Divination: An Oracle Message for the Environment

I drew a card from the Messenger Oracle, and it told me to Hear the Ancient Ones. Their message is to better understand our role as caretakers of the earth - to take only what we need and to waste less.

I can hardly say it isn't the right message for our times. Although I try to reduce, reuse, and recycle, I know I am not perfect. Part of my problem is that, as a student, I'm pretty skint and can only afford to buy the cheapest things. Sometimes that means buying vegetables in plastic packaging, because they are so much cheaper than the ones sold loose. I feel guilty, but I don't like to go hungry either.

One of the positive things I have done is take part in Secondhand September - to only buy secondhand clothes during that month. That shouldn't have been difficult, as I normally buy clothes from charity shops anyway, because I am skint, and even then only get things I really need. However, in September I was a guest at a wedding. Finding a suitable secondhand dress for that wasn't easy, but I did manage it and was delighted with how it looked as well as saving money and not buying new.

Coincidentally, at about the same time that I drew the Messenger Oracle card, I got a message about a Pagan Community Statement on the Environment. I signed it and pledged to take part. If you want to read about it, and perhaps sign it too, here is the link: www.ecopagan.com/

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/search/label/divination
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/07/divination-for-day-truth-and-shamans.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/04/celebrating-earth-day-with-hymn-to-gaia.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/06/review-messenger-oracle.html

Witch School: Poppets & Dolls, Candles & Scrying

October and November are perfect months to learn a few new witchcraft skills. I'm running  workshops on making poppets and magical dolls, candle magic and scrying (divination with crystal balls, mirrors and water) in London. Here are the details:

Saturday October 5, Making a Magical Doll. Workshop with me, with Lucya Starza, on poppets and how to use them, based on my book Venue: Friends Meeting House, Hemnall Street, Epping, CM16 4LL. Time: 1.30pm to 5.30pm, with a break in the middle. The cost will be £20, which includes tea and coffee etc in the break, there is a suggested extra donation for materials of £2 if you are waged. To reserve a place in advance text 07927 288904 or email rainbowhealingsanctuary@outlook.com More details: https://artfromtheheart1.blogspot.com/

Thursday 17 October; Candle Magic Workshop. Evening workshop based on my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £20 per person. You can book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Sunday 20 October, Scrying for Beginners. Four-hour afternoon workshop on divination with crystal balls, mirrors, water and flame. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm-5.30pm (with a break in the middle). Cost: £40 per person. You can reserve a place by visiting the shop or online: https://www.treadwells-london.com/

Monday 25 November; Candle Magic Workshop. Evening workshop based on my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £20 per person. You can book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

You can find out more about my books Pagan Portals - Candle Magic, Pagan Portals - Poppets and Magical Dolls and Every Day Magic on my author page at publisher Moon Books' website or at my Amazon author page or at Treadwell's bookshop in London.

Pagan Eye: Little Gods and Goddesses of London

I took this picture in the European room at the British Museum and it shows a variety of tiny statuettes of deities, mythological beings and creatures that where honoured in Roman times in London and other parts of England. As the figurines are so small, they might have been used by individuals - perhaps carried around - to help them get through their busy days and deal with the problems they faced. Alternatively, they might have been left as offerings - some of the figures were found in the Thames.

In the picture are:

• Hermaphrodite, a mythological being who displays both male and female features, found in the Thames
• Apollo, god of music, poetry, prophecy and light, found in the Thames
• A lar (household god) from Sussex
• A snake, thought to be a symbol of good fortune, from Sydenham, south London
• Two statuettes of Mercury, god of commerce, found in the Thames
• A goat and a cockerel, both animals associated with Mercury, found in the Thames
• Venus, from Colchester
• A goose or swan, associated with Venus, found in the Thames

One of my resolutions this year was to blog about Gods and Goddesses of London. So far, I have blogged about major sites associated with pagan deities, or large depictions of them. This is a look at the little gods - or at least little representations of them - that were honoured by our ancestors in their daily lives.

My Pagan Eye posts show photos that I find interesting - seasonal images, pagan sites, events, or just pretty pictures. 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.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/08/london-gods-goddesses-diana-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/01/looking-back-at-gods-and-goddesses-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/09/london-gods-neptune-at-secret-rivers.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/04/pagan-eye-occult-art-at-plymouth.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/pagan-eye-reremembering-offering-to.html

Extract: Black Horse, White Horse by Melusine Draco

Here is an extract from the book Black Horse, White Horse, by Melusine Draco, about power animals within traditional witchcraft and folkloric practices:

To fully understand the magical dynamics of equine energy, it is important that we neither trivialise nor sentimentalise the power behind it, and an extract from the Dick Francis novel, Straight, seemed to bring us full circle to where we came in at Chapter One. Here the hero (himself a jump-jockey like the author), reflects on the inner driving force that determines the character of a particular winning horse he rides:

‘The will to win was born and bred in them all, but some cared more than others: it was those with the implacable impulse to lead a wild herd who fought hardest and oftenest won. Sports writers tended to call it courage but it went deeper than that, right down into the gene pool, into instinct, into the primordial soup on the same evolutionary level as the belligerence so easily aroused in homo sapiens, that was the tap root of war. I was no stranger to the thought that I sought battle on the turf because, though the instinct to fight and conquer ran strong, I was adverse to guns. Sublimation, the pundits would no doubt call it. Datepalm and I both, on the same primitive plane, wanted to win.’

For our distant ancestors the cosmic turbulence visible from the Earth could easily have been visualised as the thundering of horses’ hooves, the flashes of lightening the sparks that flew from the celestial shoes and chariot wheels. According to Man, Myth and Magic, mythology makes much of the famous ‘Wind Horses’, such as Pegasus and Hofvarpnir, (the steed of Gna, messenger of Frigg) accompanying these violent storms were the terrifying winds and driving rain, often seen as great armies joined in battle beyond the black clouds obscuring them from view. And out of this aerial violence came the legend of the Wild Huntsman, ‘with his thundering horse and baying hounds, searching the highways and byways for luckless souls, who happened to get in his way’.

A real horse that surely symbolises this ancient ‘hell on earth’ is what has been described as one of the greatest thoroughbreds of history: Warrior – who belonged to General Jack Seely. Over four million horses died in the Great War but Warrior not only survived but was trained to stand still under machine gun fire. To cap it all he returned to win a point-to-point, eventually being put down in his thirties and buried on the Isle of Wight. Warrior is certainly up there with Wellington’s more famous Copenhagen, and Seely, so legend has it, even recommended Warrior for a VC. By comparison, Copenhagen was unceremoniously dismantled after death, and his hooves mounted and presented to various cavalry regiments.

The power, speed and pride encapsulated in the horse is not one with which we can easily assimilate, even on a shamanic level, for the reasons that Dick Francis again observes in Whip Hand:

‘Beautiful, marvellous creatures whose responses and instincts worked on a plane as different from humans’ as water and oil, not mingling even where they touched. Insight into their senses and consciousness had been like an opening door, a foreign language glimpsed and half learned, full comprehension maddeningly balked by not having the right sort of hearing or sense of smell, not sufficient skill in telepathy. The feeling of oneness with horses I’d sometimes had in the heat of a race had been their gift to an inferior being; and maybe my passion for winning had been my gift to them.’

If we wish to utilise and tap into this elusive and primordial strength as a focus for magical working, it must be with a high degree of trepidation and a lot of respect. This is not energy that we can control or negotiate with; if we log-on then we must be prepared to be trampled and kicked in return. It also reflects the fact that people either know or fear horses – there is no middle ground and this is how it should be with their magical energies. Our ‘knowing’ gives us the understanding to interact with equine energy, but there should be no disgrace in fear either. Like all magical pathways, equine-energy is not for everyone and the wisdom is in the knowing: and understanding when to walk away.

Despite the primordial influence the horse still has over mankind, as George Ewart Evans points out, the richest combination of surviving beliefs and customs centred in the heavy horse up to the first part of the 20th century when horses were still an important part of British farming. So here we have those two different types of energy: the war-horse (which includes the hunters and racers) and the workhorse. The differences may be subtle but they are there, and they are important!

You can view Black Horse, White Horse on Amazon. It is published by Moon Books in its Shaman Pathways series in paperback and e-book format. 

Photo credit: Pixabay: Lindsay

This Week's Pagan Events In and Near London

Here are events in London plus a few in other parts of the UK over the next week or so that could be of interest to pagans. If you know of an event that you want listed, please email the details to me at badwitch1234@gmail.com.

Now - Friday 4 October, Icons. Art exhibition by Sharon Seager. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am-6pm. For more details, call 020 7405 2120 or visit http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Now - 27 October, Secret Rivers: discover the secrets of London's historic waterways. Exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. Venue: No.1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London E14 4AL. Free entry. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands

Now - 31 October; Betwixt and Between: Isobel Gowdie, the Witch of Auldearn - the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic's summer exhibition. Venue: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall. Entry with museum ticket. https://museumofwitchcraftandmagic.co.uk/

Now - 2 February 2020; William Blake exhibition. Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Entry: £18/£17/Free for members. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/william-blake-artist?

Now - March 2020; Ithell Colquhoun exhibition. Venue: The Last Tuesday Society and the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RS. http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

Now - 2 November; Damien Hirst - Mandalas exhibition. Venue: White Cube, 25 – 26 Mason's Yard, London, SW1Y 6BU.  Details: https://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/damien_hirst_masons_yard_2019?

Wednesday 25 September; Free Guided Tour of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (every Wednesday). Venue: UCL, Malet Place, London, WC1 6BT. Time: 2pm. Free, but book in advance: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/event-ticketing/booking?

Wednesday 25 September; Time to Meditate - group meditation (every Wednesday). Venue: Buddha on a Bicycle, Covent Garden, London. Arrive 6pm for 6.10pm start. Donations of £3 recommended. Details: http://www.meetup.com/meditation-trust-london/

Wednesday 25 September; Meet the Artist Sharon Seager, creator of the current exhibition, Icons. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Time: 6.30pm. To be added to the list, call 020 7405 2120 or email atlantis@theatlantisbookshop.com. http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 25 September; Drumming up your Heart with Melonie Syrett and Steve Altman. Venue: Aho Studio, 13 Prince Edward Rd, London, E9 5LX. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £25. www.aho.community

Wednesday 25 September; Resurgence Talks: The Healing Voice and Healing the Family and Ancestors with Jill Purce. Venue: 42 Acres, 66 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LW. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £12. For more details visit: https://www.42acresshoreditch.com/events/

Wednesday 25 September; Psychedelic Gong Bath with Sound Mysterium. Venue: Round Chapel, 1D Glenarm Road, London E5 0LY. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £13/£16. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepsychedelicsociety/292292?

Wednesday 25 September; Interview with a Wiccan priestess at Hertford and Ware Moot Moot. (Usually the last Wednesday of each month.) Venue: The White Horse, 33 Castle Street, SG14 1HH Hertford, Hertfordshire. Time: 8pm. Entry: £3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104788436218047/

Wednesday 25 September; Victorian Pleasure Gardens. Lecture by Historian Lee Jackson, author of Palaces of Pleasure, at London Fortean Society. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £4/£2. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 25 September; Drumming up your Heart. Venue: Aho Studio, 13 Prince Edward Rd, London, E9 5LX. Time: 10pm. Tickets: £25. www.aho.community

Thursday 26 September; The Next Step: Insights into Group Work and the Masters Today with Cyrus Ryan. Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6.30pm. Free event. For more details visit the websites http://www.watkinsbooks.com/  or https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks/

Thursday 26 September; Shamanic Journeying with a Drum with Sarah Fox. Venue: Clearly Destiny, 12 Woburn Walk · London.  Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.meetup.com/Shamanic-Journeying-with-a-drum/

Thursday 26 September; New Moon in Libra Priestess Circle with Lucia Healing. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London E9 7AD. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. www.sheslostcontrol.co.uk

27 September - November; Waking the Witch. Touring exhibition curated by Legion Projects and supported by Arts Council England. Venue:  Bonington Gallery, Nottingham. http://www.wakingthewitch.uk/#

Friday 27 September; Meditation and Om Healing. (Weekly event, usually on a Friday). Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8EA. Time: 7pm. Entry free. http://theosophicalsociety.org.uk/#

Friday 27 September; New Moon Eve Gong Bath with Diana Vernon. The day before a 'Super New Moon', tune into this renewed energy in the cycle of life and relax in a candlelit hall where the resonance of gongs will help you recharge your spiritual self. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Tickets: Members £22/non-members £25. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 27 September; Michaelmas Festival. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35, Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7.30pm. http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/ and https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiners-spiritual-science/

Saturday 28 September; Experiential Tarot One-Day Outdoor Course. Venue: Woodland location in Wimbledon (full details after registering) with London Woodland Witches. Fee: £30. Time: 10.30am-6pm. Details: https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Pagans-Magicians/

Saturday 28 September; Preparing a Vision of your Future. Workshop with Daniel Naughnane. Venue: Woodford Church, 9 Grove Crescent, South Woodford London, E18 2JR. Time: noon-6pm. Cost: £12.  http://woodfordchurch.com/

Saturday 28 September; Essex Faery Fayre 2019. Venue: Museum of Power, Hatfield Road, Langford, CM9 6QA Maldon, Essex. Time: noon-9pm. Tickets: £6/£5. https://www.facebook.com/events/304296626891380/

Saturday 28 September; Gong Bath with Guru Ben, Venue: The Upminster Complementary Healing and Teaching Sanctuary, Pea Lane, Upminster, Havering, RM142XH. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £30. Contact The Sanctuary on 01708 251124 or info@healingandteaching.co.uk. Tickets: https://www.healingandteaching.co.uk/course/gong-bath-with-ben-saxon-of-golden-path-yoga/all/

Sunday 29 September, Sunday Meditation class with Lisabetta every Sunday. Drop-in class suitable for beginners and more experienced meditators. Venue: The Little Escape Therapy Centre, 4 Paxton Mews, off Westow St, London SE19 3RW. Time: 10am-11am. Cost: £12 per class, £30 for 3 classes. https://harmonious-healing.com/

Sunday 29 September; NWK Moot. Venue: Chistlehurst caves.  Time: 11am. You must be a member of the group to attend. https://www.facebook.com/groups/445487428816887/

Sunday 29 September, Dragons - connect to your healing dragon to heal yourself and others. Workshop with Anthea of  Shamanism and Evolving Consciousness. Neal's Yard Meeting Rooms,
14 Neal's Yard Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP. Price: £75, all materials included. Time: 10.15pm-5.30pm. https://www.meetup.com/Shamanism-and-Evolving-Consciousness/

Sunday 29 September,  Spellcraft workshop (for Beginners) with London Woodland Witches. Venue: Queen's Woods, Highgate, North London. Meet at The Woodmans pub patio area at 12.30pm to walk to the outdoor site at 1pm, Ends 5.30pm. Fee: £15. Details: https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Pagans-Magicians/

Sunday 29 September; The Kith of the Tree and the Well heathen moot. Venue: The Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London, SE1 3QP. Time: 2pm. https://www.meetup.com/The-Kith-of-The-Tree-and-The-Well/

Sunday 29 September; The Folklore of Wild Plants. Venue: Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, The Soanes Centre, Southern Grove, London E3 4PX. Time: 2pm. · £11.43. https://www.facebook.com/events/2253436948013034/

Sunday 29 September; Q and A Spiritual Gathering, organised by Cristina of Self-Development and Spiritual Workshops. Venue: Chartherhouse Clinic, 98 Crawford Street, London, W1H 2HL. Time: 2pm. £10. https://www.meetup.com/Self-Development-and-Spiritual-Workshops-Central-London/

Sunday 29 September; Divination Circle with Self-Development and Spiritual Workshops. Venue: Chartherhouse Clinic, 98 Crawford Street, London, W1H 2HL. Time: 4.30pm. £10. https://www.meetup.com/Self-Development-and-Spiritual-Workshops-Central-London/

Sunday 29 September;  Tea Ceremony and Women Circle with T-Lovers. Venue: Globe House Yoga, The Tanneries, Crucifix Lane, London SE1 3JW. Time: 6pm. £20. https://t-lovers.com/tea-ceremonies/

Monday 30 September; Free Beginners Astrology Class by Astrological Lodge of London. (Every Monday evening). Venue: 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA, Time: 6pm-6.50pm. Free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Throughout October; London Month of the Dead organised by Curious Invitation and Antique Beat in conjunction with London's Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Tours, talks, workshops and entertainment on the theme of death. For a full list of the events, visit the London Month of the Dead website: https://londonmonthofthedead.com/

Tuesday 1 - Wednesday 2 October; Aphrodite's Monthly Festival - September 2019, hosted by Aphrodite's Flame. Everyone around the world is invited to light Aphrodite's Flame in honour of her monthly festival. Keep a candle lit for as long or as short a time as you wish from dusk on the date listed to dusk the following day.  Time: 6.30pm – 6.30am. https://www.facebook.com/aphroditesflame/

Tuesday 1 October; Sacred Sounds Monthly Gong Bath with Gong Master Olaf Nixon. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22/£25.  https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 1 October; Witch Hunts Past and Present. Talk at Romford Pagan Moot. Venue: The Golden Lion, 2 High Street, Romford RM1 1HR. Time: 7pm. Entry: £4 and raffle in aid of Essex wildlife £1. https://www.facebook.com/Romford-Pagan-Moote-634178063700381/

Tuesday 1 October; Talismans and Sacred Objects. Talk at The Witches' Inn Gathering. Venue: The Hatch Public House, 44, Hatchlands Road, Redhill, RH1 6AT. Time: 8pm. Free pagan moot, just turn up. https://www.facebook.com/events/1107189122818970

Wednesday 2 October; Forest Bathing in Queen's Wood, Highgate. Meet in the cabin behind Queen's Wood Cafe, Highgate. Time: 9.30am. Price: £25. https://www.meetup.com/London-Forest-Bathing-Nature-Connection-Meetup/

Wednesday 2 October; Witchcraft and the Law in England. Talk by Deborah Hyde at Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub. Venue: The Star and Garter, 60 Old Woolwich Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9NY. Time: 7.30pm. Details: http://greenwich.skepticsinthepub.org

Thursday 3 October; Shamanic Journeying with a Drum with Sarah Fox. Venue: Clearly Destiny, 12 Woburn Walk · London.  Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.meetup.com/Shamanic-Journeying-with-a-drum/

Thursday 3 October; Warlocks, Grey-witches, and Cunning-women. Talk by historian Thomas Waters. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £10 per person. You can book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Thursday 3 October; Roots Women's Circle with Kindred Wild. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London E9 7AD. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £30. www.sheslostcontrol.co.uk

Saturday 5 October, Family Storytelling: The Brompton Cemetery Time Machine with Vanessa of London Dreamtime. Venue: Brompton Cemetery meet at North Gates. Time: 11.30am. Tickets: Free, but email to reserve a place: vanessa@londondreamtime.com or visit https://londondreamtime.com/calendar/

Saturday 5 October, Making a Magical Doll. Workshop with me, with Lucya Starza, on poppets and how to use them. Venue: Friends Meeting House, Hemnall Street, Epping, CM16 4LL. Time: 1.30pm to 5.30pm.  The cost will be £20 which will include tea or coffee in the break, there is a suggested donation for materials of £2 if you are waged.  To reserve a place in advance text 07927 288904 or email rainbowhealingsanctuary@outlook.com More details: https://artfromtheheart1.blogspot.com/

Sunday 6 October; Sound healing and yoga for anxiety/stress and depression with Tara Caldeira. Venue on Chiswick High Street. Time: 10am-4pm. Tickets: £70. https://www.facebook.com/events/2399248636986568/

Sunday 6 October; Mythic London Walk: Legendary heroes, gods and goddesses of the City of London, with Caroline Wise, organised through  Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Meet at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22 Fleet St, Holborn, London EC4Y 1AA, UK. Time: 11.45am start. Tickets £22. Book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Please note: I am not responsible for any of these events except my Poppets and Magical Dolls workshop. Although I try to make sure the details on my listings are accurate, I do not always know about late changes or ticket availability for events that I'm not involved with. Please contact the organiser before attending any event. If you spot anything that needs changing, please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com

Back to Magic School: Personal Mythologies for Today

Tutor Kenneth Rees is running a two-Saturday course on Personal Mythologies for Today in central London this autumn.

Here is the information about it:

This two-day workshop/seminar will consider the recovery of one’s ‘personal myth’ as part of modern society’s quest for the ‘self’. It will explore whether issues such as personal identity can be productively pursued through the cultivation and evolution of personal mythologies. The course will be partly experiential, involving a range of exercises including drawing, role play and drama, as well as reflection on which societal and familial myths we relate to in our lives – to what extent do we allow individual and cultural myths to live us and how far do we live and mould them? How functional are our present personal myths, etc? An analysis of the concept of personal myth will be presented and students will work within the interfaces between myth, psychology and spirituality to help see through contemporary confusions.

The development of a mythological perspective on society and on oneself is encouraged, in respect to the guiding myths of one's family upbringing, culture, social class, and political or religious ideology. Gaining awareness of such control systems helps us to see how they impinge on us all and may assist in realising a sense of authentic selfhood in contrast to the array of pseudo-selves promoted by a range of narratives – familial, political, religious, social media, New Age and the like.

By the end of the course students should be in a better position to evaluate the effects of wider sociological and psychological influences on themselves and should be able to diagnose what changes they may want to make (if any!) in terms of current life-styles, life choices and overall attitudes. Thus an overall course goal is to enable individuals to realise a more fulfilling personal myth, and achieve an increased understanding of how personal identity is constructed.

Venue: The Mary Ward Centre, Queen Square, London WC1 (nearest tube stations – Holborn, Russell Square)
Dates: Saturday 12 October and Saturday 19 October
Time: 10.15am – 5.30pm
Course No: 453
Fees: £57 Cons: £20
Enrolment: 0207 269 6000 (or online)
Enquires: 0208 671 6372
Website: www.marywardcentre.ac.uk

The photo shows the Mary Ward Centre

Event Tonight: Autumn Equinox Vigil at Crossbones

Today is the Autumn Equinox, when the day and night are of equal length. If you are in London and want to honour the festival this evening, as well as remember the outcast of the City in a vigil, then do go to Crossbones Graveyard, in Redcross Way, near London Bridge station, tonight at 6.45pm.

This is the 184th consecutive vigil held at Crossbones Graveyard on the 23rd of every month since 23 June 2004.  The aim is always to renew the shrine, remember the outcast, dead and alive, and to reconnect with the spirit of place, the Goose, and her Mysteries.

The vigil consists of simple, secular rituals - lighting the open pathways, tying ribbons and mementos to the gates and making creative offerings, culminating in the unconditional blessing 'Goose may your Spirit fly free!'

On 23 September , the vigil also marks the Autumn Equinox, a time for rebalancing and for letting go of what we no longer need. It gives space for creative offerings and short personal testimonies by artists and outsiders from all walks of life. People are invited to bring a short poem, song or personal testimony to dedicate to The Goose and her Outcast Dead. Tonight, visiting Indian poet Mamta Sagar will perform a poem in her native Kannada language. Mark Juhan will also perform The Houses of Healing from The Southwark Mysteries.

John Crow was the person who instigated the vigils, and has led them from the start, but this is the third to last vigil to be personally conducted by him, assisted by the magical collective which held the space at the August 23 vigil. John's final Vigil will be on the 23 November this year, which will be the 23rd anniversary of the night that The Goose initiated John Crow into the Southwark Mysteries and the secret history of Crossbones Graveyard.

The vigils are set to continue after November 23, under the care of the collective. However, if you'd like to see John Crow in action before he's gone, you have just three more chances.

Here are the details in brief: Monday 23 September; Autumn Equinox Vigil for the Outcast at Crossbones to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Bring a flower, a ribbon, a totem or memento to tie to the shrine. Gather from 6.45pm for a 7pm start in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, London SE1 1TA. For more details, visit  http://crossbones.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/GooseandCrow/

A Guided Visualisation for the Autumn Equinox

The Autumn Equinox, when day and night are of equal length, is on 23 September this year, but many people celebrate it on the 21st. Here is a guided visualisation for this time of year, celebrating the changing season and the natural world. I hope you like it!

The Autumn Garden: A Guided Visualisation for the Equinox

Find somewhere safe, where you will not be disturbed. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take three deep breaths in and out and relax, then visualise the following in your mind's eye:

You are in a garden. It is late afternoon at that time of year which, on golden days, you can still believe is late summer, yet you know is autumn. The sun is shining. When you stand in its brightness, you can feel it warming your skin, yet in long shadows that stretch across the lawn, you can feel a chill touch you.

The trees and hedges still have plenty of green leaves, yet there are patches of red, yellow and brown among them, and some leaves fallen to the ground. There are bright berries, too, although much of the fruit that can be harvested has already been picked. Around you, flowers are still blooming. Perhaps you see purple Michaelmas daisies, late roses or others. You also see that many have gone to seed, and brown stalks stand among others in the garden.

Spend some time exploring the garden. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you feel?

After a while, while examining the things in the garden, you spot a creature that seems to be observing you. The creature does not seem afraid of your presence. It seems to be aware that you have seen it, but it does not move away.

What is the creature? What does it look like?

It looks at you steadily, and you get the impression that it is inviting you to move closer.
You slowly and quietly move closer to the creature. It remains where it is, looking at you, until you are right in front of it.

What does the creature want? Does the creature need your help, or is it offering something for you?
Spend some time with the creature, interacting with it in the way that seems right.

After some time, the creature nods at you, and you realise it must go. It turns and leaves you in the garden.

Looking around you realise that the shadows in the garden have lengthened, and it is early evening. It is time for you to leave the garden too.

When you are ready shake your arms and legs and open your eyes to the real world.

I always recommend having something to eat and drink after doing a guided visualisation, or any ritual or magical work, as it can help you ground properly. It is also a good idea to make notes about anything that seemed important to you from the visualisation. I think this is particularly important at the equinox, as it is a time to take stock of what you have done in the year so far, and what you must do to plan for the autumn and winter ahead.

You can find more guided visualisations in my book Pagan Portals - Guided Visualisations.

Craft: An Autumn Leaf Offering Dish or Trinket Tray

I was sent this crafting idea for a DIY trinket tray by an interior style adviser for a furniture store, but I think it would also make a wonderful offering dish for an Autumn Equinox altar. Although I haven't had time to make one myself yet - I'm too busy finishing writing my MA dissertation - I'm sharing the suggestion.

DIY autumn-themed dish

Supplies needed: modelling clay, a few leaves, paint in metallic autumnal colours.

Roll the clay out, then firmly press the leaf onto it so the veins are clearly imprinted. Trim away the excess clay following the leaf’s outline. Using fingers, gently curl up the sides of the dish to form a shallow edge. Allow it to dry on a cooling rack overnight, then paint on the desired metallic shade and allow to dry completely before using.

Thanks very much to Rebecca Snowden of Furniture Choice for this lovely idea.

Thomas Waters on Cursed Britain: Witchcraft History

I was really lucky to get a ticket to hear historian Thomas Waters talking about Cursed Britain at London Fortean Society last week, as tickets sold out fast. His look at the history of witchcraft and black magic in modern times was fascinating. It was based on the meticulous research behind his new book, gathered over 15 years of academic work.

Thomas started by saying that witchcraft has been important in Britain throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and is growing in popularity now. His particular focus is the dark side of witchcraft, rather than modern pagan practices. He said that, generally, an investigation into cursing by witchcraft starts with the victim - the person who believes they are cursed. The witch hunters - whether they are cunning folk or others offering a witch-busting service - come in later.

It usually begins with someone having a tough time. Perhaps they lose their job, then their partner might fall ill and other misfortunes follow. They can't earn money; doctors can't find a cure; nothing goes right for them. It is quite possible that the person didn't believe in witchcraft until bad things started to happen to them, but mundane solutions fail.

Then, someone suggests they might be cursed. This puts the idea in their heads and they start to look for a possible curser - and a healer. Belief is the most important part - believing that you have been cursed, and that you can be cured. It is possibly the power of the placebo effect, which continues to be a controversial subject. Belief that a cure will work can help it along the way. Also, belief that you have been cursed can actually make you feel ill. In 1942 an American doctor coined the term 'Voodoo Death' for the idea that believing you were cursed could damage your health.

Thomas Rowlandson's cartoon (pictured at the top), dates from the early 19th century and is a satire on cunning men of the era. It shows someone getting scammed. People who believe they have been cursed are at risk of being scammed out of their money by charlatans.

Suspected witches have also been attacked in England in recent centuries. In the Suffolk village of Wickham Skeith, in the early 1800s, a poor man called Isaac Stebbings was persecuted by local residents because they believed he was a witch. He voluntarily agreed to be swum - thrown into a pond to see if he sunk or floated - with the idea that if he sunk he was innocent. The entire village, accompanied by a local policeman, watched the affair. Sadly, he floated, despite spending hours in the water and being close to death. The local parson rescued him, but Isaac continued to be persecuted by villagers for years.

After the 1830s, the police became more professional and sought to bring the force of the law against both witch persecutors and those who offered magical services. The reason for the decline of magic from the mid 1800s to the mid 20th century is more because the police made efforts to arrest people doing it, than because of an increase in scientific thought or rationality. Polls since the 1950s show an increasing belief in the supernatural.

Thomas ended his talk by saying that the re-enchantment of the world is happening. He asked: "What should we do about it?"

You can view Cursed Britain by Thomas Waters on Amazon. Please note I earn commission from some links.

The top picture shows Humbugging, or Raising the Devil by Thomas Rowlandson. It is shared under Creative Commons via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pagan Heart of the West Extract: Dame Alice Kyteler

Here is an extract from the latest volumes of Pagan Heart of the West, by Randy P.Conner. In these third and fourth volumes, Pagan Heart focuses on ritual specialists, including shamans and witches during the time of Christianisation. Like the earlier volumes, this aims to show paganism has persisted over the course of millennia, and undergone metamorphosis and innovation.

Dame Alice Kyteler: an excerpt from The Pagan Heart of the West by Randy P. Conner, Ph.D.s
In 1324, the first women tried for witchcraft in Ireland included Dame Alice Kyteler and her domestic and assistant Petronilla de Meath. The trial took place in spite of much protest, due in large part to the efforts of a zealous – I do not believe “fanatic” would be too harsh a description – Franciscan friar, Richard Ledred, who had in 1318 been made Bishop of Ossory. If we can trust statements made at the trial – and that is very frequently an enormous “IF” – it would appear that Kyteler was a wealthy, vengeful woman who practiced both beneficent and sinister forms of magic, including amatory magic and the cursing of enemies, including male partners of whom she wished to rid herself. Alleged material evidence of these practices included a collection of herbs, ointments, powders, candles, and human and animal parts. She was said to have sacrificed cocks and other animals at crossroads near Kilkenny. Several women and men, including her son William Outlawe, were said to be her assistants in sacrifices and works of magic. She was believed to be instructed in magic by a decidedly non-Christian otherworldly being named Robin Artisson and by three African (“Ethiopian”) men bearing iron rods.

In this light, we know that in the mid-third century CE, a unit of Roman soldiers comprised of Africans, the Numerus Maurorum Aurelianorum, was “stationed at the Roman military garrison at Burgh-by-Sands (ancient Aballava/Aballaba, “place of apple trees”) at the western end of Hadrian’s Wall in Cumbria,” northwest England. These soldiers, probably numbering around five hundred, included dark-skinned “Ethiopians,” probably from Nubia, and most probably also men from what is now Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

Archaeologist Richard Benjamin suggests that the “Moorish” soldiers moved freely within the environs of northern England, that they “would have had plenty of money to spend in native settlements,” and that they probably “sought entertainment in brothels.” Moreover, evidence suggests that a number of these men, desiring “more permanent relationships,” “settled in Britain.” From the High Middle Ages (roughly, 1000-1300 CE) onward, the presence of both free and captive Africans and persons possessing African heritage grew increasingly noticeable in Germany, Italy, England, France, and elsewhere in Europe.

Vikings called Africa “Blueland,” and they deemed the men they captured or hired the “blue men,” with “blue men” being variously given as blámaðr, bla-maors, blámenn, blaumen, bloman, and ultimately in English, as both “blackamoor” and “blueman.” It’s significant that they gave a different name to Iberia and much of North Africa, that of Serkland. The term blár typically connotes a “very dark blue-black colour.” In Gaelic they were described as fear gorma, fir goma, and na fir ghorma. All of these terms referenced, among other things, the color of their skin. As inhabitants of Ireland, the Africans came to be called the “blue men of Erin.” In the Annals of Ireland, we find: “[T]hese are the blue men [of Erin], for Mauri is the same as black men, and Mauritania is the same as blackness. …Long indeed were these blue men in Erin.”

African males, particularly those identified as “Moors,” were often associated with magic and sorcery or witchcraft during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and into the seventeenth century, whether or not they were actually practicing such. Many witch trials record statements of black-skinned males taking a leading role in gatherings or “sabbats” or else describe practitioners as “black” men. Many, many times we find statements like: “Jehanneta Relescee of Freiburg (Swiss) in 1493 confesses under torture. Says her husband beat her continually. She went to a rock in a forest and called on God or the Devil to help her. A dark man appeared and promised relief.”

Robin Artisson may have been synonymous with Robin Goodfellow, or Puck. This spirit sometimes took the form of “a Negro. [As such,] Alice received him as her incubus and allowed him to copulate with her. In return, he gave her wealth.” It is significant that in 1584, Reginald Scot, in The Discoverie of Witchcraft, connects Robin Goodfellow to a horned being having “skin like a Niger.” (I wonder how many Wiccans and others [are prepared to] think of the Robin Goodfellow/Puck or the Horned God as Black?)

It is also significant that the term “Aethiopis” is used in this context. This term refers primarily to an “Ethiopian,” that is, to someone from Africa. Moreover, as Nathan Stewart Rosenstein and Robert Morstein-Marx point out in A Companion to the Roman Republic (2006), “Aithiops [Greek; Latin, Aethiops] …became [in the Roman Empire] the conventional designation for a black man…The description itself,” they add, “carried no negative connotation.” This term persisted into the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Other terms for dark-skinned persons of African heritage included Açopart (Medieval French), Aufricans (Medieval French), blacche (Old English), cil d’Etiope (Medieval French; later, Éthiopien), Moor (or Moor, Middle English; Moir, Late Medieval Scottish), Saracen (Middle English; Sarrasin, Medieval French), and Sowdonesse (i.e., “Sultana,” Middle English). Although most of these terms spoke to Muslim affiliation, all signified dark or black skin and African heritage.

“Robert” and “Robin,” as derived from rb, may connote “black (including black skin),” as well as “someone who instructs an initiate in becoming a priest.” The surname “Artisson” appears to be derived from “Arthur,” Welsh arðu, which means “very black” or “the Black one,” with du signifying “black” and connoting a raven. Robin Artisson was said to carry an iron staff, which may indicate an association with Africa. He was said to be accompanied by two other black men (or otherwise to appear in triadic form) who also carried iron staffs that appeared to serve as magic wands. The term deployed to describe these men is again “Aethiopium,” again referring to Africans. Robin and the “Ethiopians” carrying iron staffs allegedly taught Kyteler the practice of sorcery.

Ironworking probably originated in Africa. It was an industry linked to the sacred, and it emerged in Mediterranean and other European, especially Germanic, cultures, as an industry associated with magic with the smith, as we have seen, coming to be seen as a kind of priestly artisan, often in association with dwarves. Iron staffs were, and are, sacred implements in numerous African religions/traditions, significantly, among practitioners of Vodun and of the Yorùbá religion of West Africa. Within the former, the sacred iron staff is called osun ematon, is topped by an iron bird, and is carried by an obo, a traditional healer, diviner, and worker of magic. Within the latter, the iron staff is called the osun, is likewise topped by iron birds and carried by ritual specialists who practice healing, divination, and magic, and is a sacred attribute of several orishás: Osanyin, god of herbal medicine; Orunmila, god of divination; Orishá Oko, god of farming; Ochossi, god of hunting; Ogún, god of battle; and Osú, god of the household. It is most often associated with Osanyin. In the seventeenth century, alleged Scottish witches Alexander Hamilton and Agnes Clarkson also described Black males holding staffs or wands; while Helen Guthrie described the Devil as a “black, iron hewed man.”

Kyteler was also said to have sacrificed animals at crossroads, a practice common to Africans, ancient Greeks, Indians, Arabs (before Islam), and others, a practice also undertaken in Haitian Vodou and New Orleans’ Voodoo. As Newbell Niles Puckett pointed out many years ago, there is a Yorùbá saying, “The junction of the road does not dread sacrifice.” More specifically, Kyteler was said to have sacrificed nine red cocks and nine peacocks’ eyes at the crossroads. In terms of Yorùbá orishás, the red rooster belongs to Ogún, the god of war, while the peacock (òkín in Yorùbá) belongs to Oshún, the goddess of intimate relationships. It is possible that these animals bear other significant correspondences in other African traditions. Kyteler’s alleged use of a dead criminal’s skull in magical practice is also a significant element in both European witchcraft and African-based magic. In sum, Lady Alice’s practices strongly suggest that she may have come into contact with Africans, the so-called “blue men of Erin.”

Kyteler was condemned as belonging to the company of sortilegam, magam, haereticam, et relapsam (“sorcerers, magicians/witches, heretics, and apostates”). She was not, however, executed. Her assistant Petronilla was, on the other hand, not so fortunate. Her sacrifices and works of magic recall ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman pagan, as well as African, practices; whereas her master, Robin Artisson, indicates pagan innovation, that is, a post-Christianization pagan spirit.

The extract is  © by Randy P. Conner, Ph.D., 2019

You can view Pagan Heart of the West on Amazon. The author is Dr Randy P. Conner and it is published by Mandrake of Oxford. 

Links and previous related posts
https://mandrake.uk.net/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/02/pagan-heart-of-west-devil-and-dame-dark.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/01/book-excerpt-pagan-heart-of-west.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/05/review-isis-goddess-of-egypt-and-india.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/01/review-village-witch-life-as-village.html

Pagan Events In & Near London Over Autumn Equinox

The Autumn Equinox, when the day and night are in balance, is on September 23, but celebrations of the festival are taking place this week and next. Here is a listing of events that could be of interest to pagans and witches. Most of the ones I list are in or near London, because that's where I live, but I also mention a few things taking place in other parts of England.

Now - 27 October, Secret Rivers: discover the secrets of London's historic waterways. Exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. Venue: No.1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London E14 4AL. Free entry. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands

Now - 31 October; Betwixt and Between: Isobel Gowdie, the Witch of Auldearn - the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic's summer exhibition. Venue: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall. Entry with museum ticket. https://museumofwitchcraftandmagic.co.uk/

Now - Friday 4 October, Icons. Art exhibition by Sharon Seager. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am-6pm. For more details, call 020 7405 2120 or visit http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Now - 2 February 2020; William Blake exhibition. Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Entry: £18/£17/Free for members. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/william-blake-artist?

Tuesday 17 September; Ithell Colquhoun Private View of new exhibition and book launch. Venue: The Last Tuesday Society and the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RS. Time: 6pm. Tickets are free but you must register in advance: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ithell-colquhoun-exhibition-booklaunch-tickets-68684411925?

Tuesday 17 September; Book launch: Sophia's Tale by Sarah Walton. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Copies of the book cost £4.99. Time: 6.30pm. For more details, call 020 7405 2120 or visit http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Tuesday 17 September; Experiencing the Future: Precognition, Time and Consciousness; Altered or Otherwise. Talk by Dr David Luke. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £13/£15. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 17 September; Witches of London Gathering. Venue: front bar of the Cittie of Yorke, 22 High Holborn, London WC1V 6BS. Starting 7.30pm. Meets on the third Tuesday of each month. For any questions email coacentral@witchcraft.org or visit http://www.witchfest.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/coawitchesoflondon/

Wednesday 18 September; Forest Bathing in Queen's Wood, Highgate. Meet in the cabin behind Queen's Wood Cafe, Highgate. Time: 9.30am. Price: £25. https://www.meetup.com/London-Forest-Bathing-Nature-Connection-Meetup/

Wednesday 18 September; Free Guided Tour of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (takes place every Wednesday). Venue: UCL, Malet Place, London, WC1 6BT. Time: 2pm. Free, but you must book in advance: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/event-ticketing/booking?

Wednesday 18 September; Time to Meditate - group meditation (every Wednesday). Venue: Buddha on a Bicycle, Covent Garden, London. Arrive 6pm for 6.10pm start. Donations of £3 recommended. Details: http://www.meetup.com/meditation-trust-london/

Wednesday 18 September; More Mead Moot with Pagan FutureFests. Venue: Hope Pub, 48 West Street, Carshalton SM5 2PR. Time: from 7.30pm. Meets on the third Wednesday of each month.  http://www.meetup.com/Londonpagancommunity/

Thursday 19 September; Preview: Damien Hirst - Mandalas exhibition. Venue: White Cube, 25 – 26 Mason's Yard, London, SW1Y 6BU. Time: 6pm.  The exhibition itself runs from 20 September to 2 November. Details: https://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/damien_hirst_masons_yard_2019?

Thursday 19 September; The Way of Effortless Mindfulness. Talk and signing with Loch Kelly. Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6.30pm. Free event. For more details visit the websites http://www.watkinsbooks.com/  or https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks/

Thursday 19 September; PFL Autumn Equinox Open Ritual with London Woodland Witches. Venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. Time: 7.30pm for 8pm start. Entry: £6/£5 (PF members and concessions). https://www.facebook.com/groups/pflondon/

Friday 20 September; Meditation and Om Healing. (Weekly event, usually on a Friday). Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8EA. Time: 7pm. Entry free. http://theosophicalsociety.org.uk/#

Friday 20 - Sunday 22 September; 43rd SPR International Annual Conference. Venue: The Society for Psychical Research (SPR), 1 Vernon Mews, West Kensington, London, W14 0RL. https://www.facebook.com/events/497017650705335/

Friday 20 September; Autumn Equinox Drum Ceremony Hosted by Seán Ryan. Venue: Aho Studio, 13 Prince Edward Rd, London, E9 5LX. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £20. www.aho.community

Saturday 21 September; Talking Peace Festival 2019, for the International Day of Peace. Venue: Flat Iron Square, London, SE1. Noon-10.30pm. Free event, but you must register in advance. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/talking-peace-festival-2019-tickets-71381785843?

Saturday 21 September; Sisters of the Stones of Caer Abiri Meeting for Autumn Equinox. Venue: Avebury Stone Circles, Marlborough, Wiltshire. Time: 1pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/1322401231269282/

Saturday 21 September; Autumn Equinox Ceremony at the Rollright Stones. Public ceremony with Watchers of the Old Ways. Venue: Rollright Stones, Little Rollright, Warwickshire, OX7 5. Time: 2pm-3.15pm. No entry fee, but donations towards the upkeep of the stones welcome. Bring a picnic. https://www.facebook.com/events/425917814682811/

Saturday 21 September; Woodland Autumn Equinox 2019: Seasonal Ceremony and World Peace Day Magic. Venue: Queen's Woods, Highgate, North London. Meet at The Woodmans pub patio area at 4pm to walk to the outdoor site, bring food and drnk to share. Fee: £5/£3. Details: https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Pagans-Magicians/

Sunday 22 September; Ely's Pagan and Alternative Fayre. Richard Levy will be speaking about The Bones of Witchcraft, plus other talks, stalls and entertainment. Venue: Centre E, 24 Barton Road, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4DE. Starts 10am. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/2246773698921900/

Sunday 22 September, Sunday Meditation class with Lisabetta every Sunday. Drop-in class suitable for beginners and more experienced meditators. Venue: The Little Escape Therapy Centre, 4 Paxton Mews, off Westow St, London SE19 3RW. Time: 10am-11am. Cost: £12 per class, £30 for 3 classes. https://harmonious-healing.com/

Sunday 22 September; Shamanic workshop. Venue: Woodford Church at 9 Grove Crescent, South Woodford London, E18 2JR. Time: 11am-4pm. Cost: £10 pay at door.  http://woodfordchurch.com/

Sunday 22 September; Druidic Alban Elued/Autumn Equinox Celebration on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8YH, between 12.30pm and 12.45pm to prepare the site ready for a prompt 1pm start. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Free event, but bring a small contribution of food and drink to share. All are welcome. https://www.facebook.com/events/828276627566944/

Sunday 22 September;  Autumn Equinox Movement Medicine Cacao Ceremony with London Movement Medicine Women's Circle. Venue: 100 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JQ. Time: 4.30pm to 9.30pm. Cost: tbc. https://www.meetup.com/Movement-Medicine-Womens-Circle/

Sunday 22 September; Autumn Equinox Rite at Luna Iter for Pagan and Wiccan Seekers. Pub moot followed by a ritual (usually close to each full moon). Venue: Pembury Tavern 90 Amhurst Rd, London E8 1JH. Moot usually starts at 5pm, then at 6pm moving to a historic site for the ritual. Fee: £4/£5. https://www.facebook.com/events/2374358309519375/

Sunday 22 September; The Circle of Ankerwycke Mabon ritual beneath a beautiful and sacred Ankerwycke Yew, which has stood on this site for millennia (pic by ImranC). As we enter the darker months, you are invited to join the ceremony and honour its powerful energies. Meet at 7.30pm at the car park in Magna Carta Lane, Wraysbury, TW19 5AG. This is a free event but bring share food and drink to share afterwards. For more details, contact Gina 07806714165 brockwitch@yahoo.co.uk

Monday 23 September; Earth Festival: Wheel of the Year Meditation - Equinox, gather at the well head for meditation at noon, followed by conversation on the lower lawn. Venue: Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Free admission to the gardens from 10am to noon. For more details, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Monday 23 September; Free Beginners Astrology Class by Astrological Lodge of London. (Every Monday evening). Venue: 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA, Time: 6pm-6.50pm. Tickets: Free. https://astrolodge.co.uk/

Monday 23 September; Autumn Equinox Vigil for the Outcast at Crossbones to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Bring a flower, a ribbon, a totem or memento to tie to the shrine. Gather from 6.45pm for a 7pm start in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, London SE1 1TA. For more details, visit  http://crossbones.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/GooseandCrow/

Monday 23 September; Young Urban Witches - Celtic Goddesses. Evening mini-workshop with Rebecca Beattie. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 6.30pm start. Tickets £20. Book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

 Monday 23 September; Night and Day: Autumn Equinox storytelling with Lucy North and Jill Urwin, organised with She's Lost Control. Venue: The Stratford Hotel, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, 20 International Way, London, E20 1FD. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. www.sheslostcontrol.co.uk

Wednesday 25 September; Drumming up your Heart with Melonie Syrett and Steve Altman. Venue: Aho Studio, 13 Prince Edward Rd, London, E9 5LX. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £25. www.aho.community

Wednesday 25 September; Resurgence Talks: The Healing Voice and Healing the Family and Ancestors with Jill Purce. Venue: 42 Acres, 66 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LW. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £12. For more details visit: https://www.42acresshoreditch.com/events/

Wednesday 25 September; Psychedelic Gong Bath with Sound Mysterium. Venue: Round Chapel
1D Glenarm Road, London E5 0LY. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £13/£16. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepsychedelicsociety/292292?

Wednesday 25 September; Interview with a Wiccan priestess at Hertford and Ware Moot Moot. (Usually the last Wednesday of each month.) Venue: The White Horse, 33 Castle Street, SG14 1HH Hertford, Hertfordshire. Time: 8pm. Entry: £3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104788436218047/

Wednesday 25 September; Victorian Pleasure Gardens. Lecture by Historian Lee Jackson, author of Palaces of Pleasure, at London Fortean Society. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £4/£2. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com/

Thursday 26 September; The Next Step: Insights into Group Work and the Masters Today with Cyrus Ryan. Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6.30pm. Free event. For more details visit the websites http://www.watkinsbooks.com/  or https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks/

Thursday 26 September; New Moon in Libra Priestess Circle with Lucia Healing. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London E9 7AD. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. www.sheslostcontrol.co.uk

27 September - November; Waking the Witch. Touring exhibition curated by Legion Projects and supported by Arts Council England. Venue:  Bonington Gallery, Nottingham. http://www.wakingthewitch.uk/#

Friday 27 September; New Moon Eve Gong Bath with Diana Vernon. The day before a 'Super New Moon', tune into this renewed energy in the cycle of life and relax in a candlelit hall where the resonance of gongs will help you recharge your spiritual self. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Tickets: Members £22/non-members £25. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 27 September; Michaelmas Festival. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35, Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7.30pm. http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/ and https://www.meetup.com/rudolf-steiners-spiritual-science/

Saturday 28 September; Experiential Tarot One-Day Outdoor Course. Venue: Woodland location in Wimbledon (full details after registering). Fee: £30. Time: 10.30am-6pm. Details: https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Pagans-Magicians/

Sunday 29 September; NWK Moot. Venue: Chistlehurst caves.  Time: 11am. You must be a member of the group to attend. https://www.facebook.com/groups/445487428816887/

Sunday 29 September, Dragons - connect to your healing dragon to heal yourself and others. Workshop with Anthea of  Shamanism and Evolving Consciousness. Neal's Yard Meeting Rooms,
14 Neal's Yard Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP. Price: £75, all materials included. Time: 10.15pm-5.30pm. https://www.meetup.com/Shamanism-and-Evolving-Consciousness/

Sunday 29 September; The Kith of the Tree and the Well heathen moot. Venue: The Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London, SE1 3QP. Time: 2pm. https://www.meetup.com/The-Kith-of-The-Tree-and-The-Well/

Sunday 29 September; The folklore of wild plants, Venue: Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, The Soanes Centre, Southern Grove, London E3 4PX. Time: 2pm. Tickets · £11.43. https://www.facebook.com/events/2253436948013034/

Sunday 29 September;  Tea Ceremony and Women Circle with T-Lovers. Venue: Globe House Yoga, The Tanneries, Crucifix Lane, London SE1 3JW. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £20. https://t-lovers.com/tea-ceremonies/

Please note: I do not organise any of these events. I try to make sure all details are correct, but please contact the organisers of any event you are interested in for more information before turning up. If you know of something you want listed, please email the details to me at badwitch1234@gmail.com.