queen of the Underworld. In […]

Whether you are casting a simple spell, using items from your kitchen cupboard, or performing acomplicated group ceremony, the source of the power behind it is the same. Every spell or ritualinvolves channelling the life force that runs through all forms of existence and transforming it intohigher spiritual energies. These spiritual powers include our own […]

Befana  is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5). A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany or in Italian La Festa dell’Epifania. . In popular folklore, Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the […]

If the Moon is feminine in nature, how did we ever come up with the “man in the Moon?” Even though this idea is often thought of as strictly an American invention, such is not the case. The Sanskrit word for moon is “mas,” which gives it a masculine form, and etymologists have long debated […]

You Will Need Two small handfuls of corn stalks Green and yellow wool or cotton Trailing greenery (ivy or grape vine are ideal) Appropriately colored ribbons for the ritual (red or orange for Lammas) Method  Take one handful of corn stalks. Just below the top, bind the stalks with the yellow cotton, tying them securely, […]

In English folklore, the BerkeleyWitch was a wealthy woman who lived during the timeof the Norman Conquest in the town of Berkeley in England’sheartland. She was wealthy and well liked, andlived luxuriously. Her secret, kept until she was close todeath, was that her wealth was given her by the Devil, ina pact for her soul […]

Archetypal wizard of Arthurian lore. Merlin is a Latinized version of the Welsh Myrddin. His exact origins are lost in myth; he may have been a god, perhaps a version of Mabon or Maponos, the British Apollo, the divine ruler or guardian of Britain. The name Merlin may have been given to a succession of […]

Ways of dealing with problems within the community, which used a blend of Christian and pagan rituals, was partly a product of the interaction between Christianity and paganism. Pagan belief demanded rituals that appeased their gods while Christian thought required that there was a focus on only one God. This meant that such rituals belonging […]

In Russian folklore, a female witch who loved to roast and eat people, preferably children. She was as likely to pop a niece in the oven as she was a stranger. She lived in a little hut beyond a river of fire in the “thrice tenth kingdom.” The hut was ringed with stakes topped by […]

The broom is one of those tools that most people have in their home – whether they’re a witch or not! In many rural cultures, the broom has become a source of legend and folklore. Here are just a few of the many beliefs people have about brooms and sweeping. James Kambos says in Llewellyn’s […]

The majority of people who are new to spell working will acknowledge that for them common sense backed up by practical action is normally more productive than theoretical or mystical thinking. In magical working, as in everyday life, when we have to handle a wide range of circumstances, common sense in dealing with them will […]

A phosphorescent light seen in marsh and swamp areas, which in folklore is either the manifestation of a malicious lost soul or a death omen. Jacko’-lantern is known by various names, including will-o’-the-wisp and corpse light (England); fairy light, and fox fire (Ireland). According to most legends, the jack-o’-lantern is a wandering soul who has […]

AniseRomans paid taxes with anise, and it was used in cough drops. BasilPrecious to lovers in Italy and considered sacred in India. Many years ago, Italian men wore a sprig of basil to indicate their intended marriage. A cup of basil tea after dinner helps digestion. Ease a headache by drinking tomato juice blended with […]

Folklorists believe that the first festivals arose because of the anxieties of early peoples who did not understand the forces of nature and wished to placate them. The people noted the times and seasons when food was plentiful or not and reacted accordingly. Harvest and thanksgiving festivals, for instance, are a relic from the times […]

Bells Repellers of witches and evil spirits. Bells areassociated with the divine: their sound is symbolic ofcreative power, their shape a symbol of the female forceand the celestial vault. The sound vibrations created bythe ringing of bells have been believed for centuries topossess magical and/or spiritual power. Bells are used inmany religious rites. In Wicca […]

In French folklore, wandering sprites whoattach themselves to households and both help andplague the residents. Goblins live in grottoes but areattracted to homes that have beautiful children and lotsof wine. When they move in, they help by doing householdchores at night and by disciplining children—givingthem presents when they are good and punishingthem when they are […]

In Irish legend, 12 horned women,all witches, who take over the household of a rich womanand bewitch her and her sleeping family. No reason forthe bewitching is given in the story—perhaps, in timespast, no reason was necessary, for witches were believedto bewitch simply because they were witches. The legendtells of how the distressed woman breaks […]

NamesJanicot, Woden, Odin, Gwyn ap Nudd, Arawn, Iuan, Krampus, Hod, Hob, Basajaun, Lucibello, Iu-Hu, Old Nick, Misrule, Pan, Baphomet, Scratch, Puck, Buccos Station of the WheelNorthwest, Yule, December, Glass Castle, Cold Moon TotemsGoat, Holly, Wren ToolsGlass Orb, Druid’s Egg or Glain y Nidir The Holly King is a speculative archetype of modern studies of folklore […]