Halloween - lost under a mountain of plastic tat?

I don't think Halloween has ever been quite so commercial in England as it is this year.

When I was young, Guy Fawkes Night - or Bonfire Night - was the big autumn event. Shops were full of fireworks and plastic masks of a bearded bloke to put on the Guy - a life-size manikin made of old clothes stuffed with newspapers or straw and destined to be burned on the bonfire.

Rather than going Trick or Treating, kids would cart their creation around in an old pram, asking "Penny for the Guy".

Bonfire Night celebrates the foiling of a terrorist attack, known as The Gunpowder Plot, to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605. Guy Fawkes, a mercenary hired by Catholic conspirators to handle the explosives, was discovered and executed along with his fellow plotters.

In some parts of England, in particular Lewes in Sussex, Guy Fawkes Night is still a big event, but in most places Halloween has taken over. And even in Lewes, this year's Lewes Bonfire Council is urging non-residents to stay away.

Fireworks can still be bought, but from far fewer outlets, yet every shop is full of Halloween fancy dress costumes, spooky partyware, ghoulish sweets and plastic buckets in the shape of pumpkin lanterns. For adults, every pub is advertising a Halloween theme night and every big building with any kind of history seems to be running a ghost tour.

I have never seen quite so many Halloween events advertised before. I suppose the reason could be that this year Halloween falls on a Saturday, when most people want to do something fun anyway. It could be that shops, pubs and tourist attractions have been so badly affected by the recession that they are making the most of anything that will draw in custom.

Or maybe we have all had such a year of real fear through job uncertainties and financial worries that make-believe fear of ghosts is a safe outlet for our emotions. Yes, it is OK to be scared - and it can even be fun sometimes.

My feelings about the commercialisation of Halloween are mixed. I do love an excuse for a fancy dress party and I enjoy hearing ghost stories. I don't even blame shops for selling stuff there is obviously a demand for - although I would like to see less on the shelves that is hard to recycle.

However, I do feel a slight sadness that some of the deeper meanings of this festival are being lost under a mountain of plastic tat.

Most Wiccans and many modern pagans celebrate Samhain, rather than Halloween. They see it as a time to honour our ancestors and to remember loved ones who have passed away. It is a time of reflection and introspection rather than frivolity and fun. It is said that the veil between this world and the next is thin, and sometimes spirits can communicate across the divide.

Christians honour the dead at this time of year too - with All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. Many of them get quite upset at Halloween parties that seem to revel in things un-Christian, such as witches, vampires, ghosts, zombies and devils.

But I wouldn't want to be too much of a party-pooper. I think there can be a place for all kinds of celebration at this time of year, when the days are getting colder and the nights are drawing in. According to some accounts the Irish in historic times held Samhain, the start of winter, as a time of feasting and fun, so why shouldn't we?

Personally, I intend to both honour my ancestors and celebrate with my friends. I shall spend some time remembering my father, who died almost exactly three years ago. I shall light a single candle for him and sit quietly to see if I feel his presence. Then, later, when the candle has burnt down, I shall leave gloomy thoughts behind me, put on my red shoes and go out and party.

Do you think Halloween is too commercial these day? I have put a poll at the bottom of the page of A Bad Witch's Blog so you can vote.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/herne-wild-hunt.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/halloween-controversy.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/how-to-celebrate-samhain.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/pumpkins-jack-olanterns-mangel-wurzles.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/samhain-halloween-open-rituals-and.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/english-heritage-gets-scary-for.html
Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain
Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween
Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night
Halloween: Customs, Recipes and Spells

Chocolate, sweet dreams & pumpkin seeds

I do love being sent chocolate - and a very nice person from a PR company has just sent me some.

They are called RestBites and are chocolate-coated, chewy caramel-flavour squares containing pumpkin seeds. According to the press release, they are designed to help you get a good night's sleep with happy dreams.

I guess I got sent the free sample because I'm a witch and natural remedies containing pumpkin seeds seem rather witchy. Nevertheless, they are quite scrummy - much nicer than anything containing pumpkin seeds sounds like it should taste.

I'm not sure whether they will make me rest any better, but they are certainly more pleasant than any sleeping pills I've ever tried.

And with Halloween coming up, maybe chocolates that send you to sleep are just the thing to give to those pesky Trick or Treaters...

Links

http://perfectnightssleep.co.uk/restbites.html

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/pumpkins-jack-olanterns-mangel-wurzles.html

Halloween Events: Spectres at the Feast

If you aren't doing anything tonight, why not pop along to Dirty Dicks pub, in London, for a haunted evening?

Spectres at the Feast, a night of ghost stories and song, is a spooky Halloween event celebrating ghost stories and horror tonight at Dirty Dicks pub, 202 Bishopsgate, City of London, EC2M 4NR.

The event is organised Wild Talents, with One Eye Grey, The Liars League, Fright Fiction Graeme's Fantasy Book Review and The Original London Ghost Festival. It promises to be a "night haunted with stories and song from folklore, classic ghost literature and 21st century penny dreadfuls".

Entry is free, although you will need to reserve a table in advance. Call 020 7283 5888 or email dirtyds@youngs.co.uk.

Also tonight, Thursday 29 October, the Pagan Federation London and MAA Coven are holding an indoor Samhain ritual at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL. Arrive at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Entrance costs £5 (£4 for members). Bring food and drink to share. No photographs allowed. Visit http://www.pflondon.org/

More details of Halloween events in England:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/samhain-halloween-open-rituals-and.html

Review: Grimoires - a History of Magic Books

Grimoires - or books of conjurations, charms and spells - have played an immensely important part in the history of magic and the occult, yet there is so much about them that is shrouded in mystery.

They have been called "the most dangerous books in the world" because of fears that reading them could drive people insane, lead them to commit horrendous acts and that just owning a grimoire could constitute a pact with the Devil. Yet grimoires have also been seen as holding the hidden secrets of power, wealth, success and divine knowledge.

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books is a serious attempt by author Owen Davies, professor of social history at the University of Hertfordshire, to reveal the truth about these books, their origins, authorship and influence throughout the world and through the ages.

The story begins in ancient Egypt, Persia and Babylonia, when some magical writings that are still used today have their origin. The book ends in the 21st century when grimoires are available to freely download from the internet, for anyone who wants to read or use one.

In between, Grimoires travels through the medieval era; the war against magic and the Inquisition; the Enlightenment and the use of grimoires for treasure seeking; the spread of magic books among American settlers; the rediscovery of ancient magic in the 19th century; the American boom in mass-produced grimoires of the 19th and 20th centuries; fictional grimoires such as HP Lovecraft's the Necronomicon; and the modern Wiccan Book of Shadows penned by Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente.

I'm not going to try to precis the book - it is far too long, convoluted and intricate to do the content justice in short review. But it is a fascinating tale - perhaps mostly because of the amount of deception, fabrication and misdirection involved in the spread and creation of grimoires.

Pretty much every grimoire that has ever been inscribed, penned, copied or printed has had has some degree of fakery about it - and I'm not just talking about the spells they contain. They have often been attributed to authors who almost certainly never wrote them - and sometimes didn't even exist. The date and place of production is often made up - as is the history of how they were found.

One excuse is certainly that publishers of grimoires during times of persecution had good reason to pretend their books came from another country and another time, but it goes much further than that. Biblical Moses almost certainly never wrote Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses- among the most famous grimoires but which probably come from Germany in the 18th century. Saint Cyprian would probably turn in his grave if he knew The Book of St Cyprian - a grimoire widely used for treasure seeking in the 19th century - was was attributed to him. Even a crusading 13th-century Catholic pope - Pope Honorius III had a grimoire with an evil reputation named after him - The Grimoire du pape Honorius. Some scholars have said this was a deliberate act of vengeance by persecuted medieval magicians.

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books has certainly filled a big gap in my knowledge. The only grimoire I have ever used is the Wiccan Book of Shadows. I'd never read any grimoire from earlier than the 20th century and, although I was familiar with one or two older titles, I couldn't have told you what the books contained.

Owen Davies' book is not only full of information, it is also well written and entertaining. I believe Grimoires will become one of those books that anyone interested in the history of magic and the occult is going to want to have read - and probably want to own.

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books is published by Oxford University Press and has an RRP of £14.99 for the hardback edition.


Links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/08/history
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/
Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
Grimoire du pape Honorius : Avec un recueil des plus rares secrets
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/wicca-witchcraft-finding-out-basics.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/book-of-shadows-for-wiccan-year.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/necronomicon-lecture.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/review-grimoire-of-necronomicon.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/09/day-for-doreen-valiente.html
A Witches' Bible
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_shadows
http://www.sacred-texts.com/

Advert for witchcraft 1960s style

A friend sent me this copy of an advert from the 1960s inviting people to "Become a Witch". For the price of just $3.99, The Academy of Mystic Arts would send you your first lesson in a correspondence course on Wicca.

It promised:

"Now for the first time you can learn the real teachings behind witchcraft... Age-Old Wisdom which give you greater health, peace of mind and opens the door to the richer, fuller life you always wanted for yourself and your loved ones!"

Apart from saying that the lessons would include instructions on ESP, psychic projection and self-healing, the advert didn't state what these Mystic Masters thought Wicca or witchcraft was about or any of the theories behind it.

However, it was full of testimonials from satisfied customers who found a job, love and money after sending off their $3.99.

Sounds cheap enough - but if you want some spells for free to get those things these days, you could just click on these links:

Spell to attract love: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/spell-to-attract-love.html
Spell to make money: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/03/spell-to-make-money.html
Spell for healing: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/spell-for-healing-and-get-well-wishes.html

I must admit to some curiosity as to what Mystic Masters were teaching. If anyone out there ever sent off for that course - or knows someone who did - do leave a comment.

Pumpkins, Jack O'Lanterns & Mangel-wurzels

Pumpkin lanterns seem as much a part of Halloween as ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, but when I was a kid pumpkins just weren't available in England. Oh, I'm sure you could buy them for a very high price at specialist shops, but not at the average greengrocers or veg market.

That isn't to say we didn't make Halloween lanterns - we certainly did - but instead of hollowing out pumpkins, we carved them out of turnips and swedes. And from bitter memory I can tell you that turnips and swedes are the most tough and obstinate vegetables to carve.

You have to hack at them sharp implements, brute force and the determination of a horror-movie psycho-killer - and even then the resulting lantern is usually best described as malformed.

But, when it comes to Halloween lanterns, malformed is probably good. The idea behind them is that by putting a monstrous face in your window or on your doorstep you will ward off any devils or other supernatural nasties, because they would not wish to go near anything that looked uglier than themselves.

An old name for an illuminated vegetable is Jack O'Lantern, supposedly named after an Irish trickster called Stingy Jack who somehow managed to con the Devil into paying for his drinks. The Devil, outraged at being fooled, refused to let Jack into hell after he had died, leaving him to wander the earth in darkness for eternity, with only a single coal to light his way.

Another theory about the origin of Jack O'Lanterns is that they were inspired by the mysterious flickering lights that are sometimes seen over peat bogs - also known as will-o'-the-wisps and corpse candles. According to folklore, these are lost spirits trying to lure people to their doom.

In parts of Somerset, Jack O'Lanterns are called Punkies, and Punkie Night is celebrated on the last Thursday of October.

Like Halloween, on Punkie Night, children go from door to door in a tradition similar to Trick or Treat. They carry around Punkies made from hollowed out mangel-wurzels - a type of large root vegetable often used as cattle feed - and demand gifts with the rhyme:

It's Punkie Night tonight
It's Punkie Night tonight
Adam and Eve would not believe
It's Punkie Night tonight
Give me a candle, give me light
If you haven't a candle, a penny's all right.
It's Punkie Night tonight.

I might not live Somerset, and pumpkins might be very easy to buy in most supermarkets these days, but I think "mangel-wurzel" sounds so wonderful that next year I might just try to get one to carve into a lantern.

The picture above of two pumpkins was supplied by English Heritage, which is running Halloween events all over England this year.

Links

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/halloween-controversy.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4383216.stm

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Jack-o-lantern

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Ignis_fatuus

http://www.communigate.co.uk/london/whittinghamgardeningclub/page15.phtml

http://www.wyrdology.com/festivals/halloween/pumpkin-head.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangelwurzel

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/english-heritage-gets-scary-for.html

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/this-weeks-pagan-events-in-london.html

This week's pagan events in London

Here are this week's pagan events in London. Some of these have already been mentioned in my guide to Samhain open rituals and Pagan events in England, which I posted a couple of days ago.

Tuesday 27 October; The Rollright Stones, a local perspective. Talk by Julia Phillips at London Earth Mysteries Circle, Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, W1U 8EA. From 7pm. Admission £4 non-members, £2.50 members. http://www.londonearth.com/

Tuesday 27 October; An Introduction to Eternal Cosmic Principles. Lecture with Stefan Rippel at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: £5/£8. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 27 & Thursday 29 October; Witches, Wizards and Warlocks: A Guided Walk in Magical London with Delianne Forget, organised by Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Ticket price £7 in advance. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

Wednesday, 28 October; Ghosts and Legends; Patsy Langley and her partner, Ricky Sorenti, have a new book in progress (to be published early 2010) appraising the ghosts and legends of Middlesex, tales both ancient and modern. Patsy will be talking about this and other hauntings at Pagan Forum Secret Chiefs, Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2.

Wednesday 28 October; The Gruesome History of Bodysnatching. A illustrated lecture by Robert Stephenson at The Mortuary, St Marychurch Street, SE16 4JE. Organised by Rotherhithe and Bermondsey Local History Group. Time: 7.30pm for 7.45pm start. Cost £1.50. For more details visit http://www.kingstairs.com/rotherhithe/

Thursday 29 October; Pagan Federation London with MMA Coven is hosting an indoor Samhain ritual at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL. 7.30pm for 8pm start. Entrance £5 (£4 for members). Bring food and drink to share. No photographs allowed. Visit http://www.pflondon.org/

Thursday 29 October; Pazuzu, Lamashtu, Lilith and Demons: As Understood in Ancient Mesopotamia. Lecture by Dr Daniel Schwemer (SOAS) at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Ticket price £5 in advance. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

Friday 30 October; Abraxas occult journal launch party organised by Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7pm start. Entry free but booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

For details of future events, visit http://paganevents.blogspot.com/2008/09/pagan-events.html

Cunningham's Book Shadows

I've just got a copy of Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of an American Traditionalist just published by Llewellyn.

The blurb says:

"Recently discovered in a battered manila envelope, this previously unpublished manuscript was penned by Scott in the early 1980s. This rare book includes original spells, rituals, and invocations and an herbal grimoire. Featured in the design are Scott’s actual hand-drawn signs, symbols, and runes."

Scott Cunningham was a highly influential Wiccan author, particularly in America. His book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner is one of the most influential books on modern witchcraft. I'm very much looking forward to reading his Book of Shadows. When I've done so, I will review it on A Bad Witch's Blog

Links
Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of an American Traditionalist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Cunningham
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Llewellyn's Practical Magick)
http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738719146

Samhain / Halloween open rituals and events

I'll be posting my usual list of weekly pagan events in and around London in a couple of days, but here are some Samhain open rituals and Halloween celebrations with a pagan feel that are taking place in London and the rest of England over the next week. I'll post details of more Samhain events as I find them.

Sunday 25 October; October Plenty with The Lions Part. Many pagans consider Samhain to be a celebration of the end of summer as much as it is an honouring of the dead. October Plenty is an autumn harvest celebration held annually in Southwark. Beginning on the Bankside, by Shakespeare's Globe, in London, October Plenty mixes ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity, joining with historic Borough Market, Southwark. The event starts at 12 noon on the Bankside outside Shakespeare's Globe. For more details visit http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/octoberplenty/

Monday 26 October; Guided Ghost Walk with John Constable (aka John Crow), author of Secret Bankside: Walks Around the Outlaw Borough. Cost is £7 (£5 concessions), just turn up as there are no advance bookings. Meet at 6.45pm for a 7pm start at John Harvard Library, near St George the Martyr church / Borough tube, London. For more details, visit http://crossbones.moonfruit.com/#/events/4527977528

Tuesday 27 October; Leodis Pagan Circle Samhain Ritual. Time: 7pm. Location: Thwaite Mill, Thwaite Lane, Stourton, Leeds LS10 1RP. All welcome. For more information see http://www.leodispagancircle.co.uk/page5.htm

Tuesday 27 & Thursday 29 October; Witches, Wizards and Warlocks: A Guided Walk in Magical London with Delianne Forget, organised by Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Ticket price £7 in advance. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

On Thursday 29 October, the Pagan Federation London and MAA Coven are holding an indoor Samhain ritual at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL. Arrive at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Entrance costs £5 (£4 for members). Bring food and drink to share. No photographs allowed. Visit http://www.pflondon.org/

Friday 30 October; Samhain / Hallowe'en Celebration at Unity Unitarian Church, Upper Street, Islington, London. Time 7.20pm. £5 donation. Although this is in a church, the description sounds decidedly pagan: "Samhain is considered by most Wiccans as a celebration of death and of the dead, and involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. As we celebrate Samhain, we will mark the change in seasons and to remember those who are no longer physically with us but continue to shape our lives. Amid the symbolic flames of the festival, we will share words, chanting, music, silence, candle lighting, and a candle-lit labyrinth walking meditation." For more details see http://freelondonlistings.co.uk/events-search/details/14632-samhain--halloween-celebration.html

Saturday 31 October; Samhain rite - free and open Gorsedd of Caer Ibri at Avebury stone circle, Wiltshire. This is a seasonal rite with members of the Glastonbury and other Orders of Druids and the Loyal Arthurian Warband. Meet at noon for a 1pm start, meeting at and in the garden of the Red Lion. http://druidnetwork.org/.

Saturday 31 October 2009; Samhuinn Ritual at Stanton Drew Stone Circles, Somerset. The Dobunni Grove of Obod is holding a celebration of the fire festival suitable for pagans and friends/children of Pagans. Meet at 11am. Call Ninahare on 07962 781146 or visit http://druidnetwork.org/ for more details.

Saturday 31 October; Pagan Samhain celebration at Ankerwycke, near Staines, England. Start time 8pm. Call 07733 554321 for location and more details or visit the website www.witchvox.com

Saturday 31 October; The Witches Halloween Flying Ointment Workshop. The Wild Wicked Witches' workshop on the plants associated with witches and flying and herbal medicine as well as the history of Samhain, witches and broomstick. Venue Lee Valley Village YHA, Hertfordshire. Time: 10.30am -5pm, Cost: £60 / £45 concessions, deposit of £20 and booking essential. For details, call Karen on 07865081927 or Fiona on 07830195745. http://www.sensorysolutions.co.uk/

Saturday 31 October; Halloween with Personal Ancestors: Divination, Study and Ritual in the Lukumi Tradition. A ritual day led by Ode Bi Tola and friends. This unusual Halloween celebration is a self-contained course in ancestor worship in an Afro-Caribbean tradition that will help you reach our own ancestors. Venue: Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. Time: 10.30am to 5.30pm. Entry £45 in advance, booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

Sunday 1 November; Anderida Gorsedd Druid group holds large open rituals at the Long Man of Wilmington, in Sussex, on the Sunday closest to each of the eight pagan festival of the year. To take part in the Halloween event, meet from 1.30pm near the Long Man of Wilmington car park, for a walk up the hill. For more details, visit anderida@BardicArts.com or visit the website http://www.anderidagorsedd.org/Anderida_Gorsedd/Open_Rituals.html

Sunday 1 November; Samhain on Primrose Hill - Celebrate your Ancestors with the Loose Association of Druids. This is hosted by The Druid of Wormwood Scrubbs. 12.45pm - 2pm. Meet at Primrose Hill, London NW1 8YH, by the entrance opposite Rothwell St. For more details, email jtmorganhaberdasher@yahoo.co.uk.

Sunday 1 November: Kerridwen's Cauldron - Introduction to the Wheel and exploring the Dark Goddess of Samhain. Explore the Wheel of Brigit Ana with the Goddess Study Group. Facilitated by Elle Hull, Priestess of Avalon, this is an open Goddess study group, which will be held around the eight major festivals of the year beginning Samhain and ending Autumn Equinox 2010. Each circle will be held from 1:30pm to 5.30pm (arrival from 1pm) at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. Cost £10 (£7 unwaged). For further details contact Elle by email at mailto:avalonblessings%40googlemail.com or call 07981 875356.

The picture above shows last year's Halloween at Cross Bones Graveyard, on London's Southbank. This year's event is fully booked, but there are monthly vigils at the site. For details, visit the website: http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/how-to-celebrate-samhain.html
Secret Bankside: Walks Around the Outlaw Borough
http://druidnetwork.org/
http://www.pflondon.org/
http://www.treadwells-london.com/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/death-sex-at-cross-bones-graveyard.html
http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/octoberplenty/
http://www.sensorysolutions.co.uk/

Nemesis: Goddess of the Week

Archaeologists have just discovered an ancient temple to Nemesis - the Greek goddess of divine retribution - during excavations in Turkey, according to a report on pagan website Pagan Magic. So, it seems fitting to make Nemesis the Bad Witch's Goddess of the Week.

The newly-discovered temple to Nemesis is in the ancient Agora - or marketplace - in central İzmir, on Turkey's Aegean coast. The Agora was first excavated from 1932 to 1941. It was found to be not only a commerce district, but also the location of public institutions and temples. A temple of Zeus was the first religious building to be discovered there and the temple of Nemesis may not be the last - even if she is the goddess who like to get the last word.

Pagan Magic says: "In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, vengeful fate, personified as a remorseless goddess."

The website Godchecker.com says: "She knows where you are. Don't try to get too clever, too lucky or too rich. Nemesis particularly hates arrogance and offences against the natural order of things."

In antiquity she was often as depicted as a stern-looking woman holding a whip, or sometimes a pair of scales. By Victorian times she was more often seen as a vengeful spirit fuelled by neglect and poverty.

The picture above shows a print of an 1888 picture from the magazine Punch entitled The Nemesis of Neglect. Its description says:

"Crime, armed with a viciously sharp knife, stalks the streets of the capital. This was the day of Jack the Ripper, and fear abounded in the slums. In Punch's view, it was precisely because the slums had for so long been utterly neglected and its people so deprived that evil and depravity was able there to find a home."

These days Nemesis is more popular with fiction writers, movie makers and musicians than with pagans. She has given her name to novels by Bill Napier and Agatha Christie, a Star Trek movie and various musical tracks including Goddess Nemesis by Age of Nemesis and Goddess of Divine Retribution by Extreme Pain. I would add I have no idea what those tracks sound like - I'm not sure my ear drums deserve that kind of punishment :)

Links
The Nemesis of Neglect, 1888. from Heritage-Images
http://pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_info.php/temple-built-nemesis-unearthed-turkey-n-432?ad=badwitch
http://www.godchecker.com/
Nemesis (Wheeler Hardcover)
Nemesis: (Miss Marple)
Star Trek: Nemesis [DVD] [2003]
Goddess Nemesis (Instrumental)
Goddess of Divine Retribution

Bleeding doors, woodwork and tortured souls

Doors that bleed might sound like the stuff of horror stories, but for one woman who lives in an old house in Sussex it is a dreadful reality.

Every autumn, shortly before Halloween, red, sticky goo starts to ooze from the cracks in one of her doors.

She said: "It's sticky like blood. If I paint over the weeping stuff, the paint won't take, but I don't like them bleeding."

The rational answer is that it is just wood sap seeping out of the knots in the wood. This can happen with new wood, especially if it has not been treated properly before being made into a door. It is easy to remedy by painting the fresh wood with knotting fluid - obtained from DIY stores.

But is this what is happening here? The bleeding door is old - it dates back at least a 100 years. And the problem only happens in the winter, when the nights are long and dark.

Another possible rational explanation is that it is old resin seeping out from the woodwork. Perhaps it happens more in winter because the house is damp and cold.

But I would be wondering why it only happens with one door? If all the doors date from the same time - perhaps when the house was built - what makes this door different?

It could be that it was somehow painted differently from all the others, but perhaps there is a more sinister explanation? I think I would want to find out what happened in the past inside the room behind the bleeding door.

An image comes to mind of an old horror movie starring Peter Cushing called From Beyond the Grave. Peter Cushing plays an antique dealer, but each item he sells comes with its own terrifying curse. It is a series of vignettes. In one entitled The Door, a writer - played by Ian Ogilvy - buys an ancient ornate door. He fits it to a stationary cupboard, but sometimes the door opens onto a different room entirely - one in which horrific events have happened and will happen to anyone who enters.

It has been quite a few years since I saw that film but, if my memory serves me correctly, the door was steeped in the blood of its victims, which gushed out as the writer took an axe to it.

I'm not actually suggesting the woman in Sussex takes an axe to her door - that sounds a bit too much like a famous scene from yet another horror movie - but if painting it with knotting fluid doesn't work, maybe she should consider replacing her bleeding door with one a little less scary.

Note: The door pictured above is just a spooky photo I took, it is not the actual bleeding door.

Links
http://www.directdoors.com/info/diy/caring-for-your-door
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Beyond_the_Grave
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070078/plotsummary
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/halloween-controversy.html

Review: Haxan - Witchcraft through the Ages

Earlier this year I was very lucky in a raffle at the Gaia-Sol Convention when I won a copy of the DVD Häxan - Witchcraft Through the Ages.

Produced in 1922 by Swedish director Benjamin Christensen, Haxan was a silent movie about superstition in medieval times and the persecution of witches. The title translates as The Witches and the film was banned for many years because it was considered obscene.

The DVD actually contains two versions of the movie - the 1920s version with musical score and subtitles, and 1968 re-release with a voice-over by cult author William Burroughs.

I finally got around to watching Haxan last weekend and, with Halloween approaching, it seemed the ideal time to review it on A Bad Witch's Blog.

I didn't quite know what to expect when I started watching Haxan. Several pagan friends who had already seen it had raved about it. One had called it a documentary, another had said it was a docudrama, while a third described it as "a lurid film about witches getting tortured and burnt at the stake, but quite fun".

Having now watched it myself, I'd have to say that the film is hard to categorise. All three of those descriptions are valid, but none of them really do it justice. It is the kind of film you have to see for yourself and make your own mind up about.

Audiences at the preview in 1922 were outraged. There were protests - not just by religious groups but also by ordinary members of the public. The depictions of supposed satanic rituals, and torture, were considered shocking.

The film was re-released in 1941, when the director gained more respect for the movie. In 1968, the film gained further praise when a short version with its narration by William Boroughs was released. The DVD, which came out in 2007, brought to a new audience again.

But what do I think about it? I'll start by talking about the 1920s version.

The film is divided into chapters and the first is a straightforward documentary. It shows old illustrations with subtitles of the medieval view of the earth and the heavens, with the devil living at the centre of the earth and the world surrounded by spheres containing the planets, the angels and finally God. It says medieval people believed witches had made a unlawful pact with the devil. Those found guilty were burnt at the stake.

Other chapters show dramas unfold, with mounting horror. The first is little more than a saucy but grotesque tale in which a woman buys a love potion from a witch in order to seduce a wealthy priest. She returns three times to get stronger and stronger potions. The lights fade as she manages to drive her victim wild with desire.

In the next, a young woman accuses an poor old woman of using witchcraft to make her husband ill. The crone is carried off by the inquisition and tortured to confess. Realising her protestations of innocence are not believed, she gets her own back on her enemies by naming them as members of her coven. More and more innocent women are dragged to the inquisition cells, including the young widow. Harrowing and horrific scenes of methods used to gain confessions follow There are subtle persuasions, clever ploys and, of course, brutal torture. You know there is going to be no happy ending.

The final chapters are set in the era the movie was made - the 1920s. It talks about psychological problems that were thought to have been behind the witchcraze. But if you thought modern medicine was going to be an improvement, think again, as 2oth-century horror stories unfold of women diagnosed as suffering from hysteria being locked away in institutions where psychiatrists could try out all manner of horrific treatments in the name of science.

I found Haxan fascinating, yet gruelling. Although it still stands up pretty well as an introduction to medieval views on witchcraft, it is probably best enjoyed if you think of it as a horror movie in the same league as Nosferatu, also made in 1922. I love the surreal dream sequences as people imagine flying through the air on broomsticks, cavorting the devil and attending satanic rites. If you like old horror movies, this is great stuff.

The 1960s version has the advantage of a voice-over, which is good if you don't like watching sub-titles. Other differences are a new title sequence with some jazzy music that probably sounded really trendy in the 60s, but seems a bit cheesy today. I prefer the original, but either is worth watching.

Links:
Häxan - Witchcraft Through the Ages [1922] [DVD]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013257/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4xan

This week's pagan events in and near London

For details of future events visit my events page at http://paganevents.blogspot.com/, but here are this week's events of interest to pagans in London and other parts of England:

Tuesday 20 October; Healing Your Ancestral Patterns. Lecture with David Furlong at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: £5/£8. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 20 October; The Devil is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley: book launch party organised by Dedalus Press at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7pm start. Entry free but booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com.

Wednesday 21 October; Robert Cochrane: The Man, the Myth and his Magick. Talk by Shani Oates at The Moot With No Name, Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £2.

Sunday, 25 October; Succeeding in Turbulent Times. Joey Yap, author of a new book on Face Reading, will be speaking at The Hilton Hotel, London, from 10am-5pm. The cost is £58 for a one-day ticket and £100 for two one-day tickets. More details about the day can be found on www.cicobooks.co.uk

If you know of any pagan events and want them listed on A Bad Witch's Blog, email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

The vagabond foxes

I haven't posted anything about my garden foxes for a while. To make up for that, here is a picture I toook earlier today. They seem to have made my garden their home recently and I often see them.

Even if I don't see them, I see the signs of their leftover meals and other detritus - they are a real pair of vagabonds. They steal shoes, socks, T-shirts, footballs and toys from goodness knows where and bring them into my garden. When they have chewed them up they then discard them on my lawn.

Their favourite food is fish and chips and Kentucky friend chicken and they leave the packaging on my lawn too.

And they use my garden path as a toilet :(

Still, they do look lovely and I enjoy seeing them around, even if I do have to clear up after them.

Grimoires: A History of Magic by Owen Davies

Earlier this year, Oxford University Press published a book called Grimoires: A History of Magic Books.

Written by Owen Davies, a professor of social history at the University of Hertfordshire, it claims to be: "A history of the world's most dangerous books, from ancient Egypt to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told in full for the first time."

The book was highly acclaimed by occultists, academics and the press. The Guardian newspaper published a feature called Top Ten Grimoires - books of spells and rituals - based on its research.

I've been wanting to read Grimoires ever since I heard about it and I've just got a copy. When I finish it, I will most certainly review it on A Bad Witch's Blog.

To see The Guardian article, visit the guardian.co.uk site or go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/08/history. You can find out more about the book on the Oxford University Press website at http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/.