This Week's Pagan Events In and Near London

Now – 22 June; Vikings life and legend. BP exhibition at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Open daily 10am–5.30pm, Fridays until 8.30pm. Tickets: Adults £16.50, free or reduced prices for members and Art Pass holders. http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx

Saturday 8 March; Seriously Staked - One-Day Vampire Symposium co-organised by ASSAP (the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena) and the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Venue: Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW. Early bird tickets £15, regular tickets £25. More details and ticket booking: http://www.assap.ac.uk/SeriouslyStaked/

Saturday 8 March; Embracing Your Dark Side - with Aang, Lidija and Vaz of London College of Spirituality. Venue: Conference Room, Canterbury Hall, 11 – 18 Cartwright Gardens, London. Start: noon. Cost: £33. For more details and to book places visit http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 March; I Can Do It Ignite! Described as "an urban retreat to bring harmony to your mind, body and spirit", this weekend event offers talks and workshops on wellbeing and spirituality with renowned speakers and authors. Venue: The Great Hall, Sherfield Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ. Tickets from £99. Find our more and book at www.i-can-do-it-ignite.co.uk

Sunday 9 March; Stonehenge centre circle full moon rite with The Order of the Horse and Moon via The London Wicca Meetup Group. This is a ritual with planned access to the centre circle of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, for the Lenten Moon. English Heritage is charging £21 per person attending. For full details and to reserve spaces, visit http://www.meetup.com/The-London-Wicca-Meetup-Group

Sunday 9 March; Woodland Wicca Circle - an introductory-level Wiccan ritual with some basic instructions in Wicca, witchcraft and ritual magic, suitable for newcomers and beginners to the Craft. These rituals are part of a monthly training programme facilitated by Gardnerian HP Mani of Pagan Frontiers and take place outdoors at London locations including Richmond Park, Trent Park, Queen’s Woods, woods in Croydon, Hyde Park and riverside locations by Thames. The events are free but small donations to running costs are appreciated. For more details and to reserve a place, visit: http://www.witchcraftandmagic.org/html/wicca_full_moon_rituals.html

Sunday 9 March; Gong Meditation as part of the Peace in the City events for the Jamyang Buddhist Centre. Venue: Jamyang Centre, 43 Renfrew Street, London SE11. The gong meditation is from 3pm -4.30pm, the Peace in the City event runs from 1pm-5pm and includes a variety of complementary therapy tasters. http://www.jamyang.co.uk/

Sunday 9 March; A Master Class in Gurdjieff's Esoteric psychology with Joseph McKeaney. Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA. Time: 2pm. Fee £15 TS members: £10. Website: www.theosoc.org.uk

Monday 10 March; Treadwell’s Open Circle – ritual for solitary pagans led by Lisa Grace and Ellie Hughes. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. For further details, tel: 0207 419 8507 or email: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Monday 10 March; The Golden Teachings, Awaken your Heart, with Aang, arranged through the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Latvian House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London, W2 3SH. Start: 7pm. Cost: £15. For more details and to book places visit http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Monday 10 March; Magicians of the Gods: The quest continues. Talk by Dr Graham Hancock at Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £12/£8 concs. Advance booking required. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Tuesday 11 March; An Introduction to Wicca and the Order of the Horse and Moon Initiatory Cycle. Venue: Central London Pub Near Holborn underground station in central London. Time: 7.30pm. Details only given to those who have registered for the event. For more details, visit: http://www.meetup.com/The-London-Wicca-Meetup-Group/events/166787322/

Wednesday 12 March; Victorian Spiritualism: Florence Marryat. Lecture by Dr Tatiana Kontou of Oxford Brookes. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets £7, advance booking recommended. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Thursday 13 March; Fairy and Other Folks in Old Oaks. Talk by Roy Vickery at South East London Folklore Society (SELFS). Venue: The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High St, London SE1 1NA. Entry: £2.50 / £1.50 concessions. Meetings are the second Thursday of each month. http://www.selfs.org.uk/ To guarantee a seat, email nigelofbermondsey@gmail.com

Thursday 13 March; The Salon of the Third Eye - Launch night for a series of talks exploring topics such as magic, mystery, weird science and the imagination. Venue: The Lost Theatre, 208 Wandsworth Road, London Sw8 2JU. Time: 7.30pm. Entry:£2/£1.

Friday 14 March; Group Healing Night: All Welcome - Relax and Receive with the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Westminster Quaker Meeting House, 8 Hop Gardens, off St Martins Lane, London WC2N 4EA. Time: 7pm. Cost £10. Advance booking: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Saturday 15 March; Spring Equinox Lore and Magic - Day workshop and ceremony with Suzanne Corbie. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 10.45am for 11am start, finishes 5.30pm. Price: £45 (£25 deposit, balance due on the day). For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Sunday 16 March; Druidic Alban Eiler (Spring Equinox) Celebration on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8YH, between 12.30pm and 12.45pm to prepare the site ready for a prompt 1pm start. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring a small contribution of food and drink to share. All are welcome.

Sunday 16 March; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Image at the top is from a press release about the Vikings exhibition: Sword, late 8th–early 9th century. Kalundborg or Holbæk, Zealand, Denmark. Photo: John Lee. © The National Museum of Denmark. Background: Kim Westerskov/Getty Images.

Testing Rafflecopter for Competitions and Giveaways

I'd appreciate some input on this one.

Next week, I'm going to be putting the details of a new competition up on my blog and the people offering the prizes have suggested I use Rafflecopter. I've not used that before, but I'm testing it out.

Please could I ask as many people as possible to fill in the test competition below? I'd also be grateful for any feedback, which you can leave as a comment or email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com. Would you prefer me to run competitions the way I have in the past, with simple email entry, or would you prefer to enter using this Rafflecopter format?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Shaman Pathways - The Druid Shaman

You don't have to travel to the Amazon, Siberia or the USA if you want to learn to become a shaman. There are a lot of similarities between Celtic druidry and shamanism - which is good news for those of us living in the UK. Practitioners of both shamanism and druidry look to the Otherworld for inspiration and connect with the spirits of plants and animals for such things as healing and knowledge.

Shaman Pathways - The Druid Shaman: Exploring the Celtic Otherworld is a new book that explains how close the parallels are, and also serves as a practical guide to embarking on the path of druidic shamanism.

Publisher Moon Books says on its website: "Covering the basics of Celtic shamanism, with reference to traditional lore and source materials through the lens of both ancient and modern druidry and shamanic practice, The Druid Shaman is a well rounded guide, showing the seamless cross over between druidry and shamanism in the Celtic tradition. It covers topics such as how to attain and work with guides and allies, understanding the spirit realm and interaction with spirits of all kinds, accessing powers of place, travelling the world tree and working with the seven directions and exploring and navigating within the Celtic Otherworld. With practical techniques, exercises and core skills, The Druid Shaman can be used as a practical manual as well as a valuable resource for practicing shamans and druids as well as those new to the subject."

The book is by Danu Forest, a Celtic shaman and druid priestess who has worked in the Celtic mysteries for more than 20 years. She starts by explaining something about the history of the druids and the Celtic bards, and also the history of shamanism. After this essential introduction, she offers practical advice and exercises, starting with how to make the tools of the trade, such as the druid's traditional "crane skin" bag. This is the cloth or leather bag "in which to store things which you use in your practice – stones, feathers, herbs, as well as other druidic or shamanic tools".

Danu goes on to explain how to develop the abilities of the seer, reach a shamanic state of consciousness and cast a circle. From there one can embark on shamanic journeying, and there are exercises in finding a spirit ally and meeting one's ancestors. These are important contacts to make before attempting further shamanic journeying to the Otherworlds.

A connection with the landscape is vital for both druids and shamans. Further exercises show how to meet the guardians of the earth and trees, as well as kindling an awareness of "Nemetona, the Celtic Goddess of the sacred grove". Finally, Danu covers methods of divination that ancient druids are likely to have used, and which can still be mastered today.

The Druid Shaman is a nicely written guide that is suitable for beginners and those with some experience of paganism. Copies can be ordered in Kindle editionand paperback.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.moon-books.net/books/shaman-pathways-druid-shaman
Kindle: Shaman Pathways - The Druid Shaman: Exploring the Celtic Otherworld
Paperback: Shaman Pathways - The Druid Shaman: Exploring the Celtic Otherworld

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/07/review-medicine-for-soul-shamanic.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/10/review-shaman-within-by-barbara.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/11/review-shamans-oracle-cards-by-john.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/02/review-druids-primer.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/10/review-druidry-and-ancestors.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/12/bad-witch-in-print-essays-in.html

Event: Seriously Staked Vampire Symposium

Before I was a witch, I was a vampire.

Well, not a real one. I was a member of a vampire appreciation society called the Velvet Vampire. Long before Twilightand True Blood,back in the day when The Vampire Lestatwas the coolest undead on the block, we'd go to film shows and Gothic weekends in Whitby dressed up in black velvet, lace and corsets.

I may no longer be able to fit into my corset, but I do still appreciate a good vampire-related event and this Saturday I'm planning to to go Seriously Staked - a vampire symposium  at Goldsmiths College in London. Co-organised by ASSAP (the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena) and the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Seriously Staked brings together a huge variety of experts and academics to talk about vampires.

According to the Seriously Staked website, the topics of the day include:

• Can science explain vampires?
• Do real vampire hunting kits exist?
• How have vampires impacted western culture?
• What is the crossover between vampires and other anomalous phenomena?
• Was Transylvania vampirism a communist trick to attract tourists?
• What is the London vampire community today?
• Do real vampires exist?

Lectures are by Deborah Hyde, Jessica Monteith-Chachuat, Scott Wood and other top speakers.

Seriously Staked is on Saturday 8 March at Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW. Entry is free for students. Regular tickets are £25 on the door, but reduced price tickets are available before the event at £20 for one ticket and £30 for a pair of tickets. More details and ticket booking: http://www.assap.ac.uk/SeriouslyStaked/

Links and previous related posts
http://www.gold.ac.uk/
Interview With The Vampire: Number 1 in series (Vampire Chronicles)
Twilight (Twilight Saga)
True Blood Omnibus: Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Myst)
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/news-ufos-zombies-ghosts-and-witches.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/07/a-look-at-kenneth-grant-and-magical.html
http://www.assap.ac.uk/SeriouslyStaked/

Recipe: Vegan Oat Pancakes for Pancake Day

Today being Pancake Day, I thought I'd share my recipe for oat pancakes. They are really tasty, very cheap and also ideal for people who have to avoid flour, eggs or milk in their diets. They are vegan, too. All they contain are oats and water plus oil to fry them in and some sugar or other sweetener to go on top.

I came up with the recipe when I was a poor student. Although I wasn't a vegan or allergic to flour, eggs or milk, I was looking for cheap food and found I liked them so much I still make them today.

I do apologise that I don't have amounts listed against the ingredients as I just put in what looks right.

What you need:

Porridge oats (or muesli if you prefer)
Water
Cooking oil
Sugar or other sweetener.

First you put some oats in a jug and pour enough cold water on top to cover them. Then you leave the oats to soak in the water for a couple of hours until they are very soft.

Heat some oil in a frying pan. You need quite a bit more oil to cook oat pancakes than regular ones. When the oil is hot, ladle in a good dollop of the soaked oats mixture and then spread it out in the pan to form a thick pancake. Fry it until the oats have formed a solid shape, which they will eventually. You can agitate the pancake with a spatula while it is cooking to stop it burning.

When it is solid, carefully turn it over in the frying pan using the spatula to cook the other side.

You can slide the pancake onto a plate when it is fully cooked and golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle sugar or other sweetener on top, then enjoy!

The pancake in the photo was made with muesli rather than oats.

Previous related post
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we.html

Review: The Victorian Steampunk Tarot

Do I need two steampunk tarot sets? The answer is yes, definitely. Especially when they are both absolutely lovely and both completely different.

The one you can see photos on this page is the new Victorian Steampunk Tarot.While my other steampunk tarot set - Gods of the Machine - is very science fiction, with gleaming airships and giant robots, the Victorian Steampunk Tarot is more fantastical and dreamlike.

The artwork combines clockwork and mechanical devices with Victorian imagery in settings that include iconic English landmarks and symbols. The Empress, for example, shows Queen Victoria on a Penny Black stamp against a golden field with an elm tree in the skyline, behind The Emperor you can make out the Crystal Palace while Judgment shows monuments from London's Magnificent Seven cemeteries. The minor arcana suits are dragonflies, moths, bees and butterflies - reflecting the Victorian obsession with collecting specimens from the natural world, but still associated with the usual tarot elements of water, fire, air and earth respectively.

In the book that comes with the boxed set, creator Liz Dean says that for the major arcana her "inspiration comes from the spiritualist movement that began in the UK and USA in the 1840s, at the beginning of Victoria's reign along with the Rider Waite and Visconti-Sforza tarot symbolism." One of the suggested two-card layouts is inspired by a method spiritualists used to get messages from the spirits.

The Victorian Steampunk Tarot is certainly likely to appeal to steampunk aficionados. I really wish I had owned a copy a while back when I was asked to play a fortune teller in a steampunk murder mystery game called Intrigue in the Clouds, set on an airship. It would have been the perfect accessory to go with my costume. Even the box that the set comes in looks just right.

A more important question was, how well does it work as a tarot deck for divination? The only way find out was to do a reading for myself. I asked a question about romance - you can see the cards I got in a three-card spread at the bottom of this page. In the past: The Lovers. The meaning of that is obvious. In the present: The Knight of Dragonflies, indicating a good suitor who brings friendship and affection, but more a romantic dreamer than a man of action. Yes, that describes my hubby pretty well. For the future: The Wheel of Fortune.Good luck and a change of fortune is on the way.

Well, I hope that prediction comes true and, yes, I'd say any deck that comes up with a reading as appropriate as that is a deck that works.

Victorian Steampunk Tarotis produced by Cico Books, which very kindly sent me a review copy. It is due to reach the shops within the next couple of weeks and can be ordered through Amazon. Creator Liz Dean's previous tarot decks and books include The Golden Tarotand The Art of Tarot tarot cards and booklet.Both are also published by Cico Books.

Links and previous related posts
Victorian Steampunk Tarot
The Animal Wisdom Tarot
The Crystal Tarot
Rider Waite Tarot
Steampunk Tarot - Gods of the Machine
http://www.rylandpeters.com/