Pagan events in and near London

Here are highlights of this week's pagan events in and near London. To find out about future events, click on the events link at the top of the page.

Now to Sunday 6 February; The Imbolc Blues. Play written and presented by The Night Kitchen Cabaret. Venue: Clerkenwell Theatre, 24 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE. Show begins at 7.45pm, with fun and games after the show until approximately 10.45pm. Tickets £12. Tel: 020 7274 4888.

Monday 31 January; Odinism and the Pagan Revival. Talk by David Parry at pagan forum Secret Chiefs. Venue: Devereux public house (pictured), 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2. http://secretchiefslondon.wordpress.com/

1 - 6 February: Cheltenham Paranormal Festival. Talks, films, ghost walks, ghost hunts and loads of other events. For full details, visit the website http://www.cheltenhamparanormalfestival.com/

Tuesday 1 February; Connect With One of Your Power Animals. Talk by Amanda Robert at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Cost: £8/£12. Advance booking essential. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Wednesday 2 February; Creative Meditation. Half-hour guided lunchtime meditation to experience the richness of our inner world in all its colours, shades and contrasts. Venue: Inner Space, 36 Short’s Gardens, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9AB. Time: 1pm-1.30pm. http://www.innerspace.org.uk/

Wednesday 2 February; weekly Wednesday talk at The Moot with No Name. Venue: Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5/£3.

Wednesday 2 February; Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram: Workshop Evening with Marysia Kay at Treadwell's, 33 Store Street, WC1. Price: £10. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. To book, call 020 7240 8906. For more details email info@treadwells-london.com or visit http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Thursday 3 February; A Phallic Night: A Historical Look at Phallic Worship with Phil Hine at Treadwell's, 33 Store Street, WC1. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Price: £7. To book, call 020 7240 8906. For more details email info@treadwells-london.com or visit http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Friday 4 February; Through A Glass Darkly: Performance Inspired by Victorian Seances of the Fraudulent Mediums at Treadwell's, 33 Store Street, WC1. Price: £10. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. To book, call 020 7240 8906. For more details email info@treadwells-london.com or visit http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 5 February; Marsden Imbolc Fire Festival. Popular annual event features a procession, a fire 'circus', drama and music. The free event starts at 7pm. Meet at Marsden Information Point, 20-26 Peel Street, Marsden, Kirklees, HD7 6BW. For more details, call 01484 845595

Saturday, 5 February; Confessions of a Ghosthunter. Talk by Christian Jensen Romer as part of the part of the Cheltenham Paranormal Festival. Location: The Playhouse Theatre, Bath Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 7HG. Time: 7.30pm - 8.30pm. Tickets £3. For more details about the ghost festival visit http://www.cheltenhamparanormalfestival.com/ Phone the theatre on 01242 522852

Sunday 6 February; Imbolc (Candlemas) Public Ritual on Primrose Hill. Celebrate the Druidic Festival of Imbolc, or Candlemas, the third in the series of eight festivals in the Ogdoadal Cycle in the Druidic Year. It will take place in the Hawthorne Grove on Primrose Hill, Regent's Park, London NW1, under the aegis of the Loose Association of Druids. Afterwards there will be a social at the Washington pub, 50 Englands Lane, London NW3 4YD. Ritual starts at 12.30pm. Free event, just turn up.

Sunday 6 February; London's Chinese New Year festival to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rabbit. This will take place in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue, Central London, W1, from noon to 6pm. This is a free, public event so just turn up and have fun.

Please note: I try to keep my events page accurate, but if you do spot any errors, please let me know by leaving a comment. If you know of any other events you would like mentioned, please email badwitch1234@gmail.com

News: House sellers call on witches for help

A headline story in the Wall Street Journal says in the recession more and more people are turning to witches, psychics and Feng Shui practitioners to help cleanse their homes of negative energy.

You can read the full story at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704723104576061740571955116.html

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/accidents-and-exorcisms.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lent-and-clutter-clearing-choices.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/review-joey-yaps-pure-feng-shui.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/goddess-of-week-hestia.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/cassandra-eason-on-spontaneous-magick.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2007/11/purification.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2007/11/what-witches-use-their-brooms-for.html

News: BBC interviews Romanian witch queen

As I've mentioned before on A Bad Witch's Blog, witches in Romania are unhappy at recent Romanian government legislation to make witchcraft a legally-recognised profession and therefore taxable.

The BBC has now published an interview with a Romanian "Queen Witch" about her magic and about how difficult life is for for witches, astrologers and spiritual mediums in Romania.

You can read the feature and hear the interview at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/01/110126_outlook_romania_witch.shtml

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/09/news-taxing-issues.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/news-romanian-witchcraft-controversy.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/09/news-taxing-issues.html

BBC TV to feature Crossbones Graveyard

Crossbones Graveyard - an unconsecrated burial ground in Southwark, south London, dating back to the 1500s and used as a graveyard for prostitutes - will be featured on the television documentary series Inside Out on Monday 31 January at 7.30pm on BBC1.

Writer John Constable made Crossbones Graveyard famous with his play Southwark Mysteriesand runs regular public vigils at the site on the 23rd of each month to honour the outcast dead.

Programmes on BBC TV Channels are usually available to watch on iPlayer for at least a week after they are shown: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/death-sex-at-cross-bones-graveyard.html
http://www.crossbones.org.uk/
Southwark Mysteries (Oberon Book)

Imbolc open rituals and events

Imbolc is the pagan festival to mark the quickening of the year and takes place on February 2. The word Imbolc is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word Iomelc, which means ewe's milk, and may originate in an old Irish festival at the start of the lambing season. Christians celebrate Candlemas in at the start February, which is also a spring festival.

Here is a reminder of some of the Imbolc open rituals and events taking place in London and a few in other parts of England. You can also see them listed on my events page, which you can access through the link at the top of my blog. I'll be posting my usual list of pagan events for the week ahead on Monday.

Every night to Sunday 6 February; The Imbolc Blues. Play written and presented by The Night Kitchen Cabaret. Venue: Clerkenwell Theatre, 24 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE. Show begins at 7.45pm, with fun and games after the show until approximately 10.45pm. Tickets £12. Tel: 020 7274 4888.

Saturday, January 29; Free and Open Gorsedd Imbolc Rite by the Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri at The Sun Circle, Avebury, Wilts, Avebury, United Kingdom. Druidic style open ceremony to celebrate the first stirrings of renewed life & to call in the Spring - all faith paths welcome. Meet at the Red Lion pub from noon for ceremony from 1.30pm-3pm. Offerings of bread or cake, mead, poetry and song are welcome.

Sunday 30 January. Exploring Imbolc: Symbolism, Folklore, Custom, Magic. One-day workshop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. All handouts, samples, ingredients, teas, coffees included in the price of £55 (£25 deposit, balance due on the day). Time: 11am to 6pm. Booking essential and very limited places. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Sunday 30 January; Anderida Gorsedd Imbolc open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.

Sunday, 30 January; Tribe of Avalon Imbolc Walk and Pilgrimage. A sacred walk to honour the Maiden Goddess Bridie in a walk along the ley line path from St Paul’s Cathedral, London, to St Bride’s Church, the sacred site once dedicated to the Goddess Brigit as Bride who became St Bride in the Christian Church. After saying poems at St Bride's Well, there will be a visit to the nearby Punch for food and drink. Bring poems in honour of Goddess to share. Meet Elle and Myfanwy at St Paul’s Tube Station (Central line) no later than 12.15pm. This is a free event, but bring money to buy your own drinks and food at the pub and for any donation you wish to make to St Bride’s to support maintenance of this site.

Saturday 5 February; Marsden Imbolc Fire Festival. Popular annual event features a procession, a fire 'circus', drama and music. The free event starts at 7pm. Meet at Marsden Information Point, 20-26 Peel Street, Marsden, Kirklees, HD7 6BW. For more details, call 01484 845595

Sunday 6 February; Imbolc (Candlemas) Public Ritual on Primrose Hill. Celebrate the Druidic Festival of Imbolc, or Candlemas, the third in the series of eight festivals in the Ogdoadal Cycle in the Druidic Year. It will take place in the Hawthorne Grove on Primrose Hill, Regent's Park, London NW1, under the aegis of the Loose Association of Druids. Afterwards there will be a social at the Washington pub, 50 Englands Lane, London NW3 4YD. Ritual starts at 12.30pm. Free event, just turn up.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/celebrating-imbolc-start-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/spell-for-springtime-wishes.html

News: Cat woman claims she is witch hunt victim

Sometimes, I read news stories about witches or other pagans that shock me. It is hard to know the truth just from one news story, which could be biased, but here is something has upset me.

The news piece, which I saw on the LaCrosse Tribune website, had the title Woman Claims Literal Witch Hunt in Dead Cats Case

It reported that a woman from Jackson County, Oregon, USA, who has been charged for keeping more than 100 dead cats in a broken freezer, says she is being persecuted because she is a Wiccan.

Her three children have been put in foster care and she claims she is being pressured to give up her religion in order to get them back.

However, the authorities say the children were removed from the family home because of unhealthy living conditions. Apparently investigators found cat faeces in the house and as well as discovering the dead cats, rescued 17 live cats, one of which was suffering from from distemper and E. coli and later died.

Now this story upsets me for several reasons.

Firstly, I certainly don't like to hear about people or animals suffering and any news story with that kind of subject matter is disturbing.

Secondly, on a personal level, this story worries me because I wonder whether people reading it will think all witches are mad cat women with dirty houses and the corpses of dead pets in their fridges awaiting burial. (We aren't, I can assure you.)

Thirdly, I am very concerned that the woman's claims might be true and the authorities are persecuting her because of her religion.

Now, anyone who has 100 dead cats in their freezer and cat poo all over the place clearly has a problem - but it is far more likely to be a social, emotional, mental or physical problem than anything to do with what religion they follow. And forcing someone to convert to another faith or become an atheist is certainly not going to make them suddenly house proud - it is only going to add to their problems.

I would imagine what this woman needs is some help from social workers, health workers and counsellors - and perhaps other members of the local Wiccan community - to deal with any issues she has, get her home put right, her pets treated and her children returned.

I hope she gets all that - and that her fears of being persecuted in a witch hunt are proved unfounded.

You can read the full story on the LaCrosse Tribune website at: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_e3d91cca-29d2-11e0-9f6b-001cc4c002e0.html

News: Occult bookshop for sale

The owners of an East Oxford bookshop specialising in books on the occult, spirituality and psychology are selling it after 28 years.

Ruth Ashcroft, 60, and Anthony Cheke, 65, are looking for someone to buy the Inner Bookshop, Magdalen Road, East Oxford, which is an area known for its interesting and unusual shops.

You can read the full story on the Witney Gazette website at www.witneygazette.co.uk/business/8814412.Inner_Bookshop_for_sale/

Visit the Inner Bookshop website at www.innerbookshop.com

Pagan Eye: Swan on a pond

I took this photo of a swan seen through willow branches at Crystal Palace Park a couple of years ago on a lovely spring day.

For ages I thought I'd lost the picture when my old computer died, so I was over the moon when found it again by chance on a back-up drive the other day.

Swans are among the loveliest birds, with their white feathers and the graceful way the seem to glide across the water. Yet their strength defies their slender appearance and they have the reputation of being fierce defenders of their territory.

According to The Signs and Symbols Bible, the swan was a symbol of protection in ancient Celtic countries and its form was often used in jewellery. Swans are also seen as a symbol of true love, because they mate for life.

Hans Christian Anderson's fairy story The Ugly Duckling tells of a chick that believes it is unattractive eventually shedding its grey feathers and transforming into a beautiful adult swan - and for this reason many people see the swan as representing transformation and achieving one's potential.

A swan is the front cover picture for Birds Divine Messengers by Andrea Wansbury, which I reviewed a few days ago. According to the book, the swan's archetype is the alchemist, the master of transformation. It says: "When a swan appears look to see what changes you can make in order to create a wonderful transformation in your life. What negative beliefs can you convert into positive ones? What fears can you use to motivate you into action rather than letting them depress you? Mastering fears and negative beliefs can produce marvelous, life-altering changes."

Perhaps rediscovering my picture of this beautiful swan is sign that things are about to change for the better in other areas of my life too - that would be nice!

On each Pagan Eye post, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. I'm not quite sure what I'll be including - it could be a seasonal image, a pagan site, an event, or just a pretty picture.

If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Previous posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/visit-from-foxes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/pagan-eye-winter-rose.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/08/pagan-eye-druid-oak.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/pagan-eye-where-witches-walked.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/pagan-eye-two-foxes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/07/review-signs-and-symbols-bible.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/birds-divine-messengers-big-garden.html

Controversy over witches of Hopwas Wood

Over the past month, newspaper and website This is Tamworth has run a series of articles about alleged intrigue, witchcraft and occult activity in Hopwas Woods, Staffordshire. The features have not been particularly pagan friendly - and the latest one is, frankly, a sensationalist rehashing of some very old news.

The first couple of news articles were about supposedly occult artefacts that were discovered in the woodlands, including an Egyptian-style statuette and an engraved copper tablet. Local residents were keen to find out why they were there and what they meant. Those stories were not too offensive, and I even blogged about the first one, back in December. I guess a little curiosity is natural, and one shouldn't leave stuff lying around in public places - particularly when it might have magical significance.

This is Tamworth's latest story is far more sensationalist. It states: "Hopwas Woods has been the centre of tales of naked witches, occult artefact discoveries and spooky goings-on for decades."

Then it dug an old copper out of retirement to tell a tale about an incident in 1984 when he was called to investigate a report of naked witches dancing in the woods.

This is Tamworth reports the ex-policeman as saying: "It was quite an eerie experience, believe me! There were signs of a burnt out fire, and a number of small bones, which, at the time, were thought to have possibly been sacrificial and later identified as bird bones, possibly chicken bones. There were also signs of a roughly drawn out pentagram scratched on the ground nearby. A number of items were taken for later forensic examination if required."

A group of people were arrested, thrown into police cells overnight and interrogated. Extra police were drafted in to guard the woods. The only charges made, however, related to a bit of cannabis possessed by a few members of the group - hardly the crime of the century in my opinion. Was it really worth all that police time and effort, even that long ago?

The group also denied being witches, instead claiming to be members of an occult group called The Order of the Silver Star. It makes sense to me that they weren't witches. Witches, in my experience, are generally far more circumspect about their outdoor rituals than that bunch seemed to be.

Witchcraft was not illegal in the 1980s, but now paganism and witchcraft are far more acceptable in the public eye than they were back then. These days the police are taught to treat pagan rituals with sensitivity and understanding.

So, This is Tamworth, please take your Gene Hunt lookalike back to his retirement home and ask some modern policemen if they would throw people into prison for being pagans.

And, so long as people using Hopwas Woods aren't breaking the law, causing a nuisance or damaging the environment, I don't really care if they are fluffy Wiccans celebrating the solstice, wannabe Cthulhu cultists attempting to summon That Which Does Not Exist from beyond the void - or the local Girl Guides having a chicken barbecue and singing late night songs around the campfire.

In this country people of all beliefs are perfectly entitled to enjoy our lovely public woodlands - and if they want to dance, sing and say words in honour of ancient gods, stars or planets, that is their choice.

But, fellow pagans, when you are outside celebrating the seasons, do make sure you take your ritual artefacts - and your litter - home with you afterwards. If you don't, you could find some Scooby gang trying to investigate what you've been doing and selling their story to This is Tamworth.

I hope we see more responsible journalistic reporting in Tamworth in future.

The photo shows Hopwas Hays Wood

Links
http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/news/Naked-dancing-candles-tale-eerie-night-woods/article-3120724-detail/article.html
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4152532055090335650
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/news-occult-artefact-found-in-woods.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopwas
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/blog-post.html

Birds Divine Messengers & Big Garden Birdwatch

Next weekend, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is running its annual Big Garden Birdwatch.

This is a huge survey of birds that anyone can take part in, designed to help with conservation efforts. All you have to do is register at the Big Garden Birdwatch website at http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/ then, over the weekend of 29-30 January watch the birds in your garden or local park for an hour and submit a form to tell the RSPB what you saw. The RSPB supplies all you need to identify common garden birds and the form to record them on.

A couple of years ago I took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch and used the opportunity to combine it with a bit of ornithomancy - that's fortune telling by divining the meaning of birds.

It was a form of prophecy very popular with Ancient Romans. It is mentioned in Homer's epic the Odyssey, where an eagle appears three times, each time flying to the right, gripping a dead dove in its talons. This augury was interpreted as meaning Odysseus was returning home and would deal with his wife's suitors.

These days, ornithomancy is hardly used at all - in fact, there are very few books easily available on the subject of divination by birds.

However, for Yule I was given one called Birds: Divine Messengers. This isn't about the ancient art of ornithomancy as practiced by the Romans. Instead, it is a lovely book about the folklore, mythology and meaning of birds, together with a personal system devised by author Andrea Wansbury to find the messages birds bring to help us transform our lives for the better.

Birds can appear to us in dreams or images that catch our eye as well as by flying past us or landing in our gardens. In the book, Andrea says that we should pay attention to birds that stand out for one reason or another - perhaps because they keep appearing, behave in a strange way, land very close to us or even tap on our window.

Publisher Findhorn press says: "Birds teach us precious and timeless universal principles, spiritual truths and divine wisdom: the tools and ideals we all need to know and grasp as we embark on our spiritual journeys... They teach us spiritual ideals not only through their unique characteristics, their eggs and their feathers, but also through mythological stories and folklores... Each bird brings its own specific message; this book explains how to recognise when birds are delivering a personal message and the importance of applying this guidance to our lives."

For me, one of the most useful parts of Birds: Divine Messengersis its long appendix listing about 100 birds from all over the world with their meanings. This could be handy for taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch if you want to discover any messages the birds you see might be bringing, as well as taking part in the conservation project survey. Here are a few examples:

Bluetit: resourcefulness
Crow: change
Duck: faith
Gull: searching
House sparrow: consolidation
Jay: opportunity
Pigeon: obedience
Starling: confidence
Thrush: nurturing
Wren: self-worth

I don't necessarily agree with every meaning Andrea ascribes to each bird. For example, she lists the cuckoo as giving the message of "trust" and says: "A cuckoo is saying you need to trust more".

Personally, I don't feel comfortable with that interpretation. To me, a cuckoo is primarily a sign of spring - and according to some legends, it warns of trickery. In other tales it is a symbol of female suffering. The medieval word "cuckold", for a man whose wife has been unfaithful, is derived from the name of the cuckoo. Considering that cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests and the first thing cuckoo chicks do is throw the rest of their foster parents' eggs out of the nest, I would never associate a cuckoo with trust.

Mind you, I can see a use for the book's interpretation:

"No, husband dearest, that cuckoo you can hear singing in the woods doesn't mean I've been shagging your mates. Look, this book says the cuckoo means trust. You can trust me, darling, in all things..."

As with all forms of divination, it is always important to consider what a sign or symbol means to you personally rather than just going by the meanings given in books.

Links and previous related posts:
Birds: Divine Messengers
http://www.findhornpress.com/
http://www.andreawansbury.com/divine.html
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/bird-watching-portents-and-ornithomancy.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/04/herons-bring-message-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/12/who-killed-cock-robin.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/pagan-eye-city-blackbird.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/my-white-pigeon.html
http://symbols.ehibou.com/cuckoo/

Festival of the Week: Burns Night

All pagans enjoy a good festival, so I thought I'd start writing Festival of the Week posts on my blog. And my first Festival of the Week is Burns Night, which is celebrated on 25 January every year.

Burns Night is held to commemorate the birthday of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). Although it isn't a pagan festival, Robert Burns did a great deal to revive an interest in Scottish legends, traditions, folklore and history.

On Burns Night it is traditional to eat haggis, drink whisky and recite Burns poetry - usually his Address to a Haggis. You can find the words here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/robertburns/works/address_to_a_haggis/

In the UK, most butcher's shops and supermarkets sell haggis around the time of Burns Night. Haggis is normally made out of sheep's offal, onion, oatmeal, suet and spices, all minced and stuffed into a sheep's stomach. If you prefer to make a vegetarian version of haggis at home, here are links to a couple of excellent recipes:
http://www.edinburghguide.com/node/2782
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/vegetarian-haggis/Detail.aspx

The picture shows The Poems and Songs of Robert Burnsaudio CD. You can also buy The Complete Works of Robert Burns, Containing his Poems, Songs, and CorrespondenceKindle edition from Amazon for just 74p.

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/burns-night.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/mackay-bad-witchs-god-of-week.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/scottish-myths-legends.html

Pagan events for the week before Imbolc

In just over a week's time, on February 2, it is the spring festival of Imbolc and there are open rituals, workshops and a pilgrimage taking place in the lead-up to it.

Here are highlights of this week's pagan events in and near London, including several Imbolc celebrations as well as talks on a variety of other subjects. To find out about events taking place after that, click on the events link at the top of the page.
Tuesday 25 January; Conserved Corpses from Egypt to Evita. Talk by Rob Stephenson at London Earth Mysteries Circle. Admission is £4.50, concessions £4, members £3, concessions are £4. Talks are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7.15PM at First Floor, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA.
Wednesday 26 January; weekly Wednesday talk at The Moot with No Name. Venue: Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5/£3.
Wednesday 26 January; Gnostic Legacies: The Wilder Shores of Gnosis. Talk by Dr Jonathan Hill at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp
Thursday, 27 January; PFL Imbolc Open Ritual by Bacchus Border Morris. Location: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London. Gather for pre-ritual social at 7.30pm. Ritual starts at 8pm. Social and feasting afterward until 10pm. Entrance: PF members/conc £5. All others £6. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share.
Thursday, 27 January. Spirit And Shaman: Ancient Techniques For The Modern World. Public lecture by Zoë Brân of Shaman UK at The Theosophical Society, Blavatsky Lodge, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA. Time 6.30pm - 9.00pm. Cost £5.Booking not required. For further information visit http://www.theosophical-society.org.uk/.
Friday 28 January. The Secret Land. Talk by Paul Broadhurst about his writing at Research into Lost Knowledge Organisation (Rilko). Venue: Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, W1U 8EA. Admission £7 non-members, £5 members. Time: AGM at 6.30, lecture at 7.15pm. http://www.rilko.net/
Friday 28 January. A Demonstration of Mediumship by Anthony Kesner at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: £5/£8. Advance booking essential. Tel: 020 - 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html
Saturday 29 January; The Native American medicine wheel: for insight and personal growth. Learn about the ancient structure of the Native American medicine wheel, an intuitive and creative method initiating personal, family and team development, and how to integrate it into your professional and everyday life. Location: City Lit, Keeley Street, Covent Garden, Camden, London WC2B 4BA. When: from 10.30am-5.30pm. Cost: Full fee: £44 Senior fee: £30 Concession: £16. For more details about these courses and others, and to book places, visit http://www.citylit.ac.uk// or call enrolments on 020 7831 7831.
Saturday 29 January. Tarot for the Terrified. One-day workshop to show that tarot is more than just a deck of cards for divination. Time: 10-4pm. Location: Rochester, Kent. Cost £25. Bring a packed lunch. Very limited spaces so book early by calling 07876545512. More details at: http://greenchapel.weebly.com/
Sunday 30 January. Natural Magic for the Nervous. A one-day workshop for beginners on the four Elements of air, fire, water and earth. On how to work with them magically and creatively and bring then into balance within and without ourselves. Time: 10-4pm. Location: Rochester, Kent. Cost £25. Bring a packed lunch. Very limited spaces so book early by calling 07876545512. More details at: http://greenchapel.weebly.com/
Sunday 30 January. Exploring Imbolc: Symbolism, Folklore, Custom, Magic. One-day workshop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. All handouts, samples, ingredients, teas, coffees included in the price of £55 (£25 deposit, balance due on the day). Time: 11am to 6pm. Booking essential and very limited places. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp
Saturday, January 29; Free and Open Gorsedd Imbolc Rite by the Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri at The Sun Circle, Avebury, Wilts, Avebury, United Kingdom. Druidic style open ceremony to celebrate the first stirrings of renewed life & to call in the Spring - all faith paths welcome. Meet at the Red Lion pub from noon for ceremony from 1.30pm-3pm. Offerings of bread or cake, mead, poetry and song are welcome.
Sunday 30 January; Anderida Gorsedd Imbolc open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.
Sunday, 30 January; Tribe of Avalon Imbolc Walk and Pilgrimage. A sacred walk to honour the Maiden Goddess Bridie in a walk along the ley line path from St Paul’s Cathedral, London, to St Bride’s Church, the sacred site once dedicated to the Goddess Brigit as Bride who became St Bride in the Christian Church. After saying poems at St Bride's Well, there will be a visit to the nearby Punch for food and drink. Bring poems in honour of Goddess to share. Meet Elle and Myfanwy at St Paul’s Tube Station (Central line) no later than 12.15pm. This is a free event, but bring money to buy your own drinks and food at the pub and for any donation you wish to make to St Bride’s to support maintenance of this site. If you want to take part, it is essential that you contact Elle at avalonblessings@googlemail.com or on 07981 875356 to confirm you are attending. http://www.avalonblessings.co.uk/
Please note: I try to keep my events page accurate, but if you do spot any errors, please let me know by leaving a comment. If you know of any other events you would like mentioned, please email badwitch1234@gmail.com

News: Police save 'witches' from attack

Police in Lagos, Nigeria, have saved a woman claiming to be a witch from an angry mob.

Police were called in the early hours of the morning because a woman claiming to be a witch was on the roof of a three-storey building. She said she had flown there on a coco yam leaf in order to curse someone. Residents woken up by the noise on the roof were threatening to lynch the woman. The police arrived and escorted her away, saving her from the mob.

You can read the full story on the Vanguard website at http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/police-rescue-%E2%80%98witch%E2%80%99-from-angry-mob/

Meanwhile, police in Nswazwi, Botswana, saved a mentally ill woman from being attacked as a witch. The woman, who was a patient at a nearby hospital, had got lost and wandered into a village. Residents thought she was a witch and threw holy water over her before handing her over to the police, who had been called to the scene.

You can read the full story at The Voice website at http://www.thevoicebw.com/2011/01/21/mentally-disturbed-woman-mistaken-for-a-witch/

Treadwells moves next weekend

Treadwells Bookshop, one of London's best occult stores, is relocating to 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS next weekend.

From 29 January to 2 February, Treadwell's will be moving to its new premises close to the British Museum. The store website says: "It is going to be done quickly, with only three days of shop floor closure. Our events programme will not be interrupted."

For a last chance to enjoy the old Treadwells (pictured), at 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB, pop along this weekend or early next week.

The new venue should be bigger and better. I've very much looking forwarding to visiting the new Treadwells soon.

For full details visit http://www.treadwells-london.com/index.html

The picture shows the old shop, as often shown on my events page. Time for me to take some new photos I think!

Pagan Eye: Two foxes

Here's another photograph of the two lovely foxes who have been visiting my garden recently.

The fox having a good scratch is definitely looking rather large around the belly and is almost certainly pregnant. Hopefully I will be able to get some gorgeous pictures of fox cubs later in the spring.

On each Pagan Eye post, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. I'm not quite sure what I'll be including - it could be a seasonal image, a pagan site, an event, or just a pretty picture.

If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Previous posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/visit-from-foxes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/pagan-eye-winter-rose.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/08/pagan-eye-druid-oak.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/pagan-eye-where-witches-walked.html

Walking in Arthur Machen's visionary London

Arthur Machen seems the fashionable author to be reading if you enjoy classic tales of terror set in occult London. However, I must admit that I hadn't heard of him until quite recently.

Machen was a Welsh author and mystic living in the late 19th century to mid 20th century, who spent much of his adult life in London. His most famous story is the novella The Great God Pan,which Stephen King called "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language". My personal favourite is probably his second most famous story, The Hill of Dreams,about an aspiring author's life-long attempts at literary alchemy, and his descent into madness as a result.

Although Machen was known by serious horror buffs and students of London's occult literature, his work had sunk into relative obscurity compared with horror writers such as H P Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe. However, with the surge of interest in psychogeography over the past years, Machen seems to be getting a renaissance.

I first read about Machen in the book Psychogeography, by Merlin Coverley, and it piqued my curiosity. In it, Machen is described as one of a few authors who write about visionary London and "...present the city as a dreamscape in which nothing is as it seems and which can only be navigated by those possessing secret knowledge".

Chatting to friends, I discovered several of them, like me, had only just discovered Machen and were eagerly seeking out his more hard-to-find titles in antiquarian bookshops and dusty libraries. Then, a few days ago, I was sent an email about an Arthur Machen walk being run by Robert Kingham who was behind Align, a wonderful presentation about London's ley lines and psychoeography.

He said: "I'll be exploring the world of Arthur Machen and the London landscape that fascinated him."

The event is being organised as part of the Museum of London's Urban Myths season. It is described as a walk into the "grey soul of London", taking a mystical look at Finsbury through Machen's books, stopping off at some historic pubs along the way.

I must see about buying a ticket before they sell out.

Walks will take place on Sunday 3 April and Sunday 17 April from 5pm-8pm, and on Wednesday 6 April and 20 April from 6p-9pm. Tickets cost £9 (concs £7) and can be booked through the Musuem of London website at http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ For more information, call 020 7001 9844 or email info@museumoflondon.org.uk

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/08/review-aligh.html
Three Impostors and Other Stories: Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen v. 1 (Call of Cthulhu Fiction) (Call of Cthulhu Novel)
The Great God Pan and the Hill of Dreams
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/psychogeography-by-merlin-coverley.html

Signs of spring and hope

The photo above, of bare treetops, is the view from my mum's hospital bed, where she is recovering from a bad fall last week.

She is in the same hospital as my father was before he died just over four years ago. Although he was in a ward on the next floor up, the view from his window was of the same trees, which surround a small park over the road behind the hospital.

He died in the autumn, just before Samhain. I would often look out of his bedside window in the weeks before that when I visited him in hospital and, towards the end, as I sat long vigils at his bedside while he was unconscious and slowly slipping away.

Most of the trees along the edges of that small park are horse-chestnuts - or conker trees. It had been a long, hot summer the year my father died and in the autumn the leaves would normally be beautiful shades of yellow, orange, red and gold. But that year they were shrivelled and brown. It was the year the horse-chestnut trees in my area were first affected blighted with leaf miner moth - an insect that discolours and kills leaves.

Horse-chestnuts have been among my favourite trees since I was a child. We had a massive horse-chestnut at the end of our long garden. When I was young I loved to play in the shade of its branches. I found the leaves fascinating - you could strip away the green part with your finger nails to turn them into fish-bone-like skeletons - and in the autumn I loved to collect conkers for conker fights.

But, in that autumn four years ago, it seemed that as my dad lay dying, so were the trees. All things must end, but it isn't easy to see loved and cherished things pass away.

My father died; but the trees are still there. Although the horse-chestnut trees in England are far from well, and many are affected by cankers as well as leaf miner moth, some are recovering and treatments are being searched for.

Those trees outside the window of my mother's hospital ward might look dead and bare, but there are little buds forming on the branches. Within a few weeks, the first green leaves will grow. Those beautiful trees are not dead yet, just resting for the winter.

My mother appears to be recovering well from her fall. This week she is due to be transferred to a hospital that specialises in rehabilitation physiotherapy. The doctors and nurses who are treating her believe that she will be home before too long - possibly fitter and more mobile than she was before her fall.

When I look out of her window at those trees now, I don't see death all around me - I see signs of recovery. While there's life, there's hope.

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/another-day-in-another-storm.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7549489.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Canker_of_Horse_Chestnut
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=533
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/09/seasons-going-conkers.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/06/fathers-day.html

A spell for springtime wishes

Here is a beautiful but simple candle spell that is perfect to cast at a full moon or in early spring - although you can do it at any time if you want to. It will help your wishes and dreams come true in the year to come.

You can work the magic alone, with your partner, or with a group of friends. All you need is a floating candle for each person and a bowl of water - or a cauldron.

Everyone taking part should scratch their wish on the bottom of a candle, light it and float it on the water. When all the candles are lit, say:

Fire and water
Kindle and flow
Bring life to our dreams
And let them grow.

Afterwards, enjoy watching the candles burn down - perhaps while enjoying some wine and good food.

Candlemas or Imbolc, on February 1 or 2, celebrating the start of spring, is a good time to cast this spell, or do it at any full moon. There are more candle spells in my book Pagan Portals Candle Magic, which you can view on Amazon.

The picture shows a set of12 white floating candles with a four-hour burnavailable from Amazon

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/full-moon-and-signs-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/celebrating-imbolc-start-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/imbolc-celebrating-start-of-spring.html

News: Wassailing takes on around the UK

Wassailing - an old tradition to ward off evil spirits from orchards and encourage a good cider apple harvest - has been going on all over England and some events are due to take place tonight or the next few days. Here are links to several news stories about what is going on:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/somerset/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_9362000/9362050.stm
http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/8791665.Porlock_wassail_revived/
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/lifestyle/weekend-life/food-drink/food_drink_lift_spirits_with_a_bit_of_wassailing_1_2313116
http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/news/Raise-cider-glass-toast-good-apples/article-3107025-detail/article.html

Pagan events in and near London

Here are highlights of this week's pagan events in and near London. To find out about future events, click on the events link at the top of the page.

Monday 17 January; Croydon Crows. PF moot held every 3rd Monday of each month at the Skylark pub, South End, South Croydon from 8pm onwards.

Monday 17 January; Shamanism and Life Choices. Evening workshop by Shaman UK at The Open Centre, 188 Old St, London, EC1V 9FR. Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm. £12 (concs £8). Booking essential. For further information and to book places visit http://www.shaman.uk.com/, email info@shaman.uk.com or call 07847 894453.

Monday 17 January; The Donner Party - An Underworld Journey Through Winter And Hunger. Talk by Michael Bingas at pagan forum Secret Chiefs. Venue: Devereux public house (pictured), 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2. http://secretchiefslondon.wordpress.com/

Tuesday 18 January; Countdown to Coherence. Talk by health writer Hazel Courtney at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: £8/£12. Advance booking essential. Tel: 020 - 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 18 January; Interview with a Witch: Gareth Gerrard in conversation with Christina Oakley-Harrington. A good night for those who are interested in finding out more about Wicca and men's role within it. Location: Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Wednesday 19 January; weekly Wednesday talk at The Moot with No Name. Venue: Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5/£3.

Wednesday 19 January; Ancient Gnostics Uncovered: Valentinus and the Valentinians. Talk by Dr Jonathan Hill at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Thursday 20 January; The Ballad of John Clare:London Book Launch Party with Dedalus Books at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. Time: 7pm to 9.30pm. RSVP to Eric at Dedalus info@dedalusbooks.com or by telephoning 01487 832382. Price: Free but advance RSVP required.

Please note: I try to keep my events page accurate, but if you do spot any errors, please let me know by leaving a comment. If you know of any other events you would like mentioned, please email badwitch1234@gmail.com

Another day in A&E; another storm

Why does it seem that whenever I have to take someone to A&E, there is a disastrous storm?

Yesterday, while I was at hospital with my mum who had had a nasty fall, the heavens opened and the the roof of the X-Ray department collapsed under the huge amount of rainfall!

No one was hurt in the disaster, but it did nothing to lessen the already long queue of people waiting to be seen.

Luckily, my mother had already had her X-Ray before the storm did its worst and, also luckily, she was found not to have broken any bones.

However, she has a badly bruised hip and is in a lot of pain so she is being kept in hospital for observation and physiotherapy for a day or two.

I'll be visiting her as much as possible after work today and tomorrow, so I might not get much time to blog for a day or two.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/11/friday-13-unlucky-for-some.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/06/my-mums-wrist-is-on-mend.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/11/it-never-rains-but-it-pours.html

A visit from foxes

I photographed this lovely fox in my garden yesterday. He was sitting on my lawn while another fox - perhaps a vixen - was investigating the leaf pile at the end of my garden, which in previous years has been used as a breeding den.

Hopefully, this lovely pair will choose to have a litter of cubs in my garden this year and I will be able to post lots of photos of fox cubs to my blog.

By the way, if you are interested in urban foxes and want to see some really lovely photos of foxes, I can thoroughly recommend the blog Garden Fox Watch at http://www.gardenfoxwatch.co.uk/

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/more-fox-tales.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/fox-tales.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/07/real-foxes-dont-eat-quiche.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/12/cat-and-fox-food-fight.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/fox-family-playing-under-my-apple-tree.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/10/vagabond-foxes.html

Goddess of the Week: Hestia

I haven't picked a god or goddess of the week for a while, but a reader recently emailing me to ask about kitchen goddesses and that is a good reason to find one.

In Greek mythology, Hestia is the goddess of the home, the hearth the family and cooking. She is the ideal choice as my goddess of the week.

According to the website Pagan Magic:

"In Greek mythology Hestia, daughter of Cronus and Rhea is the virgin goddess of the hearth. The hearth fire of a Greek or a Roman household was not allowed to go out, unless it was ritually extinguished and ritually renewed, accompanied by impressive rituals of completion, purification and renewal.

"As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. Hestia was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain."

We don't tend to have open fires for cooking in modern kitchens, but the ever-burning pilot light of the boiler that keeps our home warm and heats our water is something like a perpetual flame and I could imagine Hestia approving of our practical yet comfy 21st century kitchens.

If you have just had a lovely new kitchen installed - or spruced up your old one - Hestia would be an appropriate goddess to honour.

Suggestions for things to do to honour Hestia and to ask for her protection for your kitchen and home could include:

• Thoroughly spring clean and declutter your kitchen, and get your boiler serviced if it needs it


• Say a few words asking for Hestia's blessing and protection for your home when you relight your oven after thoroughly cleaning it, or light the pilot light of a boiler that is new or just been serviced


• Anoint a candle with a little vanilla oil and light it to honour Hestia, asking for her blessing


• Bake bread from scratch and say a few words of thanks to Hestia while sharing it with your family

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hestia
http://www.pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/hestia-a-237.html?add=badwitch
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lent-and-clutter-clearing-choices.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/07/baking-bread-for-lammas.html

Pagan events in and near London

Here are highlights of this week's pagan events in and near London. To find out about future events, click on the events link at the top of the page.

Tuesday 11 January; The Shamanic Ballad of Tam Lin: Understanding a Scottish Traditional Journey. Talk by Michael Berman at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Wednesday 12 January; Crowley: The Amalantrah Reworking. Talk by Gary Dickinson on one of the most important periods of Aleister Crowley's life. Weekly Wednesday talk at The Moot with No Name. Venue: Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5/£3.

Wednesday 12 January; Ancient Gnostics Uncovered: Basilides and the Sethians. Talk by Dr Jonathan Hill at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Thursday 13 January; The Elephant and Castle and other Beasts Walk. South East London Folklore Society host Scott Wood will be leading a folklore walk. Meet outside the Cuming Museum, 151 Walworth Road, London, SE17 1RY, at 7.30pm. It will end at Kings Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High St, London, SE1 1NA at around 8.30pm. Cost: £2.50 / £1.50.

Friday 14 January; Some Secret Space. Ritual evening for pagans with Peter James Mahoney and Friends at Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7PB. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking advised. Some experience necessary. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Saturday 15 January. Wassail by Hunters Moon at Middle Farm, Firle, East Sussex BN8 6LJ. An open ritual in the apple orchards plus barn dance, Morris dancing and a barbecue. Dress warmly and bring your wellies. For details call 01323 769848 or visit http://www.middlefarm.com/index.htm or http://www.huntersmoonmorris.co.uk/diary.html.

Sunday 16 January; One-day Self Hypnosis Workshop. This workshop is intended for those with some experience of self hypnosis, as a refresher on wording suggestions. It will run from 10am to 7pm in Kentish Town, London NW5. Cost: £50. To secure a place, send a £10 deposit with your contact details to B Minall-Jones, 227 Long Riding, Basildon, Essex SS14 1QT. For more details, call 01268 525710 or email barbiminalljones@yahoo.co.uk

Please note: I try to keep my events page accurate, but if you do spot any errors, please let me know by leaving a comment. If you know of any other events you would like mentioned, please email badwitch1234@gmail.com

News: Romanian witchcraft controversy

Witches in Romania are divided over the recent Romanian government legislation to make witchcraft a legally-recognised profession.

Many are pleased, because of the benefits the recognition will bring to their line of work. However, others are angry because they will now have to pay income tax in the same way as other self-employed people. Some are even saying they will curse the government in retaliation.

Here are several links to posts on the Romanian witchcraft controversy, where you can read the full story:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1rOp7Dod7wrtmuSWJsFcf2nG74g?docId=47c670076be648b68418779b4e20198b
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/world/europe/07witches.html?_r=1
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978866175
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/news-romania-recognises-witchcraft-as.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/09/news-taxing-issues.html

My own feelings about this are mixed. Romanian attitudes to witchcraft - and to cursing - are evidently very different to those in the UK.

Here, all self-employed people have to pay income tax if they earn enough money and it doesn't matter what your job title is. However, for most witches in the UK, witchcraft is a religion or spiritual path rather than a job. We get together to honour the changing seasons and to do healing magic for our friends and family members, and we don't charge money for this. Most also believe it is wrong to cast curses and would not do this.

Some UK witches might have jobs that seem compatible with being a witch, such as working as a hypnotherapist or qualified medical herbalist, but it seems sensible to me to keep religion and employment issues separate.

A question about conception

A little while ago, a reader emailed me a very good question:

"It's been a few years since I got married. Now, we are planning to have a baby. Can you suggest a few tips including reading legends, growing herbs at home, listening to specific types of a music or anything like that before conception? I also heard that there are a few astrological charts to check the best dates to try to conceive a baby. Please let me know if you know anything related to this subject?

The reason it has taken me some time to reply is that, not having any children of my own, it isn't a subject I know much about. However, I do know a couple of witches with experience in that area and I asked them if they could help.

Heather Wood, a hypnotherapist who is an expert in the Fertile Body Method and is a mother herself, said:

"I used to do a lot of magical work before I conceived; creating a circle at the appropriate time to create protective environment to allow male and female to meet, I also visualised the connection of sperm and egg a lot immediately afterward. Now, since having my baby, I use the training I got in Fertile Body Method, a course of hypnotherapy to help people to allow successful pregnancy to take place. Basically getting worries, fears and issues out of the way - whether conscious or unconscious - will then allow nature to do its best! Also, preparing the body and mind to work in harmony to create the best possible chances of it happening. On my website http://www.hjwood.co.uk/ there's a whole section on Fertile Body Method."

Another friend, who has recently become a mum for the first time, said:

"It seemed to me that the Gods/Goddess/Powers that Be will bless you when they see fit or a soul will incarnate when it's ready, not when we think we are ready, nor can it be forced. Conceiving seems so random,variable and unpredictable! Using energies and correspondences for a fertility deity and performing a rite is useful to state your intent to the universe as well as to consider your own motivations and to attract the right energy- also to ensure you are preparing your body and mind for the event physically and mentally.

"Personally, I did state my wishes during an Imbolc rite to Brigid and then at Beltane my husband and I blessed the land with the great rite at an outdoor magical place. Nine months after this I conceived and a year from the Imbolc rite I realised I was pregnant. I would have loved the conception to have taken place at a particular planned astrological time with a full moon, outdoors, but this felt as though it was forcing a magical event. I did try to plan when the baby would be born - didn't work! It's just delightful whenever it happens as the little person is to be in our care whilst it is dependent, they have their own journey and are not our possessions as such. Whatever they bring is a magical journey for the parents."

You can visit Heather Wood's website at http://www.hjwood.co.uk/ The picture of The Child at the Chest by Renoiris available through Amazon.

Previous posts about Imbolc:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/imbolc-celebrating-start-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/celebrating-imbolc-start-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/01/imbolc-moon-of-inspiration.html

Review: The Future in the Stars

For some time I've wanted to learn more about astrology. I've even made it one of my resolutions for 2011. And perhaps fate is also nudging me in that direction as I over the past few months I have been sent two lovely astrology-related things to review.

First I saw sent the Astro Diary 2011, then I got a fascinating new book called The Future in the Stars: The Planets' Message for 2012 and Beyond, which was published just a few weeks ago.

Future in the Stars, by Alison Chester-Lambert, is written in a way that those with very little knowledge of astrology can easily understand it - but it is no beginner's guide to basic astrology. Instead it is a look at the dwarf planets around Pluto, many of which have only been discovered by scientists in the early years of the 21st century.

At the time of the discovery, Pluto was controversially re-categorised to join this group, many which were given the names of little known deities from indigenous peoples - gods and goddesses from ancient civilisations as far apart as the Arctic, Greece and Polynesia - breaking with centuries of tradition of naming planets after Roman gods.

In her book, Alison Chester-Lambert explains the mythology surrounding each of the dwarf planets. Makemake, for example, is the god of Easter Island. He represents fertility, human creation, natural population controls such as pandemics, but he also offers a newly discovered substance that extends life, strategies and a positive resilience.

Alison also says that the influence of the dwarf planets, and the mythology of the deities associated with them, will be important to the human race in the 21st century because in astrological terms, large fundamental changes in awareness of the Solar System usually coincide with fundamental changes in the collective consciousness.

For some time, many people have been concerned about predictions for the year 2012 - with some prophesying doom and gloom .

The subtitle of The Future in the Stars is "the astrological message for 2012 and beyond", and part of the book looks at this issue.

Alison professionally debunks the hype about 2012 and offers researched astrological analysis of the meaning behind the energy of this year. She believes that claims of impending apocalypse are simply metaphors from the collective unconscious. She says that it is commonly accepted in psychology that dreams of cataclysm often precede times of great revelation and evolution. Alison sees 2012 as only part of a major shift in the human race, which began in 2008 and will continue until 2016. She believes this will be a positive process with a happy outcome, leading to greater understanding of our world, the universe and spirituality.

The Future in The Stars is published by Findhorn Press and was released in December 2010.

Author Alison Chester-Lambert trained at the Faculty of Astrology and then completed a further year at the Centre for Psychological Astrology in Regents College, London. She has worked for several national newspapers and opened the Midlands School of Astrology in 2002.

Links
http://www.midlandsschoolofastrology.com.uk/
http://www.alisonchesterlambert.com/
Future In The Stars : The Planets' Message for 2012 and Beyond
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/starting-new-diary-for-2011.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/making-new-years-resolutions.html
http://www.findhornpress.com/