Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Lammas Rites & Pagan Events Near London & Online
Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Rounding the Year: Taking Stock of my Goals & Wishes
How has the past 6 months gone for you? It seems to have gone quickly for me, and it's been a rollercoaster of good things and unpleasant surprises.
Every January I make a list of ambitions (you can see it here) and a Wheel of the Year vision board, which you can see in the picture above. I try to check how I'm doing regularly. The half-year mark is a good time.
When it comes to my blogging intentions, I've been on track with what I aimed to do each month, including writing about seasonal folklore, books, crafting, and posting divinations for the world.
One of my resolutions I've not worked towards yet is "Interview at least 6 pagan authors". So, if you are a pagan author who hasn't been interviewed by me yet but wants to be, let me know. You can email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com.
The vision board reflects some great social events and a writing opportunity that flowered between Spring Equinox and Beltane. The Greenoaks Gathering was fun and something of an adventure before the Summer Solstice. I hope there'll be more days out and holidays before Lammas, rather than just "coming home", which I wrote on the chart. I wonder if I manifested those things, or if they'd have happened anyway?
The worst unpleasant surprise of the year so far was my cat Tommy dying suddenly. I still miss him. When I look at the vision board, however, I see that dark spiral before Imbolc. I intended it to mean a time for rest and introspection, but not laying my cat to rest. Still, I accept life always has moments of sadness. No one can guarantee they won't happen at any time.
Looking further round my Wheel of the Year vision board I see the time of harvest. I was in my garden yesterday and noticed fruit and berries filling out on the trees and bushes, although some fell prematurely in the recent thunder storm. I hope we don't have too many more of them before summer ends.
How are your plans for the year doing? Please leave a comment.
Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book Pagan Portals - Round the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/the-bad-witchs-10-new-year-resolutions.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/magical-craft-my-2026-wheel-of-year.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/12/rounding-year-reflections-on-new-years.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/12/new-year-resolutions-looking-back-at-my.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/01/the-bad-witchs-10-new-year-resolutions.html
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Midsummer Lore: Street Parties and St John's Wort
Tomorrow, June 24th, is traditionally Midsummer's Day and was once among the most widely celebrated festivals in England. Modern pagans put more emphasis on the Summer Solstice, on June 21st, but according to Steve Roud in The English Year:
"...from the time of the earliest records, midsummer in in England was celebrated with bonfires, processions and parades, and by decorating houses and churches with greenery."
In Christian terms, June 24th was also the feast day of St John. Steve Roud also points out that the time from St John's Eve on the 23rd right up to St Peter's Day on June 29th was something of a holiday. John Stow, writing in the 1590s, described London during those days as being filled with street parties. People set out tables for all the neighbours to feast, drink, and have fun together.
Bonfires would be lit as part of the festivities, but also because it was thought fires would clear the air of any malignancy. Stow also describes various herbs and flowers that were traditionally hung over doorways on St John's Eve:
"...every man's door being shadowed with green birch, long fennel, St John's wort, orpin, white lilies...garnished upon with beautiful flowers."
He also mentions the streets being hung with lamps that were kept alight late into the night.
St John's wort
Historically, St John’s Day was when it was particularly customary to gather St John's Wort. This herb with yellow flowers has long been seen as a means to keep evil away magically and as well a herbal remedy. From at least medieval times it's been hung over doors and windows to keep away malefic spirits. In some areas, the flowers were traditionally dipped in a bowl of water and left outside exposed to the night until the following morning, when people washed their faces in the flower dew.
You can see St John's Wort in the photo at the top.
More seasonal lore
My book Rounding the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in magic, folklore and nature.
You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/customs-summerween-festival-or-fakelore.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/05/folklore-customs-bromleys-broom-day.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/06/collecting-magical-herbs-on-st-johns.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/07/pagan-eye-echinacea-flowers-in-bloom.html
Friday, 5 June 2026
Rounding the Year: Bees and Blackberry Blossom
What's in flower or fruit in your area?
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/04/rounding-year-helping-birds-in-nesting.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/springtime-camellias.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/rounding-year-damson-blossom-green-buds.html
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Folklore & Customs: May Eve, Walpurgis & Mischief Night
"At Oldham, the Eve of May is known as Mischief Night when it was custom for people to play tricks on their neighbours. My informant remembers seeing a thatched house, in a village near Oldham, adorned with mops, rakes and brushes, on top of whcih were stuck mugs, tubs, and pails."
"Around Grimsby it was the original ‘Mischief Night’, when the normal rules of society did not apply and friends would get together to play pranks, start fires or hold ‘Satanic’ rituals."While human troublemakers were obviously a nuisance, supernatural ones such as fairies were more generally feared in the UK. They were more easily kept out, however, by placing seasonal flowers over doorways. Hawthorn blossom (pictured above) is the most widespread floral protection, but in Lincolnshire there was a tradition of hanging up cowslips (pictured right), which look a bit like primroses.
"In parts of Europe, especially Germany but also England, it’s known as Walpurgis Night when witches were thought to gather and were historically seen as not the nice folk we are now. People would protect their homes against them."
The Wheel of the Year
My Pagan Portals book Rounding the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/04/news-beltane-walpurgisnacht-and-witch.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/04/news-walpurgisnacht-beltane-may-day.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/game-review-call-of-hill-witchcraft-larp.html
Friday, 24 April 2026
I'm on a Podcast: Beltane with Moon Books Witches!
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/05/a-poem-for-beltane-we-walk-through.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/book-review-pantheon-romans.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/12/books-fifth-anniversary-for-guided.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/12/settle-in-for-yuletide-with-pagan.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/05/green-london-hawthorn-blossom-in-ion.html
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Rounding the Year: Helping Birds in the Nesting Season
Here's a coot sitting on a nest in Crystal Palace Park, near where I live. I took the photo at the weekend, but I've also been watching bluetits, magpies and other birds getting reading to raise chicks.
I regularly go for walks in my local parks and see birds returning to the same sites each year, including coots at Crystal Palace. Sometimes they're successful, sometimes the weather is against them and the nests flood or a dry spell causes other problems. At the moment, avian flu is also killing many birds.
This year the RSPB is pointing out that bird feeders can spread diseases as birds congregate there, so it's best to pause them from early May to October. Only have them up in the colder months and keep them scrupulously clean. You can put out fat balls or mealworms during the breeding season. Better still, plant wildllife friendly flowers and plants in your garden.
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/springtime-camellias.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/rounding-year-damson-blossom-green-buds.html
Friday, 27 March 2026
Rounding the Year: Damson Blossom & Green Buds
I love this time of year, although sometimes I feel it rushes on just a little too fast. Earlier this month I photographed my garden's first camellia bloom this year. More flourished, and fell. The forsythia is now turning from yellow to green. But spring and the blossom season aren't over yet.
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/springtime-camellias.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
Friday, 13 March 2026
March Customs: Braggot Sunday - Time for Honey Beer
Braggot is fermented honey and ale, which is apparently similar to mead or metheglin, but with a more beery taste. I'd love to give it a try. A bit of web searching showed that Colchester Brewery still produces it, sold as a type of honey beer. I've posted a picture of the label, which I found on the brewery website. You can find the link here. A bit of research also revealed that braggot is still often drunk in Wales.
Steve Roud mentioned that Braggot Sunday always falls on the same day as Mothering Sunday, in mid Lent. The drink is mentioned in Chaucer's The Miller's Tale: "Her mouth was swete as bragot or the meeth."
So, if you aren't visiting your mum this weekend, or you need a drink after you've got home, you could treat yourself to a glass of braggot if you can get hold of it. I think any honey beer, or mead, would do at a pinch.
You can find out more about seasonal customs and crafts in my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year.
Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/january-folklore-distaff-day-when-women.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/customs-galentines-day-and-tarot.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/folklore-shrove-tuesday-pancake-day.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/pagan-eye-horse-brasses-in-south-london.html
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Rounding the Year: Camellias - Another Spring Herald
The camellias in my garden always bloom later than many others I see outside houses in my street, but they're another flower that heralds the arrival of spring with splashes of bright colour.
Camellias come from southern China, where they have been cultivated since about 1725BC, when the Chinese emperor found that an infusion of camellia sinensis leaves was his favourite drink. This became known as tea. Buddhist priests prized it as a stimulant and spread its popularity to Japan, developing the tea ceremony.
The tea plant and ornamental camellias are closely related, but are not the same. Don't boil up an old camellia leaves to see what they taste like. In England, ornamental species such as camellia japonica became popular in the early 1800s because of their lovely flowers. They bring colour to even the greyest day.
This particular shrub reminds me of my mum, because she planted it in our garden and loved it.
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/02/rounding-year-daffodils-narcissus.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/springtime-camellias.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Rounding the Year: Daffodils, Narcissus & a Tragic Tale
Daffodils are blooming in my garden again. They're a bit earlier than last year, but I'm pleased to see their bright yellow buds. Another word for daffodil is narcissus. That's the name of the Greek mythological character who fell in love with his own reflection, and associated with the term narcissism, meaning someone very self-centred.
However, the full version of the ancient tale is more complicated and nuanced. Narcissus was loved by both a young woman called Echo, and a young man, Ameinias, but was unable to reciprocate the feelings for either. Echo wasted away, while Ameinias called on the goddess of revenge, Nemesis. She cursed Narcissus that whoever he did love wouldn't be able to return the affection either. This came true, but his passion for his own image burned so brightly he was transformed into a golden flower.
It's a sad story, isn't it? But it does perhaps offer the message of accepting that not everyone we desire will necessarily share the same feelings. Don't go cursing someone just because they don't fancy you. Love can be bittersweet, but keep the tragedy in fiction please.
As much as I enjoy being reminded of a good tale, I also love to see the flowers at this time of year, which can be bitterly cold even though beautiful flowers are brightening the days.
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/09/rounding-year-when-do-you-think-autumn.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/01/rounding-year-sharing-seasonal-pictures.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Rounding the Year: The First Garden Primrose
Here's a photo of the first primrose to bloom in my garden this year. They are one of the most recognisable flowers of early spring. The name itself comes from the Latin prima rosa, meaning "first rose".
What flowers can you see near where you live?
Share your Pictures
Since my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year came out I've been inviting people to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, as well as other seasonal journalling, musings, drawing, painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram with the tag #RoundingtheYear
Where to find Rounding the Wheel of the Year
My book offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
(Please note: I earn commission from some links.)
Other previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-when-snowdrops-bloom.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/rounding-year-flower-of-love-hope-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/09/rounding-year-when-do-you-think-autumn.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/01/rounding-year-sharing-seasonal-pictures.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/rounding-year-too-soon-for-silver-birch.html











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