Magical Dolls: Akua'Ba Fertility Dolls from Africa

These African fertility dolls are on display at the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. They are called Akua'ba dolls and are hand-carved in Ghana.

The label beside them in the museum explains that the Asante people believe if a woman has one it will increase her fertility. It also explains that they are not toys and are not meant to be realistic, but are based on a traditional folk tale.

According to the story, a woman called Akua was struggling to get pregnant. She visited a psychic who carved her a small wooden doll. Akua cared for the doll as if it was her own baby and carried it around with her everywhere. Other people in the village started calling the doll Akua'ba, which means "Akua's child". However, Akua then soon became pregnant and her daughter grew up with the doll.

Magical dolls feature in folk magic practises all over the world. Although people often think they are primarily used for curses, in fact magical dolls are often used as part of helpful spells - as in this example.

I will be doing a free launch event for my book Pagan Portals – Poppets and Magical Dolls at Treadwell’s Books in London on July 14. If you want to pop along, you can reserve a place here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/event/signing-poppets-and-magical-dolls/

You can also view the book at publisher Moon Books’ website: http://www.moon-books.net/books/pagan-portals-poppets-magical-dolls

The Museum of Childhood is at Cambridge Heath Rd, London, E2 9PA. You can visit the website here: https://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/06/magic-books-effigies-poppets-enchanted.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/doll-candle-magic-spell-to-get-rid-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/magical-dolls-football-mascots-lucky.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/magical-dolls-folklore-wishbones.html

News: Witch helps couple conceive against the odds

A woman who had been told she had a one-in-a-billion chance of having a baby naturally has become a mother-of-two after getting magical help from a witch, according to a story in the Daily Mail.

You can read the full story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2006319/Claire-Anderson-Has-children-meeting-white-witch.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Festival of the Week: The Royal Wedding

Beltane or the Royal Wedding? It was a tough choice between them for The Bad Witch's Festival of the Week.

After all, Beltane - or May Day - is one of the most popular pagan festivals of the year, with all sorts of fun and games taking place to celebrate the start of summer. And the Royal Wedding, being a Church of England ceremony, is hardly pagan.

However, it is a huge event that pretty much everyone in England is going to celebrate in some way, whether they are going to London tomorrow for a glimpse of Will and Kate on their big day, bedecking their homes with flags and throwing a party or just settling down in front of the telly with a cuppa at around 11am. Looking at it that way, The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has to be The Bad Witch's Festival of the Week.

Many pagans are royalists. They like all the history and tradition associated with having a Royal Family that you don't get with a president. And although The Royal Wedding might not be a pagan event, it is taking place very close to Beltane, which is the pagan festival of fertility. Many pagans honour the sacred marriage of the God and Goddess on the first of May, their union promising that the land will flourish and bring a bountiful harvest.

Some pagans and Christians alike look to the Grail legend and the concept that the health of the land is mystically connected to that of its King. And Prince William is in direct line of succession to the throne, after his father Charles, Prince of Wales.

Even if you don't buy in to those folk tales, the Royal Wedding is at least something to cheer us all up during these dark days of economic uncertainty.

But, however wonderful the ceremony looks, I won't be calling Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day a fairytale wedding. I'm sure there will be all the pomp and spectacle that one would expect for such a momentous occasion and the couple will look gorgeous in their finery.

For me, there was only one fairytale Royal Wedding - that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I watched it when I was young - young enough to believe that real life can be a fairy tale. But it isn't, and the story of Charles and Diana's marriage certainly had no fairytale ending.

Nevertheless, if a Bad Witch can make a wedding day wish for Will and Kate it is this - that they can, and will, live happily ever after.

The picture shows the BBC DVD of The Royal Wedding - William and Catherine, which is available to order through Amazon.

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/
The Royal Wedding - William & Catherine (BBC) [DVD]
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/review-discovering-folkore-and.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William_of_Wales
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/05/working-with-emerald-tablet.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/beltane-frolics-and-wicker-man.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/ghosts-and-grails-of-lewes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King

Pagan Eye: Easter Eggs

As this is the start of the Easter holiday, I thought I'd post this photograph I took of some decorated wooden Easter eggs.

They were sent to my family when I was a young child and were an Easter gift from an elderly relative living in Poland, where decorated eggs are often given as presents at this time of year. At the time, I would have preferred a chocolate egg, but now I am very fond of them.

For Christians, eggs are a symbol of rebirth at Easter, but they are also symbols of birth, resurrection and creation in religions and cultures all over the world. In the mythologies of India, China, ancient Egypt and ancient Greece to name just a few, gods and goddesses - or indeed all of life itself - are said to be hatched from eggs.

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.

Links and previous posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/pagan-eye-apple-blossom.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/03/pagan-eye-lambs-in-barn.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/08/pagan-eye-druid-oak.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/04/eggs-myths-and-mysteries.html

A full moon, a festival, flowers and sex

The full moon this Wednesday, April 28, is called the Awakening Moon or Growing Moon according to the pagan calendar, but we are so close to May Day that Flower Moon seems more appropriate - although officially that is the name for the full moon in the month of May itself.

One reason for this is that April 28 is also the start of Floralia - an ancient Roman festival dedicated to the goddess Flora. It was a bit similar to May Day celebrations, as it was when Romans celebrated the renewal of the cycle of life with flowers, dancing, drinking - and shagging.

And to emphasise the shagging bit even more, Flora, as well as being the Goddess of Flowers, was also the Goddess of Prostitutes.

According to Godchecker.com, this was because flowers are the sex organs of plants, which at this time of year are putting it about in a veritable orgy. Not that the Romans needed much of an excuse for an orgy.

Flora was also a close friend of Venus, Goddess of Love and Gardens. You can see them both in the picture Primavera, which means the arrival of spring, by Sandro Botticelli, shown at the top.

Venus is the goddess in the middle and Flora is just beside her, shown in the detail to the right. Other gods and goddesses in the picture are, from left to right, Mercury, the Three Graces, Cupid and Death, who is just stopping a young woman from joining the party.

All I can say is I hope this Floralia and May Day you have as good a time as any Roman might have done, hopefully without encountering Death.

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/aglaia-goddess-of-week.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/03/venus-goddess-of-gardens.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/oysters-pearls-and-treasure-from-sea.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/05/flower-moon.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/04/aprils-full-moon-pretty-in-pink.html
http://pagancalendar.co.uk/
Posters: Sandro Botticelli Poster Art Print - Primavera (12 x 9 inches)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primavera_(painting)
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/roman-mythology.php?deity=FLORA
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eros-bad-witchs-god-of-week.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/12/mercury-god-of-week.html

800-year-old shaman bears seeds of love

Archaeologists have discovered the 800-year-old grave of a shaman in Peru, buried with 500 seeds that are thought to have aphrodisiac properties.

The ancient love doctor was probably from the pre-Incan Lambayeque culture. He was found near the valley of the Tucume Pyramids at La Pava de Mochumi, Peru.

The director of the La Pava de Mochumi archaeological complex, in Marco Fernandez, who is involved with the dig said that as well as helping with matters of fertility, the shaman would have cured ailments and interceded with the gods of the Mochica and Lambayeque people.

A ceramic vessel containing 500 nectarine seeds was the first finding on the site and led to the discovery of the body. Nectarines have long had a reputation as being a natural aphrodisiac, along with such foods as chilli, chocolate and avocado.

For more details, see the news story on http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=350950&CategoryId=14095

Links
http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=4nfLNOVg1gQ=
http://www.rd.com/content/printContent.do?contentId=57406&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=790&modal=true

Magna Mater - Goddess of the Week

Because this Sunday is Mother's Day in the UK, I decided to pick Magna Mater - or the Great Mother - as The Bad Witch's Goddess of the Week.

The Great Mother has been worshipped in many different forms since neolithic times, under many different names. She is Mother Earth, she is seen in the mountains and she is the mistress of the animals. One name for her is Cybele, the Phrygian "Mountain Mother". Others identify her with Greek Gaia, "The Earth".

She is generally seen as a fertility deity and it is appropriate to honour her in the spring when animals everywhere are generally going about their ancient rituals of courting, shagging and breeding.

The picture shows a chocolate Mother Goddess made with a Mother Goddess Chocolate Mould. This is sold by the online store Pagan Magic and costs £7.99. Makes the Mother Goddess look good enough to eat!

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/mothers-day.html
http://hem.bredband.net/arenamontanus/Mage/magna.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele
http://pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/mother-goddess-chocolate-mould-p-6256.html?ad=badwitch

Spring Equinox rituals and meaning

The Spring Equinox is when the day and the night are of equal length as we move through spring towards summer.

It is celebrated by pagans as an important festival in the Wheel of the Year, when things are in balance. Some calenders put the event on March 20 and some on March 21 - but doesn't really matter which day you choose to celebrate it. You could even take the confusion as a good excuse to have fun two days running.

Spring Equinox is one of those events that has been celebrated by pretty much every culture around the world since history began. It is hard not to feel happy when the days getting lighter and warmer, leaves are budding on the trees and flowers are blooming.

Some modern pagans call the festival Ostara, after the Germanic goddess of the same name, which means "movement towards the rising sun". Others celebrate the Spring Equinox and Ostara as two different festivals, the first at the time of balance and the second at around the same time as Easter, the similarly-named Christian festival. Personally, I always think why have just one party when there's a perfectly good excuse to have two?

Spring Equinox is a time to celebrate the spring but also to think about balance. So, it is a good time to get outside and go for country walks or plant seedlings in the garden. It is also a good time to have a spring clean around the home - take things you no longer need down to the charity shop or just go round with the vacuum cleaner and duster.

On a psychological level, a suitable thing to do at the Spring Equinox is to make changes on a personal level. You could make two lists. One is of things you plan to put behind you, such as habits, behaviour patterns or relationships or that are holding you back; the other is of things you want to grow within your life, such as things you want learn or do, activities you want to try and new relationships you wish to cultivate. One example might giving up an evening socialising with people you have little in common with and instead going along to a pagan group.

Deities that are appropriate to honour at the time of the Spring Equinox include Ostara or Eostre; Flora, the Roman goddess of spring and flowers and Freya, the Norse fertility goddess. Many wiccans celebrate both the God and the Goddess in balance and harmony at the time of the Spring Equinox. They see it as the time of their sacred wedding feast, when they are joined to lead the dance of spring.

An easy and fun Ostara ritual for a solitary person to perform at the Spring Equinox and acknowledges the balance between light and dark requires a flower and a boiled egg. You pull the petals from the flower while stating a plan for the future, then shell the egg. Eat the egg and scatter the petals and shell on the garden, to return to nature.

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/marriage-of-opposites.html
www.avalonia.co.uk/wicca/wheel_of_the_year/sd_wiccan_sabbats.htm
inquirer.gn.apc.org/sabbats.html#ladyday
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/springequinox.shtml

Venus: Goddess of Gardens

Venus, best known as the Roman Goddess of Love, once presided over gardens and springtime. As my blog for the past few days has been mostly about gardening, I have picked Venus as The Bad Witch's Goddess of the Week.

The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology says: "Venus... in the early days occupied a very modest position in the Roman pantheon. With Feronia and Flora she symbolised spring and fruitfulness."

This grew to include fruitfulness of humans as well as the green spaces around our homes. She later also became associated with love, as a Roman version of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Although it is for love that she is best known today, gardeners have never forgotten their ancient patron deity.

In the 18th Century, a time when the most fashionable stately homes were decorated with statues from classical mythology, many gardeners built temples to Venus in English country house gardens.

There is a wonderful example in West Wycombe Park, which was built in 1753. This was the home of bad boy Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of notorious The Hellfire Club and rumoured to dabble in black magic, orgies and general hedonism. He certainly seems to have known how to throw a good party.

Whether pagans today want to throw wild parties or not, it is certainly appropriate to honour Venus in the garden - perhaps with a statue, a shrine, a rosebush - which is her sacred flower - or just a few words about love, fertility and springtime.

The Aphrodite Water Feature statue in the photograph is available through Amazon for £224.95.

Links:
Aphrodite Water Feature
The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology

http://uk.geocities.com/lucath/goddess.html

http://www.inanna.virtualave.net/roman.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology)

http://www.crystalinks.com/venusrome.html

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/aphroditevenus/a/Venus.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Wycombe_Park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Dashwood,_15th_Baron_le_Despencer
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/05/first-rose-of-summer.html

Spells and Magic: The books of love...

Love spells are the most common type of magic a witch is asked about - spells to find the perfect partner, spells to ensure a happy marriage and spells to help heal the rift after a lovers' tiff.

With Valentine's Day approaching, here are some short reviews of classic books on the subject.

Aphrodisiacs and Love Magic, by Pamela Allerdice, is a fascinating look at the history of love spells, customs, sayings and superstitions. It has a slightly misleading cover with a picture of three scantily-clad young ladies on the front, a description on the back that says "Take control of your life - with a little practical magic" and a sub-title reading "The Mystic Lure of Love Charms". A better title would be "Aphrodisiacs and Love Magic: Folklore From Around the World".

It has sections on love lore, herbs, spices, flowers and plants, food and drink, charms, games and omens, superstitions regarding days and dates, folklore and customs on marriage, the wedding day and ensuring wedded bliss.

If you are interested in folklore, history and world customs relating to love, marriage, sex and fertility you will find this book fascinating. If what you are looking for is a book of usable recipes for aphrodisiacs and instructions for spells to attract a partner, look elsewhere.

What I found most fascinating reading this book is how some things have changed a lot over the years and some things seem eternal. At one time, every woman was expected to marry. It was a stigma to be a spinster - an old maid - and even worse to be an unmarried mother. Sometimes girls had little choice in who they married.

Nowadays, things are different - at least in most parts of the world - yet many young girls still have a fascination with finding out the name of the man they will eventually marry. They want that fairytale wedding day and to live happily ever after. Perhaps a little magic can still help them have their dream.

Aphrodisiacs and Love Magic was published by Prism Press in 1989, but is still easily available. Copies cost around £3.99.

Love is for the whole year, not just for Valentine's Day. At least, that is the idea behind Love Magic by Sally Morningstar.

It details this most magical and eternal subject throughout the seasons of the year and the heart, from the young love of spring, the time of new beginnings, through summer's richness, fertility and passion to autumn, when we reap what we have sown and into winter, the time to look inwards and find eternal love as well as to dream of the future.

This is a lovely book for anyone who wants to honour love in all its forms throughout the seasons, including friendship and divine love as well as romantic love and passion.

What I particularly like about Love Magic is that well as covering gods and goddesses of love and their festivals in the yearly calendar, it is full of practical instructions for spells, rituals, divinations, recipes and craft projects on the theme of love.

One idea that would be suitable for Valentine's Day - either to give as a gift or to keep for yourself - is a Valentine's keepsake box. This is a framed picture containing a heart shape made out of pulped recycled paper onto which you pin love token and mementos. Other magical projects include room fragrances, massage oils, scented pillows and an enchanted love mirror.

Love Magic by Sally Morningstar is published by Godsfield Press and costs £12.

One of my favourite books of love spells was Love: Titania's Wishing Spells, by Titania Hardie. I say "was" because I sadly lost my copy during a house move. Titania's Wishing Spells are a series of hardback, velvet-bound books with gorgeous pictures interspersed with practical spells on various subjects. This one is, obviously, about love. One day I will bite the bullet, accept I've lost my old copy and buy myself a new one. Or maybe someone I love will read this and get the hint :)

Another book by Titania Hardie is Love Potions: Titania's Book of Romantic Potions. It is similar to her other book but, as the title suggests, is specifically about love potions.

These books, published by Quadrille Publishing, are relatively inexpensive - Love: Titania's Wishing Spells costs less than £5 through Amazon, and the online store currently has a special offer where you can buy Titania's books on love, wealth and happiness together for £10.22. They are published by Quadrille.

A little book that has been recommended to me is Little Cauldron of Love Spells, by Midia Star.

The person who praised Little Cauldron of Love Spells said it is a very useful pocket-sized book, with spells for all romantic occasions, and would make a lovely gift.

It costs £3.99 and is published by Godsfield Press.


Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/tantra-review-of-guide-to-sacred-sex.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/cooking-up-love-with-cookie-sutra.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/07/book-clubs-and-soul-mates.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/astrology-for-lovers.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/07/hocus-pocus-titanias-book-of-spells.html
Aphrodisiacs and Love Magic
Love Potions: Titania's Book of Romantic Potions
Love Magic
Little Cauldron of Love Spells
Love (Titania's Wishing Spells)
http://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/godsfield-press
http://www.quadrille.co.uk/

The mystery of the Long Man of Wilmington

The sun seems to have put his hat on and come out to play for the past couple of days, so what could be better than a trip into the Sussex countryside for some sightseeing?

Well, I would say what is better is if you add some mystery to the outing.

The Long Man of Wilmington, a giant chalk figure of a man cut into side of the South Downs, is certainly a sight worth seeing. He is also a puzzle. No one knows how old he is, why he was put there, by who, or what he represents.

The earliest drawing in which he appears was made by a surveyor called John Rowley in 1710, but no one has been able to tell if the figure was first cut in the cliff only a few decades before then or if it dates back to pre-Christian times.

Up until the late 19th century, the figure was barely visible, but in 1874 a public subscription through The Times paid to have it restored. Further restoration work took place in 1969.

Some early accounts describe him as holding a scythe, some say he holds two spears, and a third idea is that he is standing in an open doorway. However, it is possible that some of the original lines were so badly obscured that the image we see now is nothing like the original image.

Pagans like to think of him as a representation of a nature deity, a fertility symbol or perhaps the guardian at the threshold of a fairy mound. He is a popular site for outdoor rituals, particularly in the warm weather.

Why not pay a visit for yourself and see if you can pick up any clues to try to solve the mystery?

The chalk man is in beautiful countryside with some lovely old villages and great pubs nearby, so it makes a perfect summers day out for a witch and her friends.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Man_of_Wilmington
http://www.sussexpast.co.uk/property/site.php?site_id=13
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=1376
http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=Wilmington%2C+East+Sussex&countryCode=GB#map=50.82013,0.19256144&loc=GB:50.82013:0.19256:14Wilmington,%20East%20SussexWilmington,%20Polegate,%20East%20Sussex,%20England,%20BN26%205

Beltane frolics and the Wicker Man

May Day is a festival with pagan origins that survived long after Christianity tried to stamp it out, perhaps because it is hard to repress the urge to party when blossom is on the trees and the days are finally warm enough to throw off winter clothing.

On May 1 and over the bank holiday weekend, towns and villages throughout England will be choosing a Queen of the May and enjoying fetes, fairs and carnivals.

It was once also traditional to choose a King of the May as the May Queen's consort for the day. In some communities, a variation on the theme was to dress a man as Jack o' the Green. He was covered in a wickerwork frame dressed in leaves and flowers and would lead a procession through the town, inviting bystanders to join in and culminating in a dance. Unlike Edward Woodward's character in the film The Wicker Man, he wasn't likely to be burnt to death, although fire did play a big part in May Day celebrations.

For the ancient Celts, May Day was celebrated as "Beltane" or the "Day of Fire" - Bel or Belenus was a Celtic god associated with the sun and with heat. Celebrations involved burning bonfires and jumping over the flames and sometimes driving cattle through the smoke to give them the god's blessings. Apparently it was also a cure for parasites. The Saxons also celebrated this time of the year by lighting fires on the evening of April 30 t0 marked the end of winter, followed by games and feasting.

May Day as also a celebration of fertility and an example of this is the maypole, a phallic symbol around which young men and women would dance, holding on to the ribbons until they became entwined. The earliest written records of maypoles in England date from the 14th century but it is likely that they existed before that. In earlier traditions, a tree might have been danced around rather than a cut wooden pole.

For modern pagans - and possibly our ancestors - May Day fertility rites can sometimes be an excuse for a wild party. So, if you are invited to a Beltane ritual, it is worthwhile asking if it is likely to get nude and lewd...

The photograph is of the maypole at Kettlewell, Upper Wharfedale, in the Yorkshire Dales. It was supplied by: www.freefoto.com/.

For more information about Beltane and May Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
http://www.visithastings.com/Hastings/events/jackinthegreen/OriginsofMayDay.aspx
http://pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/origins-traditions-mayday-a-683.html?osCsid=db16cdf4e05cfc0e79990eca4af8f5e
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/beltane_1.shtml
www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/ealing/web/EGFL1/teaching_learning/subjects/REandSACRE/Festival_calendar/April/Beltane.htm http://tylluanpenry.blog.co.uk/2008/04/28/beltane-and-may-day-4104896
www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/sabbats/beltane.asp
www.cassandraeason.co.uk/beltane.htm

Magical mead

I was watching the BBC's adaptation of Lark Rise to Candleford last night. In it, the Lark Rise matriarch Queenie Turrill, played by Linda Bassett, brews a luck potion from mead.

We didn't get to see how effective the potion was in the episode because much of it gets spilt before it is drunk, but mead is said to have many magical properties - particularly associated with love and good fortune in marriage.

Mead is made from honey, water and yeast, although it is sometimes flavoured with fruit juices, and tastes like a rich wine.

The term 'honeymoon' comes from the ancient tradition of drinking mead at weddings. It was supposed to be a potent aphrodisiac and boost fertility as well as increasing the chances that the first child would be a son.

With Valentines Day approaching, why not get a bottle or two? You could also have a go at making your own, although it won't be ready for drinking in time for this February 14.

Here are some links on the history and magic of mead, mead recipes and where to buy mead:
www.wyrdwords.vispa.com/heathenry/mead/index.html
www.empathys.co.uk/197.html

www.kernowharvest.co.uk/subprod/ninemaidens-cornish-mead-0001484.aspx