A bad witch's blog

Friday, 24 July 2026

Review: Hecate, Goddess of Magick & Witchcraft

Hecate is the goddess of the crossroads. She stands with torches to light the way in darkness. As Irisanya Moon writes in Pagan Portals - Hecate, Goddess of Magick and Witchcraft, she's thought of as being among the witchiest of goddesses, and is invoked by the "weird sisters" in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I read Pagan Portals - Hecate because I always enjoy Irisanya Moon's books. She has a lovely style of writing and offers accurate historical research as well as practical ways of working with goddesses as modern pagans while referring to ancient practice too. However, I soon realised that this is the book I needed to read now, and Hecate is the goddess I need to work with because I'm at a crossroads in my own life.

Next month - Augtust 2026 - I will start receiving my state pension. I could, technically, retire, but I'm not in a standard job. I'm a freelance writer and teacher of magical workshops. I love doing those things, but writing and teaching have never earnt me huge amounts of money. I've had to be frugal and sometimes take on paid work because I desparately needed the cash even though I would rather have spent the time doing other things. My state pension will give me a bit more financial security.

I have no desire to stop writing, but I can afford to be more choosy about what I write. Writing a book is a big commitment. Part of my crossroads means deciding whether to propose another Pagan Portals book or concentrate on another novel following on from my first that was published, Erosion. A practical magic book would sell more copies, but fiction writing is where my heart lies.

Hecate is the right goddess to ask for help in choosing the path forwards. Inspired by Irisanya's book, I'll be lighting a candle, scrying, and asking the help of the goddess to show the way.

But, that's enough of my own life story. Here's the synopsis of Pagan Portals - Hecate from publisher Moon Books' website:

"Hecate waits for us at the crossroads, torches in each hand. The goddess of land, sea, and sky is wise and wondrous, terrifying and holy. Triple-faced Hecate does not tell us the way; she shows us what can happen when we step into our power. With practices, trances, spells, and immersive exercises, you can build a relationship with Hecate: light-bringer, gate-breaker, and star-walker. The Goddess of Magick and Witchcraft inspires, guides, and grants safe passage in the darkest moments."

About the author

Irisanya Moon is a writer, witch, teacher, poet, and Reclaiming initiate who has practiced magick for 20-plus years. She blends grounded, graceful, and radically authentic facilitation to inspire transformation and liberation at the personal and collective levels. Her previous books include Pagan Portals titles on Reclaiming Witchcraft, Aphrodite, Iris, Norns, Artemis, Circe, Hestia, and The Muses.

You can view Pagan Portals - Hecate on Amazon.

(Please note: I earn commission from some links)

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

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 you can do anywhere (highlighted in bold for clarity).

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 – 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 – 16 August; Olivia Plender: Little Fennel’s Complaint Exhibition. Venue:: Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford, UK, OX1 1BP. Open from 11am Tuesday - Sunday. Tickets from £7.21. https://modernartoxford.org.uk/

Now on; Vikings: The Immersive Experience. Venue: Dock X, Unit 1 Canada Water, Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 2XU. Opening hours: daily from 9am. Adult tickets from £23 and children from £16. https://vikings-immersive.co.uk/london/?

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 22 July; A Consensus of Symbols: Patterns in Ritual Building Protection book launch with Wayne Perkins. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2.30pm Cost £20 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 22 July; Norwegian Trolls and the Hidden World with Lena Heide Brennand. 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

Wednesday 22 July; Chris French on The Science of Paranormal Activities for the Pint of View lectures. Venue: The Alpaca, 84-86 Essex Rd, London, N1 8LU. Time 7pm. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/pintofviewlondon/2247184

Wednesday 22 July; Alchemy and Creative Writing. Workshop with Bernadette Russell via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start, delayed viewing available. Tickets: £15. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 22 July; Magnetism in the 19th Century. Talk and Soiree with Kristof Smeyers and Kurt Vanhoutte. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 22 July; Introduction to Norse Mythology, with Dr Tom Morcom via Seedtalks. Hybrid event. In-person venue: The Blues Kitchen Brixton, 40 Acre Lane, London SW2 5SP. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £11.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-in-london-1252979?

Wednesday 22 July (most Wednesdays); Gong Bath. Venue: Akasa, Hackney Wick, London E9. Time: 7pm. Tickets: from £23.46. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sunita-kaur-34415293427

Wednesday 22 July (every Wednesday); Feeling Sound. Venue: She's Lost Control, 42 Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £18. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Thursday 23 July; Reiki 1 with The Reiki Academy. Start of 2-session course with Claire Hall and Olivia Griesser. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 9.30am. Tickets: £247. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday, 23 July; The Natural Way: Summer Celebration pilgrimage walk, chance to connect with nature, discover local history, and meet fellow nature enthusiasts. Location in north London. Time: 10.30am -2pm . Free but reserve a spot. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-natural-way-summer-celebration-tickets-1993135079677?

Thursday 23 July (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, 23 July; Colour Therapy with Nina Ashby. 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 23 July; Isis and Magdelene Festival and Crossbones Vigil to Honour the Outcast Dead of Crossbones Graveyard, Southwark. Location: Redcross Way, London, SE1 1TA. Time: 6.45pm for 7pm. Free, just turn up You can also view the vigil online. http://crossbones.org.uk

Thursday 23 July (details and date tbc); Drumming for Infinity. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets £15. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Thursday 23 July; Bibi's Circle: Women's Circle - Women's Herbs for Maiden, Mother and Crone. Venue: East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-50 Darrell Road, London SE22 9NL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £16.96. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bibis-circle-56277271483

Thursday 23 July; Deconstructing the Séance Room with Dr Kate Cherrell. 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 24 July (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 24 - Sunday 26 July; Valhalla Viking Festival. Venue: Dummer Down Farm, Basingstoke. Day tickets from £5. Weekend tickets from £145. https://valhallavikingfestival.co.uk/

Friday 24 July; Aura Power with Sushma Sagar. 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 24 July; Lammas Ritual In The Wild with Wicca Moon. Venue: Wilberforce Scouts Downe Road, Keston, BR2 6AD. Time: 6.30pm to start at 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/events-and-workshops/lammas-ritual-in-the-wild/?

Friday 24 July; Drumming Circle celebration of Lughnasaha with a ritual via Wicca Moon. Venue: 15 Prospect Place, Bromley, Kent, BR2 9HL. Time: 7pm. Tickets £15. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/events-and-workshops/drumming-circle-july-2026/?

Saturday 25 July; Yaku and Kuntur: Andean Love Ceremony. Venue: Berkeley farm, Essex, a few miles outside London. Time: 9am start. Tickets: £249. https://www.aho.community/

Saturday 25 July; Coffee Morning with Hand Readings. Venue: Flopsy Wood, Cock Lane, Hoddesdon EN11 8LS. 10am-3pm. Readings £10. https://www.facebook.com/HertsEvents

Saturday 25 July; Honouring the Dark Goddess 2-day workshop with Jane Meredith, author of Journey to the Dark Goddess. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am Cost £65. Bookings through Atlantis Bookshop 020 7405 2120. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/ More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/961331719692257/?

Saturday 25 July; Predicting with Tarot class with Avril Price. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday, 25 July; Grosvenor Square: Wild London: Free Family storytelling with Vanessa Woolf Sessions.. Venue: Grosvenor Square Gardens, Mayfair, W1K 6AN. Time: noon. Tickets free. https://londondreamtime.com/calendar/)

Saturday 25 July; Journey into the Divine Matrix Oracle with Mara Branscombe Talk and signing, Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: noon. Free but reserve a place https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

Saturday 25 July; Sacred Sweat Lodge Ceremony Celebrating Lammas. Venue: Shamanic Centre Caer Corhrain Kent. Run by Lynn Gosney. Time: noon start Tickets £30 min donation, email lynn.gosney@hotmail.com for info and to book. https://www.facebook.com/shamaniccentrecaercorhrain/

Saturday 25 July; Creating Witch Bottles, Class with Tia Price. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 25 July; The Everyday Intuitive. Class with Jeremy Turner-Welch, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 5pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 25 July (usually 4th Friday or Saturday of the month); SLAY: The World's First Book on Female Dragon Slayers with Jasmine Elmer. Online event via the Folklore Library and Archive. Time: 8pm. Tickets: £6.13. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-folklore-library-archive-68703440013?

Sunday 26 July; 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 26 July; Woking Alternative Market. Venue: Fiery Bird, 27 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6. Time 11am. https://www.facebook.com/events/1177146647251176/?

Sunday 26 July; Astral Projection and Lucid Dreaming class with Tree Carr. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 26 July (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 26 July; Connecting the Trees - A Call to Arms. Meet at: Wimbledon Common Windmill, Windmill Road, · Wimbledon Common, · London SW19 5NR. Time: 12.30pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/995325766639931?

Sunday 26 July; The Greek Magical Papyri. Start of 3-Part Course with Lusete. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £80. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Sunday 26 July; 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 26 July; A Journey to Self-Discovery with Sarah Tyler-Walters, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 1pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 26 July; Meeting of Heathen Kindred Blot (was Kith of the Tree and the Well). Venue: The Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London SE1 3QP. Time: 1.30pm. Entry £3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dawnoftheoak/events and https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/113978234531?

26 July; Storytelling Sunday: Birds (Guest Host: Emily Hanna). Venue: Love Shack 299 Cambridge Heath Road #Arch 298 London E2 9HA. Time: 2pm. Tickets £6.66 https://connectionwithwonder.com/events/storytelling-sunday-doors/

Sunday 26 July; Channelling with the Causal Chakra. Class with Gemma Petherbridge, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 26 July; 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 27 July – Friday 31 July; Celtic Lughnasa Celebration: The Games! Family days out. Event organised by Celtic Harmony Camp. Venue: Brickendon Lane, Brickendon SG13 8NY. Times from 10am. Tickets £16.96. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celtic-lughnasa-celebration-the-games-tickets-1993344076793?

Monday 27 July (every Monday); MHA The Wilderness forest bathing walk (all mobilities welcome). Meet MHA The Wilderness, 17 Shirley Church Road, Croydon CR9 5AL. Time: 11am. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parkbathe-34393467709

Monday 27 July (monthly); Melissa's Tarot Club. Monthly online Workshop via Treadwell's Bookshop. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Monday 27 July (and other dates); Full Moon Gongh Bath in the Mansion. Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion, Place Park, The Mansion, Beckenham BR3 1SY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £35. https://www.beckenhamplace.org/whatson/

Monday 27 July (4th Monday each month); Pythia of the Brush and Pen: Upstairs at the Angel with Caroline Wise. Talk at Nova Stella pagan moot. Hybrid event. In-person venue: The Angel, City Road, London EC1Y 18D. Time: 7.30pm. Entry £5/£6.13. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1472510443017948 or https://www.eventbrite.com/o/120712003251?

Monday 27 July; An American History of Psychic Science with Alicia Puglionesi. 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

Monday 27 July; (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 28 July; Crafting the Question: Divination as a Living Language with author JoAnna Farrer. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: 2pm Cost £60 https://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Tuesday 28 July (and other dates); 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 28 July (and other dates); Trippy Tuesdays: Surreal Still Life Drink and Draw with Devil’s Botany. Venue: Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP. Time: 7pm. Tickets from £26.20, includes a cocktail. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-last-tuesday-society-viktor-wynd-museum-33776720489

Tuesday 28 July; Establish a Relationship with Your Personal Dragon. Start of 2-session course with Pixie P Carney, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £95. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 28 July; Full Moon Cacao and Goddess Ceremony with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Wimbledon Common outside Windmill Tea rooms, Windmill Road, London SW19 5NR. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £7.50-£15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803 or https://mani.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/PaganFrontiersOfLondon.

Tuesday 28 July; The Highgate Vampire.Talk presented by London Fortean Society. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London, E1 7EX. Door time: 7.30pm. Start time: 8pm Tickets £5.50/£3.30. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/LondonForteanSociety/ or https://wegottickets.com/f/22872?

Wednesday 29 July; Bloomsbury Folklore Club – Merfolk. Via London Dreamtime. 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 29 July; Members-Only Summer's Night at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 6.30m. Tickets: free. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 29 July; Full Moon Walk - Richmond Park with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Richmond Park Gate, Star and Garter Hill, Richmond TW10 5HU. Time: 7pm. Free. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Wednesday 29 July (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 29 July (every full and new moon); Moon Space online event via She's Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 29 July; Spirit of Creativity with Zara Waldeback. Creative writing session online via The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities and Last Tuesday Society. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets ·from £6.59. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 30 July; Sian Sibely on Black Paths and Green Cathedrals. 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 30 July; RDeath Rituals. Talk and Soirée with Dr Sarah Hiepler-Basty . Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Thursday 30 July; PF London Lammas Open Ritual via Pagan Federation London. Venue: Pirate Castle, Gilbey's Wharf Oval Road NW1 7EA London, UK Time: 7.15pm. Entry £8 for PF members, £10 for non-members (cash only). https://www.facebook.com/groups/pflondon

Thursday 30 July; Full Moon Celebration with South East London Pagans. Venue: One Tree Hill, Honor Oak, South London. Time: 7.30pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/groups/7046502195365834

Thursday 30 July (last Thursday every month); Celebrating Lammas and Lughnasad at 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

Friday 31 July; Women's Circle - Harvest, Gratitude and Renewal, with ReNurture. Venue: Northumberland Road, Harrow HA2 7RB. Time 7pm. Tickets tbc. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-circle-harvest-gratitude-renewal-tickets-1994204018903?

Friday 31 July; Harvest Healing: A Lammas Ceremony and Guided Shamanic Journey by Priest of Indigo Earth Joseph Atiase. Venue: Hackney Marshes, 146 Lea Bridge Road, London E5 9RB. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets by donation. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/35528479563?

Friday 31 July (and other dates); Cosy Candlelit Gong Bath by Claire The Soul Nurturer. Venue: Secret Soul Sanctuary, Sydenham Hill, London SE23 3PH. Time: 7.45pm. Tickets: £21.84. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/claire-the-soul-nurturer-35479207053

Saturday 1 August; Walking in the footsteps of your year, at this Lammas Solar Festival. Walk with Jeremy Rye. Meet under the Tower of London sign, Tower of London, London EC3N 4AE. Time 10am. Tickets: £26.64. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/31055883021?

Saturday 1 August; Equine Healing and Communication classs with Elizabeth Whiter. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 10am. Tickets: £135. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 1 August; Essex Witches and Pagan Lammas Festival by by Earth Spirit Events. Venue: Galleywood Heritage Centre, CM2 8TR. Time: 10:30am – 4pm. Entry £3. https://www.facebook.com/events/1098254762270990/?

Saturday 1 August; Ancestral and Past-Life Influences class with Julia Shepherd. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 1 August; Lammas Mini Outdoor Retreat with Cacao and Fire Ceremony and Gong Bath. Venue: Private Location near Wandsworth Town/Clapham Junction. Times from 11.45am. Tickets from £64.63. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lammas-mini-outdoor-retreat-with-cacao-fire-ceremony-gong-bath-tickets-1993928329308?

Saturday 1 August (tbc but usually Saturday closest to the festival); Lammas at Coldrum Stones with Kent Gorsed. Venue: Coldrum Long Barrow, West Maling, Kent. Time: noon. Free. https://www.facebook.com/kentgorsedd/

Saturday 1 August; Blessing Your Home With Solar Magic. Venue: Wicca Moon, 50 Well Hall Road, Eltham SE9. Time: 12.30pm. Tickets £25. https://www.wiccamoonuk.com/shop/events-and-workshops/blessing-your-home-with-solar-magic-workshop-25-00/ or https://www.facebook.com/wiccamoonuk/

Saturday 1 August (tbc but usually Saturday closest to the festival); Lammas free and open Gorsed of Caer Abiri ritual at Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire. Meet at the Red Lion pub from noon for druidic ceremony at 1.30pm. Offering of bread, mead, or Bardic performance always welcomed. Free event, just turn up. https://www.facebook.com/groups/49080749624/

Saturday 1 August (Saturday closest to the festival); Woodland Lammas Harvest Ritual 2026 with London Woodland Witches and Pagans. Meet at Queens woods cafe', 42 Muswell Hill Rd, London N10 3JP, to be led into woods to the ritual spot. Time: 4pm. Tickets £6.13. More info: https://mani.org.uk/ or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mani-woodland-witch-34325436803

Saturday 1 August; Lammas Day Yoga, Cacao and Sound Healing Ceremony with Little Pause Retreats. Venue Light Centre Monument, Idol Lane, London EC3R 8DU. Time: 5.30pm. Tickets £22.38. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lammas-day-yoga-cacao-and-sound-healing-ceremony-tickets-1991716356237?

Saturday 1 August (date tbc but usually first Saturday each month); Gong Bath. Venue: Upminster Sanctuary Pea Lane, Upminster, RM142XH. Time: 7pm. Tickets: tbc. https://upminstersanctuary.com/

Saturday 1 August; Concrete Atlantis presents: A Lammas Night Gathering with Gilroy Mere live. Venue: The Horse Hospital, Colonnade, London WC1N 1JD. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £11.55. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/concrete-atlantis-present-a-lammas-night-gathering-with-gilroy-mere-live-tickets-1991469794765?

Sunday 2 August (closest Sunday to the festival); Pagan Federation Online Lammas Festival. Starts 10am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/paganfederation/events

Sunday 2 August; Introduction to Shadow Integration with Charlie Morley. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time 11am. Tickets: £130. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 2 August; Orpington Alternative Market. Venue: The Priory, Church Hill, Orpington. Time: 11am. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1335736923852705/

Sunday 2 August;; Tree Walk with David Hamblin via North West Kent Pagans Moot. Organised by NWK Pagans for members of the group. Meet outside the coach house cafe, Beckenham Place Park. Time: 11.30am. https://www.facebook.com/groups/445487428816887

Sunday 2 August Ritual for members of the Woodspirits group. Venue: Highgate, London. Meet from noon for a social then ritual at 3pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4032235040150960

Sunday 2 August (closest Sunday to the festival); Druidic Ritual to celebrate Lammas on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8YH, at 12.30pm to prepare the site for the ritual at 1pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring a small contribution of food and drink to share. https://www.facebook.com/LooseAssociationOfDruidsOfPrimroseHill

Sunday 2 August (closest Sunday to the festival); Lammas ritual for members of the Woodspirits group. Venue: Highgate, London. Meet from noon for a social then ritual at 2pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4032235040150960

Sunday 2 August (tbc but usuallyclosest Sunday to the festival); Anderida Gorsedd Lammas open ritual. Venue: Long Man of Wilmington, Wilmington, near Eastbourne, East Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm, walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards, the Giants Rest pub. https://www.facebook.com/groups/227609495203/

Sunday 2 August; Tarot Psychogeography class with Bel Senlle, via the College of Psychic Studies. Online event. Time: 2pm. Tickets: £90. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 2 August (closest Sunday to the festival); Lammas Wheel of the Year: Pagan Ceremony. Venue: Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Free, but donations welcome. https://www.rosslynhillchapel.org.uk

Sunday 2 August (first Sunday each month); Gratitude and Abundance - 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 2 August; The History of Mermaids, Sea Spirits and Women via Seed talks. Online event. Time: 10pm. Tickets from $19.95. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/seed-talks-online-1262239?

For details of events after these dates, please visit my events page.

Please note that I am not responsible for the content of any of these events except my workshops on candle magic and scrying. 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

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

Celebrating the Return of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

A year ago I went for a sad walk around Crystal Palace Park to say goodbye to the giant Victorian dinosaurs. I knew then that they weren't going for good, but it would be last time I'd see them for a long while because they were much in need of repair. I blogged about it with photos at the time, and you can see the post here.

Last weekend I went to the park again for a celebration of their full restoration. They were specially illuminated with coloured lighting for two nights. I took the photos you can see on this page.

They aren't all dinosaurs. The statues represent a variety of prehistoric animals including amphibians, reptiles and early mammals. They're also not exactly accurate, but were what they were believed to look like back in the 19th century. Nowadays they are part of London's history and folklore, and are worth seeing even without lighting effects.

Green London

I consider myself lucky to have Crystal Palace Park on my doorstep, as well as several other parks, and I regularly blog about London's green spaces in an effort to dispel a prevalent myth in the pagan community that the city is just all concrete. Even in the City, which is of course heavily built up, there are still places where nature thrives, while Greater London has huge areas of woods, commons, gardens and, of course, public parks.

The pictures on this post were all taken by me. Please do not use them without my permission.

Monday, 20 July 2026

Authors On Their Own Writing: Green Witch Sian Sibley

Sian Sibley is both a witch and a scientist, and is passionate about the environment. She's also a prolific author. I've interviewed her about her books including Black Paths and Green Cathedrals, which highlights how paganism has been seduced by consumerism, and the dangers inherent in that.

Q: Out of all that you've written, which is your favourite published work?

A: Without a shadow of a doubt, my most important book so far is Black Paths and Green Cathedrals.

Q: What's it about?

It's a look at the impact pollution and consumerism has on the world, and whether paganism is truly a move away from that, or whether we've simply dressed the same appetites in different robes.

Because that's the uncomfortable question underneath the book. We like to think of paganism as the antidote to consumerism, and then we walk straight into the same trap wearing different clothes. Crystals are mined, and mining is mining, whether it's coal or quartz. The ground doesn't care what we intend to do with what we tear out of it. Witch boxes, the subscription kind, curated and shipped in plastic month after month, are consumer culture with a pentacle stuck on the lid. We didn't reject the machine. We just gave it a different altar to sell from.

And then there's what we do to the land itself when we go looking for magic in it. Clooties left to rot and choke a hawthorn instead of biodegrading the way they're supposed to. Rock piling, cairns built by hands that think they're honouring a place, when really they're rearranging it, leaving a mark where the point was always to leave none. We tell ourselves we're closer to the earth than the world we're rejecting, and then we behave exactly like it.

Black Paths and Green Cathedrals looks at all of that straight in the eye and does not flinch. If paganism is going to mean anything as a force for change, it has to survive its own reflection first. We cannot preach reverence for the land while we're still buying our way through it.

Q: Why is it your favourite?

Because it was filled with my rage. Rage at what I could see happening to a culture I love, watched from the inside, which makes it so much harder to say plainly. We accept greenwashing far too easily. We call ourselves a green religion, a green culture, and repeat that claim until it feels like fact, while some of our own actions are blatantly not green at all. I could not keep pretending not to see that. I carry a two-fold identity too, a scientist who trusts data and a witch who trusts the land, and Black Paths and Green Cathedrals asked me to stop keeping those two selves separate and let them judge the same evidence together. I wrote it slowly. I wrote it angry. Then I wrote it clear-eyed, because rage on its own teaches nobody anything, it only exhausts the person carrying it. It's the book where my biology and my magic finally sat at the same table and stopped arguing, and where my love for this path had to survive being honest about it. Every book since owes something to what I learned writing that one.

Q: Tell me a bit more about yourself, what else you've written, and any books due to be published.

I'm a short, rather plump Welsh woman who has had the extraordinary luck to spend her working life in fields she actually loved. I trained as a biologist first, and my early career was in pharmaceutical research. Later I spent years in a classroom teaching children how ecosystems work, how everything is owed to everything else, before I ever called myself an author. I lead a coven of wild witches called DragonOak, here in South Wales, and we have circled together for around thirty years now. Ye gods. I am old.

Alongside Black Paths and Green Cathedrals, I've written Drinking Tea and Herding Spiders and Unveiling the Green. As for what's coming, the one closest to my heart right now is a new book with Moon Books, out in January, Pagan Portals: Medusa about working with the serpent-crowned goddess. It's another book of rage, in its way. Rage at how the female is treated in this world, and at how we go on carrying that treatment as though it were simply weather. It calls on Medusa's power to help us work through trauma, both personal and ecological, because I don't believe those two kinds of harm are as separate as we like to pretend. It's my first real foray into eco-feminism, and I'm deeply proud of it. I've worked with Medusa for a long time, using that relationship to help others find their way through sexual assault and trauma, so this is a book I have been living inside for years before I ever put it on the page. I will love seeing it out in the world.

Q: What are you working on now?

I have several projects on the go at the moment. I run magical conferences all over the UK, and the latest one lands in October this year, with authors and practitioners travelling in from all corners to present their work. It's one of my favourite parts of the year, watching that many strands of practice sit in one room together.

Book-wise, I'm mid-edit on The Slow and Fatal Dance for Aeon Publishing, a history of healing and its intersection with the modern medical world. There's a little bit of rage in that one too, if I'm honest. Seems to be a running theme with me.

I've also written a bit of a strange little book called Wisdom in Wet Knickers, coming from O Books, which shares my experience, both magical and scientific, with that wonderful thing called the menopause. So many of us go into it blindly, because it's something we simply don't talk about, and I'm hoping this book is one of the things that finally breaks that silence for the women who read it.

Beyond that, I've got several ideas for next year circling round my head, though nothing settled yet. I'm planning to properly rest from August through to January, because I have been writing without a break since the Covid shutdown, when I started out of a real need to keep myself occupied and my mind busy. A rest is overdue, and I intend to actually take it this time.

Meet Sian Sibley at Watkins Bookshop in London

On Thursday 30 July; Sian Sibely will be talking about Black Paths and Green Cathedrals at Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ. The talk starts at 5pm and is free but you can reserve a place. Find out more here: https://www.watkinsbooks.com/events

You can also view Black Paths and Green Cathedrals on Amazon

(Please note: I earn commission on some links)

Thursday, 16 July 2026

Upcycling Crafts: A Pretty Paper Hand Fan

Hand fans are the essential accessory in this summer's heatwave. I made the one in the picture by upcycling a pretty picture from an old calendar.

You need a square or oblong of paper that's at least 30cm wide and reasonably stiff. That's what my calendar was. A bit wider would probably be better. Ideally pick something that looks pretty to make you feel happier when you use it.

As well as paper, you need a ruler, scissors, string or yarn, and ideally an old-fashioned "dolly" type clothes peg for the handle. If you don't have a peg you could use two sticks - even upcycle a pair of ice lolly sticks.

Measure your paper and mark it evenly across the top and bottom at distances that are the same width as your peg or pair of sticks. For me, that was every 1.5cm. Fold the paper in concertina folds at each mark. I found it best to score an indentation from top to bottom using the ruler and blunt side of the scissors before doing the folding.

Put one end of the folded paper into the opening in the peg or sandwich it between two sticks. Bind the paper in place by wrapping yarn tightly around and tying it in place. This forms a good handle. Gently open out the top of the concertina'd paper a bit so you can then use it as a fan to cool down.

You could also place a fan at the eastern quarter of a ritual circle to represent the element of air, and use it to waft incense when doing magical cleansing.

You can find more ideas for seasonal makes in my book Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year, published by Moon Books.

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/craft-making-viking-glass-bead-at.html

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