Book Review: Of Toads & Hares - Witches & Wisewomen

I was very lucky to see an early copy of Of Toads and Hares: The Witches and Wisewomen of England, published by The History Press. It's a superb collection of English folktales concerning witches, meticulously researched by Ben Stimpson as part of his ‘Wise Ones Series’ of books. 

Of Toads and Hares follows on from Of Doves and Ravens which focused on Wales. The book is an enchanting read, which can be dipped into for pleasure or study. I thoroughly recommended it to anyone interested in folklore and historic depictions of women and witchcraft.

Witches, according to a plethora of folktales, were shape-changers. An old and probably ugly woman with magical powers would take the form of a hare, cat or sometimes a toad to spy on neighbours. A man hunted or otherwise injured the animal, and the witch’s powers were outed when she was seen to have an identical wound. Her fate was determined by the same man or an angry mob because, of course, witches were usually depicted as malefic. They stole or curdled the milk, played tricks on people, sometimes caused illness or even death. 

These were scary tales to entertain and thrill, and this collection accurately represents that – warts and all. Yet Of Toads and Hares also offers some positive accounts of wise women from the past. All of these stories can still entertain today and I really enjoyed discovering some rare examples from all over the country. I hope at least some modern readers would, perhaps, also wish they could tap into the old magic and shape-change into a hare.

You can view Of Hares and Toads on Amazon. It is officially released on September 10, 2026, but can be pre-ordered.

Please note I earn commission from some links 

Previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/10/pagan-eye-welsh-folk-magic-launch-soiree.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/03/magical-mad-march-hares.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/08/author-interview-irish-writer-geraldine.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/07/review-hecate-goddess-of-magick.html

Magical Online & London Events in the Next Weeks

Here's a list of events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests over the next couple of weeks. I mainly include in-person things in or near London, because that's where I'm based, as well as online talks and workshops (bolded) you can do anywhere.

Now – 29 November; The Coming of Age Exhibition - including displays on witches and crones. Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE. Open daily 10am-6pm.  Free. https://wellcomecollection.org/

Now - 8 September; The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial. Exhibition. Venue: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London, SW3 4RY. Open 10am-6pm. Tickets from £13. https://www.saatchigallery.com/whats-on

Now to 13 September;  Hail, Delirium! Surrealist Dorothea Tanning art exhibition.  Venue: The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society.  Time: during normal opening hours. Free entry. https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/museum/

Now - 11 September; After Fragments by Hannah Hughes - Exhibition. Venue: Swedenborg House, 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. Time: during daytime opening hours. Tickets free. https://www.swedenborg.org.uk/

Now – 13 September; The Material Heart: Front Line to Home Front. Exhibition of WWI folk art. Venue: Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF.  Open: Tuesdays – Saturdays, 11am – 6pm. Tickets free with general museum admission ticket or a ticket to the Paint, Pattern, Print exhibition that's also on, costing £11.50. https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/

Now to 9 January 2027; Anne Ryan’s Folkmoot art exhibition on London archaeology. Venue: London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, 12 Walbrook, London, EC4N 8AA. Free entry during opening hours. https://www.londonmithraeum.com/bloomberg-space/

Every Tuesday to Sunday except over bank holidays; College of Psychic Studies -  pop in to have a look around the lovely building.  Venue: College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 11am-4pm. Free entry. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

 https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Most lunchtimes and some other times: Meditation - in-person or online. In-person venue: Inner Space, 36 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden, London · WC2H 9AB. Time: 1pm (for lunchtime meditation). Free. https://www.meetup.com/inner-space-covent-garden/events/

Every lunchtime: Rainbow Spirit offers a shared vegetarian lunch from a flat in Soho, London, for all people LGBT+Allies. The foundation is British witchcraft. Each meal is followed by Ancestor Circle, passing the talking stick. Alcohol-free event. To attend join the Whatsapp chat group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LhDxaCzGsmE2YI6AReyw3W

or email: rainbowawakening1@gmail.com

Wednesday 26 August; Astrology, the Four Elements and You workshop with Debra Silverman. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 26  August; Unseen - The Town Answers Back. Part 2 of 3 via Alexandrian Witchcraft x Bexhill Museum.  Live online viewing of Alex Sanders exhibition with walkthrough by Julian Porter.  (Note: part 1 can still be watched as a recording). Time: 4pm. Tickets: £7.50. https://www.alexandrianwitchcraft.com/unseen

Wednesday 26 August;  Crooked Confessions with Ian C Edwards. Online event via Watkins Bookshop. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Wednesday 26 August; Bloomsbury Folklore Club – Fairies. Venue: Gower Street Waterstones event space, 82 Gower Street, Lower Ground Floor, London WC1E 6EQ.  Doors at 6.30pm.Tickets  £10. https://connectionwithwonder.com/events/

Wednesday 26 August (monthly); Melissa's Tarot Club. Monthly In-Person Workshop. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person.  https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 26 August (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 26 August;  Sylvia Plath, Taylor Swift, and the Power of the Witch Imagery with Dr Dorka Tamás via Seed talks. Online event.  Time: 7pm. Tickets from £13 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

Thursday 27 August; Saturn: The Greatest Teacher workshop with Debra Silverman. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 27  August (every Thursday); Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk

Thursday 27 August;  Death - You Gotta Love It  with Tony Christi. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 27 August;  Full Moon Celebration with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Terrace Gardens Holyhock Cafe, Petersham Road, Richmond TW10 6UX. Time: 7pm. Tickets £6.13. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Thursday 27 August;  Full Moon Celebration with South East London Pagans. Venue:  One Tree Hill, Honor Oak, South London. Time: 7pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Thursday 27 August;  Magical Protection in Homes. Lecture and Soirée with Archaeologist Wayne Perkins. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 27 August (last Thursday every month); Hertford Pagan Moot. Venue: The White Horse Pub, 33 Castle Street, Hertford, Herts SG14 1HH) (45 mins from central London). Time: 8pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104788436218047

Thursday 27 August; The Wicked Women Whom the Devil Feared with Tommy Kuusela,. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society.  Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from  £6.59. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Friday 28 August (every Friday); Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of Gods and Goddesses of England and the Kitchen Witch series of books. Online event. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 28 August; Travel with the Sacred Drum with Heather McDonald. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 6.30pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 28 August; Witch Choir  with Nicole Bettencourt Coelho. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person.  https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Friday 28 August; Kin-Inanna Open Ritual: The Festival of Inanna-Ishtar. This is a public, open ritual, and all are welcome. Venue: Location: The Pirate Castle, Camden, London. Time: Doors at 7pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets: £10 via Eventbrite or on the day in cash. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kin-inanna-open-ritual-the-festival-of-inanna-ishtar-tickets-1992721235859?

Friday 28 August (and other dates);  New Moon, Full Moon or Divine Union Cacao Ceremony,Heart Ritual and Gong Bath. Venue: Private Location near Wandsworth Town/Clapham Junction. Time: 7pm. Tickets from £36.17. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/7885666957?

Saturday 29 August; Coffee Morning with readings, healing and crafts. Venue: Flopsy Wood, Cock Lane, Hoddesdon EN11 8LS. Time 10am. Tickets free entry but charges for readings. https://www.facebook.com/HertsEvents

Saturday 29 August; Connecting the Trees - A Call to Arms with South East London Pagans. Venue:  Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY. Time: 1.30pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Saturday 29 August; Hedgewitch Oracle and Fairytale Oracle with Kate Forsyth. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 2pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Sunday 30 August; Shamanic Group with Les Fuller. All welcome Venue: Woodford Church at 9 Grove Crescent, South Woodford, London E18 2JR. Time 11am-3pm. Tickets: £10. http://woodfordchurch.com/

Sunday 30 August;  Women's Mindful Stroll and Forest Bathing in South Norwood Lake and Grounds. Meet at Sylvan Road, London SE25 4AN. Time: 1pm. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Sunday 30 August; (and other dates); Viktor Wynd Museum Guided Tour and a Devil's Botany Absinthe. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: noon. Tickets from £12. Price includes a cocktail with Devil’s Botany. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Sunday 30 August; Museum of Folklore and Magic Virtual Open Day / Diwrnod Agored Ar-lein yr Amgueddfa. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets free (Donations welcome.) https://ko-fi.com/s/e696ae8d57?

Sunday 30 August;  Live Music and Meditation. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Monday 31 August; The Mystic Wizard of Oz with John Bucher. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society.  Time: 6pm. Tickets ·from  £6.59. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 31 August  (tbc but usually every Monday); Tea With a Druid. Free online event by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Time 8pm. https://druidry.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/druidry

Tuesday 1 September; The British Folklore of Stone Circles. Talk by Dr Jon Norman Mason via Seed Talks. Hybrid event. Venue: 21Soho, 3-5 Sutton Row, London W1D 4NR. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-in-london-1252979?

Tuesday 1 September;   Inside The Mind of Possession and Exorcism with David Luke via Seed talks. Online event.  Time: 7pm. Tickets from £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

Tuesday 1 September (every Tuesday); Yoga for Mind, Breath and Body. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 6.15pm. Tickets: £12. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Tuesday 1 September; Sasha Graham's Ghost Stories and Tarot. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 7pm. Tickets: £20. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 1 September; Beginner Tarot (Minor Cards). Start of 4-Part Course with Adrien Mastrosimone. via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £150. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events 

Tuesday 1 September (first Tuesday each month); I will be talking about Poppets and Magical Dolls at Romford Pagan Moot. Venue: The Golden Lion, 2 High Street, Romford. Time: 7.30pm. Entry £4: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064489640955

Wednesday 2 September (montlhly);  Allan Johnson leads a discussion of 'Piranesi', Susanna Clarke’s novel of labyrinths at Treadwell's Esoteric Book Club. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 2 September;   The Queer History of Magic, Myth and Legends with Sacha Coward  via Seed talks. Online event.  Time: 7pm. Tickets from £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

Wednesday 2 September;   An Evening of Fairy Tales and Folklore with Dr Sharon Blackie  via Seed talks. Online event.  Time: 7pm. Tickets £13.50 - £32. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

Wednesday 2 September (and other dates); Gong Bath. Venue:  Akasa, Hackney Wick,  London E9. Time: 7pm. Tickets:  from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 2 September (first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation online with Taz Thornton. Time: 7pm. Free  https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial

Thursday 3 September;  Alchemical Traditions with Aaron Cheak. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Thursday 3 September;  Britain's Accused Witches. Launch and Soirée with Marion Gibson. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 3 September; Energy Tools of the Future. Talk by Gemma Petherbridg. Online event via The College of Psychic Studies. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £22. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 3 September; The Folklore of Solstices, Seasons and Sacred Sites. Talk by  Seren Hawley-Plows via Seed Talks. Hybrid event. Venue: Hackney Bridge Block C, East Bay Lane, #Units 1-28 London E15 2SJ. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-in-london-1252979?

Thursday 3 September;  Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris's Thoth Tarot. Part of a series by

Keith Broad, Kingfisher Coven. Venue: Lost Souls Pizza Camden, 245 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BA. Time: 7pm. Tickets  £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/88810783003?_

Friday 4 September (tbc but usually 1st and 3rd Friday each month); Pagan Portal Podcast by Moon Books. Time: noon (or listen to recording later). Free event. https://open.spotify.com/show/11N4kNj65tTz9NFUcZTMa7?

Friday 4 September; My Pregnancy Yoga Journal with Tara Lee and Clare Daniell. Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5pm. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Friday 4 September;  Magick in Seven Objects with  Dr Thomas Waters. Talk presented by London Fortean Society. Venue:  Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL. Time: 6.45pm.   Tickets £15/£10. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/LondonForteanSociety/ or  https://www.conwayhall.org.uk

Friday 4 September (recurring event); Welcome Women's Circle. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm - 9pm. Tickets: optional donation of £5 - £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

Friday 4 September; Vidar – The Silent Spirit of The North. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House | 35 Park Road, London, NW1 6XT. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £15. https://rsh.anth.org.uk/whats-on/

​

Friday 4 September (and other dates); Holistic Sound Bath Meditation - Summoning The Sacred. Venue: Training Points Fitness and Therapy, 5-6 Cooper's Yard, London SE19 1TN. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £25.  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/20043657289?

Friday 4 September (and other dates);  Thoth Tarot study group. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.meetup.com/astrotarotkitchen/events/

Friday 4 September; Queer folk horror storytelling with Ed Jollyboat, talk via the Folklore Centre. Venue: Wholefood Cafe, 65 Halifax Rd, Todmorden OL14 5BB,  Time: 7pm. Tickets tbc https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/

Saturday 5 September; Bexley Eco and Wellness Festival. Venue: Lesnes Abbey, London. Time 11am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/915890844786784?

Saturday 5 September; Painting Consciousness class with Qian Qian. Online event via The College of Psychic Studies. Time: 10am. Tickets: £47.50. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 5 September; Trance Mediumship: Going Deeper. Workshop with Sarah Tyler-Walters. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 5 September; Feng Shui and Heart Home Energy. Workshop with Vicky Sweetlove. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 5 September:  Lilith Shadow Work Workshop. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am  Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Saturday 5 September: Forest Bathing in Crystal Palace Park. Meet at Sydenham Gate, CP Park, London SE20. Time: 2pm. Free, but parking is paid. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Saturday 5 September; Poppet-Inspired Brooch Workshop. Venue: Learning Pavilion, Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, E2 8EA. Time: 2pm - 4.30pm. Tickets: £40. https://museumofthehome.org.uk/whats-on/poppet-inspired-brooch-workshop/

Saturday 5 September (date tbc but usually first Saturday each month); Gong Bath. Venue: Upminster Sanctuary Pea Lane, Upminster, RM142XH. Time: 7pm. Tickets: tbc.  https://upminstersanctuary.com/

Sunday 6 September;  Wisdom and Wyrd Psychic Market. Venue: Chislehurst Caves, Imperial Place, Chislehurst, NW Kent. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 6 September; The Connected Medium. Workshop with Jeremy Turner-Welch. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 6 September; The Magic of Balance with Isis with Liesl Duffy. Online event via The College of Psychic Studies. Time: noon. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 6 September; Fruity Walks: Folklore. Venue: Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS. Time:  2pm. Tickets: £20. https://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/visit/whats-on/

Sunday 6 September; Wild Edibles: Foraging, History and Folklore. Venue: Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS. Time:  2pm. Adult tickets:

£20-25. https://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/visit/whats-on/

Sunday 6 September;  How to Read Tarot Cards via Seed talks. Online event.  Time: 7pm. Tickets from £17. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

Sunday 6 September (first Sunday each month); Grounding and Stability - Collective World Meditation with Pauline Flitton. Online event. Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm. Free. Contact Pauline 07415 054280 or Email

contact@crystal-manifestations.co.uk for the free Zoom link. Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1514249646502331/?

Sunday 6 September; Omens and Superstitions from the Ancient World with Dr Julia Phillips. Talk online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society.  Time: 8pm. Tickets ·from  £6.59. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

For details of events after Sunday 3 September 2023, visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of any of these events. Contact organisers directly if you have any questions or to check ticket availability. Where a practitioner is offering information about magical protection, this is *not* medical advice.  If you know an event you want included, please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com

Rounding the Year: Beech Nuts & Tree Wisdom

Walking down my street on the way to the shops yesterday, I realised I was treading on a prickly carpet of beech nuts among fallen leaves. I stopped to take photos - the canopy of the tree looking magnificent and what was on the ground. A few I picked up and took home to put on my seasonal altar. 

I was surprised there were so many on the pavement as it's still August, but then I noticed the tree's owner had plainly pruned some of the smaller lower branches, shedding their bounty. Although beech nuts are edible by humans, they're very bitter. Leave plenty for squirrels and other wildlife as they are a valuable source of native food.

Forked beech twigs are among the natural woods used as rods by dowsers. In English folklore, the beech is considered a mother or queen tree, paired with the oak, which is king of the woods. Historically, slivers of beech bark were used to write on. Anglo-Saxons called the tree 'boc', a word which later became 'book'. Magically, beeches are associated with written wisdom. Small slivers of birch are good for written spells still, but don't take any without permission of both the tree and the owner of the land.

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/2026/06/while-walking-down-my-street-this-week.html
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

Folklore & Customs: London's Historic Bartholomew Fair

In the past, Londoners would today have been eagerly setting out to enjoy the delights of Bartholomew Fair. This was for centuries the highlight of August, and although it was named after a martyred saint, it was not a pious religious festival. In fact it got closed down in 1855 because the drunkeness and debauchery that went on there shocked prudish Victorians. 

That wasn't how it started. It was originally a simple cloth fair. The charter was granted by King Henry I in 1133 and it took place on St Bartholomew's Day, 24 August, at London's West Smithfield. Over the centuries the cloth-selling aspect gave way to general entertanment. This included funfairs, sideshows, prize-fights, music, wire-walkers, acrobats, clowns and puppet shows as well as plenty of eating, drinking and flirting. You could queue up to see exhibits including wild animals, rare objects and, sadly, humans under the name of "freak shows". Yeah, I'm sure the poor animals suffered and that last thing's far more icky than the debauchery, isn't it? 

But, perhaps more than anything, Bartholomew Fair was somewhere to take your lover - or to find a lover if you didn't already have one. One of the souvenirs you might have bought them was a Bartholomew Baby. This was a wooden doll that became a traditional gift for a sweetheart and also a slang term for someone who got drunk.

The fair became a hugely popular and famous part of London's cycle of annual customs. It featured in literature, including a play of that name by Ben Jonson. Samuel Pepys wrote about the fair in his diary and in Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, the heroine meets a well-dressed man there. I learnt that there's an online audio drama called The Carnival Of Horrors, by The Wireless Theatre Company, set at Bartholomew Fair of 1845. It's part of a series on Springheeled Jack. Today would be the perfect time to listen to it.

The picture shows Bartholomew Fair by Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832)

More Folklore and Customs
I've been blogging each month about folklore and customs old and new. Here are links to some of my earlier posts:

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/05/folklore-customs-bromleys-broom-day.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/07/folklore-st-swithuns-day-rain-apple.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/customs-summerween-festival-or-fakelore.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/04/folklore-customs-dandelions-on-st.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/midsummer-lore-street-parties-and-st.html

Pagan Eye: Rain on my Window - A Welcome Sight

Living in England, where we normally get lots of rain, this picture would in the past have been a dreary sight. However, after a summer of drought it was delightful to see huge raindrops on my window. Even the grey storm clouds felt welcome. 

I photographed what I saw as I looked up from my work and realised the much-wanted rain had arrived. It might not be the prettiest of pictures I've ever posted on my blog, but we have all been reminded of the importance of water for our existence.

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.

Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/08/pagan-eye-one-of-few-apples-of-this.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/08/exhibition-thirst-our-vital-connection.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/pagan-eye-river-god-father-thames-in.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/07/pagan-eye-sacred-spring-on-sussex-beach.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/witch-room-tales-instrument-to-call.html