Imbolc 2001

Featured articles:

• Prehistoric Sites of the Malverns
• Mesopotanian Star Lore
• What a Piece of Work is Man
• Psychic Vampires

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Grow your greens - Slight Return

Rowans Rant

• The Rumours of our demise are greatly exagerated!

Book Reviews

• The Devil in Early Modern England
• Astronomy Before the Telescope
• The Jack-in-the-Green
• Shamanism and the Mystery Lines
• Mayday in England
• The English Mumming Play
• Magickal and Mystical Sites
• The Mythology of the Mermaid and Her Kin
• Tree: Essence, Spirit and Teacher
• Cafe Nation
• Tybol Astrological Almanac 2001
• The Green Men of Birmingham
• The Magus
• Le Grand Meaulnes

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Imbolc 2002

Featured articles:

• Lilith: The First Eve: Whether originally a goddess or the demonic figure of later folklore, few figures have been as maligned as Lilith. Anthony Roe delves into her ancient and rich mythology.
• Simurg: A Persian Fairy Tale: Payam Nabarz introduces a traditional Iranian wondertale of a fabulous and magical bird-beast which assists a prince in his quest.
• The Qabalah and Shakespeare: Barabara Barnett returns to further explore the Qabalah, arguing that the plays of William Shakespeare can be used to illustrate the paths on the Tree.
• Rocks and Stones: Since the days of the early antiquaries, rocks and stones in the landscape have been the subject of speculation and objects of fascination. Jeremy Harte considers the development of our approaches to these features of our landscape.

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Pesticide Blues

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• Myths and Legends of the British Isles
• Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture
• What I Did in My Holidays
• Haunted Land: Investigations into Ancient Mysteries and Modern Day Phenomena
• Worcestershire Ghosts and Hauntings
• A Little Book of Coincidence
• The Wizard's Den: Spellbinding Stories of Magic and Magicians
• The Book of Spells II
• The Teenage Witch's Book of Shadows: An Introduction to Sympathetic Magic

Odds 'n Sods

• Scratches That Trace the Ascent of Man
• Neanderthals Were a Lot More Intelligent Than They Looked
• Beware of the Fug
• Loonie alerts, odd snippets, and short articles of interest from all over the world.

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Beltane 2002

Featured articles:

• Pagans, Memes and Old Stones - Are Pagan attitudes to megalithic sites flawed? Do we project our fantasies and modern agendas onto them? Sam Fleming examines the basis and validity of pagan ideas about stone circles and their ilk.
• A Trip Around Prehistoric Gower - Lat Summer, Liam Rogers and Jennifer Newrat spent some time in the Gower in South Wales. Here they describe some of the sites worth visiting in this neglected prehistoric landscape.
• Strange Fruit - Julian Vayne examines the ancient relationship between magick and min-altering substances and attempts to clear up some misunderstandings.
• The Old Religion: A Critical Evaluation - The old myths about connections between historical witchcraft and wicca are still out there. Phil Vance takes a look at the historical reality.
• South India: The Last of the Great Temple Cultures? - Tamil Nadu has been called the last of the great classical cultures. Rowan asks what, if anything, its ancient Hindu temples and worship can tell us about the other Bronze Age temple cultures.

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Justice for all?

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe Series: Volume 1 - Biblical and Pagan Societies
• ENGLAND: An Archaeological Guide
• Witch: The Wild Ride From Wicked to Wicca
• Spirituality and the Occult: From the Renaissance to the Modern Age
• Stone Age Soundtracks: The Acoustic Archaeology of Ancient Sites
• S.S.O.T.B.M.E An Essay on magic (Revised and Updated)
• In the Grove of the Druids - The Druid Techings of Ross Nichols
• The Magic and Mystery of Holy Wells
• The Subterranean Kingdom
• ÆthelflÆd - Royal Lady, War Lady

Odds 'n Sods

• Knife twists mystery of dog burials
• Mold's old gold cape restored
• Early man evolved by spreading love, not war
• Helen of Troy palace found
• Aphrodite Temple found on Olympic site
• Etruscan 'Pompeii' uncovered in Tuscany
• 'Prehistoric Venice' near Vesuvius
• Aphrodite to rise over Cyprus
• Why are we crazy for those white horses?
• Britain's Ley Lines 'Worst in Europe'

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Lughnasa 2002

Featured articles:

• Approaching Wyrd - Northern literature and spirituality were and are shot through with the concept and workings of Wyrd. Heathen anthropologist Jenny Blain takes an in-depth look at Wyrd and its significance.
• Word Made Flesh: The Maya Ball Game - The pre-Christian civilisations of Meso-America are still little known to British pagans. Liam Rogers desribes one of the rituals of the Maya and explains how it encapsulates the Maya view of the cosmos.
• The Goddess in Early Vedic Society - Phill Vance delves into the early Vedic texts to explore what they tell us about the role played by Goddesses in the myths and religion of India and about their relationship with the Vedic Gods.
• The Great Wicca Hoax II - Attack of the Crones - Adrian Bott's first article on the origins of wicca raised a few controversies when published at Lughnasa 2001. Here he addresses some of the issues and objections raised by readers.
• Two Worlds and In-Between - An understanding of liminality is crucial for magick and ritual. Julian Vayne discusses some of the boundaries and thresholds which need to be managed by the magickal practitioner.
  

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Learning to become invisible - Big business and how to avoid it's gaze?

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• A Case of Witchcraft: The Trial of Urban Grandier
• The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe Series: Vol 3 - The Middle Ages
• The Living Stream
• Shamanism and the Mystery Lines - Ley Lines, Spirit Paths and Out of body Travel
• Living Ancient Wisdom - Understanding and using its principles today
• The Mysterious Double Sunset
• At the Table of the Grail
• A Witch Alone: Thirteen Moons to Master Natural Magic
• Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magick Spells
• Spells for Teenage Witches
• Celtic Totem Animals - Make a shamanic journey and meet your animal helpers
• The Third Witch

Odds 'n Sods

• Priest of Cybele found in Yorkshire
• Bronze Age archer found in Wessex
• Kyphi recreated by French Scientists
• Inca city found after 400 years
• Polar Bears facing extinction
• US oak banned from UK
• Flower Meadows still declining
• Feathered fiends over Canada

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Samhain 2002

Featured articles:

• Invoking the Dark - There's nothing that puts the willies up fluffy bunnies faster than "the Dark" in magick. Barry Walker explores the attraction of these darker aspects of magick and introduces some of the magickal steams that give New Agers nightmares.
• The Qabalist Countess - In the decades following the Restoration of the Stuart dynasty, Warwickshire's Ragley Hall was home to one of Britain's leading Qabalists. Anthony Roe explains the importance of Lady Anne Conway's role in the occult thinking of the time.
• Kali - Symbolism and Invocation - In recent years the dark Goddess Kali has become quite trendy amongst some unwitting pagans who ignore, willfully or otherwise, what is known about Her. Julian Vayne presents a chaos magickian's view and experience of working with Kali.
• Sleipnir - Travelling without Moving - Mark Dunn explores shamanic journeys in the context of a God and His horse, a tree, the human nervous system and consciousness.

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Saving the Whales, Reclaiming the Land

Book Reviews, including:

• WITCH, WICCE, MOTHER GOOSE: The Rise and Fall of the Witch Hunts in Europe and North America
• THE QUEEN'S CONJUROR: The Life and Magic of John Dee
• A COMPANION TO THE FOLKLORE, MYTHS AND CUSTOMS OF BRITAIN
• DANGEROUS TASTES: The Story of Spices
• WILD WITCHCRAFT: A Guide to Natural, Herbal and Earth Magic
• THE REAL WITCHES' KITCHEN: Spells, recipes, oils, lotions and potions from the Witches' Hearth
• THE REAL WITCHES' HANDBOOK: A Complete Introduction to the Craft
• THE SORCERY HANDBOOK: Real Magick at your Fingertips
• THE ART OF ROWENA
• TWIN VISIONS: The Magical Art of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell

The Odds n Sods pages

• Divers surprised by iron age port
• Viking treasure hoard yields astounding finds
• Science shows how out-of-body feelings occur
• Rare Iron Age temple excavated near Cambridge
• Sacred pool ringed by totem poles in Scotland's ritual glen
• New Ripper suspect's ritual killings obeyed occult decree
• Bright lights and progress put glow-worms in the dark
• Half of all Europeans 'may have Arab genes'
• Crop circle secrets revealed
• Online school for aspiring witches steers clear of hocus-pocus

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Imbolc 2003

Featured articles:

• The Emperor's New Chakras - Over the past hundred years or so, the Hindu chakra system has become something of a core part of popular modern paganism and occultism with entire books and workshops dedicated to them and their "activation". But have those authors and workshop leaders entirely misunderstood the chakra system? Adrian Bott thinks so and explains why.
• Secret Cornwall - Few corners of Britain have a richer megalithic heritage than Cornwall and few attract as many pagan visitors too. Cornish pagan Andy Norfolk suggests a few lesser known sites on and around Bodmin Moor with much to offer visitors.
• When Stones Go Wandering - British folklore is rich in tales of megaliths and statues which go walkabout from time to time. Jeremy Harte chases after some of our more ambulatory rocks and sculpture.
• The Monumental Mind - The history of the relationship between the human mind and the natural world is a long, fascinating and complex one. Liam Rogers explores the ways in which societies have regarded the natural world and the monuments with which they filled the spaces they found or created.

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Who owns our land?

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• THE SCOTTISH WITCH HUNT IN CONTEXT
• THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES: Trials and Histories
• HELLISH NELL: The Last of Britain's Witches
• THE OXFORD HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT
• RITUAL SACRIFICE: A Concise History
• MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT AMERICA
• EXPLORE FOLKLORE
• THE HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT
• KINDLING THE CELTIC SPIRIT
• WITCH: A MAGICKAL JOURNEY - A Hip Guide to Modern Witchcraft

Odds 'n Sods

• Temple to gay Roman emperor's lover found at ancient villa
• Gold star chart points way to German 'Stonehenge'
• Black Book of Carmarthen online
• Cattle make way for ancient markings
• Huge temple found under Hill of Tara
• The last horse whisperer is a girl
• New Egyptian temples for the tourist trail
• Harry Potter's boost to besoms
• Dracula and the curse of the mummy
• Press release concerning changes at the British Druid Order (now The Druid Network)

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Lughnasa 2003

Featured articles:

• Initiation - A Very Personal View - Initiation has long been an important goal for many magickians and wiccans, but what does it really mean for those who undergo it? Barry Walker tackles one of magick's big issues.
• Stanton Moor: A Rich Megalithic Landscape - Derbyshire's Stanton Moor and its complex of megalithic remains is a favourite spot for many pagan visitors. Liam Rogers discusses some of its most important monuments.
• Dowsing: The Truth is Out There - Phil Vance explores the history of dowsing, the theories it has attracted and the practical uses to which it has been put over the centuries and in recent decades.
• The Wiccan Rede: Ancient Wisdom That Is Neither Ancient Nor Wise - Is the Wiccan Rede a workable ethical system or is it fundamentally flawed, even impossible to use in Real LifeT? Adrian Bott pokes another sacred cow with a sharp stick.
• Feeling Fruity - As we gear up for the harvest season, Rowan takes a quick look at some of the folklore attached to our orchard and wild fruits.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• CUNNING-FOLK: Popular Magic in English History - Owen Davies
• THE PAGAN DREAM OF THE RENAISSANCE - Joscelyn Goodwin
• THE GODS OF ANCIENT ROME: Religion in Everyday Life from Archaic to Imperial Times - Robert Turcan
• THE REAL MIDDLE EARTH: Magic and Mystery in the Dark Ages - Brian Bates
• THE CELTS: A Very Short Introduction - Barry Cunliffe
• EXPLORE MYTHOLOGY - Bob Trubshaw
• PHARMAKO/DYNAMIS - Dale Pendell
• THE ENCYLOPAEDIA OF MODERN WITCHCRAFT AND NEO-PAGANISM - Eds Shelley Rabinovich and James Lewis
• THE FAERY FAITH: An Integration of Science with Spirit - Serena Roney-Dougal

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Anglo-Saxon brooch has the oldest writing in English
• Archaeologists stroll down Roman high street
• Ancient statue rescued from the deep goes on show
• Witch doctors revel in a new spell of power
• 3,000 Iron Age coins found at pagan site
• Woman may have founded ancient Rome
• Moon cult 'eclipsed Sun worship'
• Modern science ruins prehistoric art
• Archaeologists unearth Britain's first cave pictures
• Rock art clue to nomad ancestors of Egyptian pyramid builders

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Samhain 2003

Featured articles:

• The Eight-Fold Wheel of the Year - The popular wiccan and neo-pagan festival pattern is so well-established that few today stop and wonder about its origins or even whether it works as a whole. Moonhunter examines the various strands of evidence for the festivals which we tend to take for granted.
• The Lord of Misrule - The winter months have been associated with social inversion, misrule and buffoonery since at least the Roman period, which means it's a prime opportunity for Anthony Roe to consider the role and meaning of the Lord of Misrule.
• The Holly Tree - The holly is one of the trees most strongly associated with the winter season in myth and folklore. Blackbird Hollins explores what these and modern pagan beliefs tell us about the tree.
• Some Like it Hot! - Environmentalists have been warning about the impact of global warning for decades now, but was summer 2003 the first real taste of what it might mean in practice? Horticulturalist Neil Law speculates about the practical impact it might have on us as pagans.

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

Rowans Rant

Book Reviews

• HERESY, MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE - Gary K Waite
• THE MAGICAL UNIVERSE: Everyday Ritual and Magic in Pre-Modern Europe - Stephen Wilson
• BACCHUS: A Biography - Andrew Dalby
• GODS, HEROES AND KINGS: The Battle For Mythic Britain - Christopher R Fee and David A Leeming
• STUKELEY ILLUSTRATED: William Stukeley's Rediscovery of Britain's Ancient Sites - Neil Mortimer
• EXPLORE GREEN MEN - Mercia MacDermott
• THIS ENCHANTED ISLE: The Neo-Romantic Vision from William Blake to the New Visionaries - Peter Woodcock
• THE TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO SACRED ENGLAND: A guide to the legends, lore and landscape of England's sacred places - John Michell
• WICCA: A Comprehensive Guide to the Old Religion in the Modern World - Vivianne Crowley
• ADVANCED WICCAN SPIRITUALITY: Volume 1 - Revitalising the Roots and Foundations - Kevin Saunders

Odds 'n Sods

• Stone circle found in outer Hebrides
• Senua - Britain's unknown goddess
• Delphic oracle was ancient glue-sniffer
• Rare memento of Hadrian's Wall found
• Sanctuary of Zeus found in Macedonia
• Possible Roman temple in Lincolnshire
• Warrior queen dug up
• Wicker Man makers line up new Scots film
• Golden hoard of Winchester gives up its secret
• Sage aids the memory

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Imbolc 2004

Featured articles:

• Qabaah and the Elements - Following her previous article exploring the Qabalah and the zodiac, Barbara Barnett turns her attention to the relationship between the Qabalah and the four Elements of occult and magickal thought.
• The Magic of the Hare - Few of our native animals have attracted as much mythology, folklore and traditional belief as the hare. Ken Rees takes a look at the hare's rich role in our own and other cultures.
• Lolly Willowes and the Witch - 'To lose one old Dorothy may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.' Helen French explores two of the fictions behind modern witchcraft.
• Arbor Low - Derbyshire's Stonehenge - Although constructed on a smaller scale than Avebury, the Derbyshire prehistoric site of Arbor Low shares most of its features. Paul Wain explains what is known and surmised about it.
• Know your Local Deity - Why worship any old deity when with a bit more effort you can find and worship one connected with the area in which you live? asks Jo Harrington
• Kilmartin - Exploring Scotland's Prehistoric Landscape - The Kilmarin area on Scotland's west coast is one of Britain's most rewarding megalithic landscapes. Dave Taylor provides a brief introduction to some of its riches.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Protecting Local Land from Development

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• WITCHES, DRUIDS AND KING ARTHUR - Ronald Hutton
• THE SECRET MIDDLE AGES: Discovering the Real Mediæval World - Malcolm Jones
• THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM  AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF WITCHCRAFT : Theology and Popular Belief - Peter Broedel
• GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION - Frances Yates
• THE OCCULT PHILOSOPHY IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE: - Frances Yates
• FAMILY PATHS & SPIRIT ROADS - Paul Devereux
• HEART OF WICCA - Ellen Cannon Reed
• THE TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO SACRED IRELAND: A guide to the sacred places of Ireland, her legends, folklore and people - Cary Weehan
• NATURAL DYES: - Gwen Fereday
• THE HILLS THEY ARE HOLLOW: (CD) - Damh the Bard

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• First mummified lion found in Egypt
• Discovery of buried megaliths completes Avebury circle
• Researchers zero in on 'new' viking ship
• Iron Age treasures could stay in Norfolk
• Chariot and skeleton crew found on motorway
• Early man's carriage found in Germany
• Experts study Viking find
• World's most mysterious book may be a hoax
• Witch wins government grant to mix magic potions
• Search on for bat brains
• Holly's pagan roots buried in myth
• 'Sudden oak death' in UK
• Dead magazines

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Beltane 2004

Featured articles:

• The Goose: Myth and Folklore - The goose rarely gets a mention, and even more rarely gets serious treatment, in most readily available books about folklore and mythology. This is unfortunate since it has been held sacred or otherwise by a variety of cultures. Anthony Roe sets out to put things right.
• He Who is Head, Let Him Be Bridge - Bridges and fords appear widely as liminal and dangerous places in the mythology and folklore of the British Isles and many other cultures. Chris Jenkins lens over the parapet and goes for a paddle.
• Typhon/Set: The Devil Who Never Was - Modern magical practice tends to treat Set and Typhon as a single entity, but at the root of this is an ancient conflation of entirely independent figures. Helen Clipsom considers the origin of both and how Set came to be so completely misunderstood.
• Labyrinths: Myth, Meaning and Symbol (Part 1) - The labyrinth is amongst the most powerful and widespread of all symbols as well as being a profound image of sacred space. Clement Jewitt examines the complexity of its sacre associations and meanings.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Don't Look Now: More Good News

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• THE WONDEFVLLL DISCOVERIE OF WITCHES IN THE COVNTIE OF LANCASTER Thomas Potts
• THE WITCH OF THE WEST: Or, The Strange and Wonderful History of Thomasine Blight Jason Semmens
• AN INTRODUCTION TO ROMAN RELIGION John Scheid (trsl Janet Lloyd)
• EXPLORE SHAMANISM Alby Stone
• THE LANCASHIRE WITCH-CRAZE: JANET PRESTON AND THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES, 1612 Jonathan Lumby
• MEETING THE OTHER CROWD Eddie Lenihan (ed Caroline Eve Green)
• THE COMPLETE DICTIONARY OF EUROPEAN GODS AND GODDESSES Janet and Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone
• ENERGY SECRTES OF GLASTONBURY TOR Nicholas R Martin
• GREEN SPIRITUALITY: Magic in the Midst of Life Rosa Romani
• THE REAL WITCHES' GARDEN - Spells, Herbs, Plants and Magical Spaces Outdoors Kate West
• THE SPIRIT OF THE GREEN MAN Mary Neasham

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Vandalism at Rollright Stones
• Suspected Viking burial fills a hole in English history
• Heritage Secrets of the Bronze Age stones
• British Museum bags important Roman cup
• £1.5m beauty is British Museum's newest treasure
• Roman coin confirms emperor's existence
• Anglo-Saxon king's tomb is biggest find since Sutton Hoo
• 2,000 year old Roman water main still working
• Remains of Viking harbour complex found
• Secrets of historic code: it's gibberish
• Water fairy arrested for begging

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Lughnasa 2004

Featured articles:

• Labyrinth: Myth, Meaning and Symbol (Part 2) Clement Jewitt concludes his in-depth exploration of the mythology and symbolism of the Labyrinth and its relationship to music and sound.
• Megalithic Musings There's more to Britain?s ancient heritage than the handful of ancient sites which make the guide-books. Many have been almost completely lost. Chris Jenkins discusses some of the prehistoric landscape features and sites that have been destroyed over the centuries and some that survive.
• The Ash Tree Nottinghamshire Druid Blackbird Hollins returns to delve into the rich folklore and mythology associated with this noble native tree.
• Qabalah and the Planets Barbara Barnett explores the relationships between the Qabalah, astrology, the planets and mythology.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Still Invoking after all these years

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• THE NORTHERN WORLD: The History and Heritage of Northern Europe ? AD 400-1100 - David M. Wilson (ed)
• THE MIND IN THE CAVE: Consciousness and the Origins of Art - David Lewis-Williams
• THE WITCHES OF HERTFORDSHIRE - Simon Walker
• STONEHENGE: Celebration and Subversion - Andy Worthington
• INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH RUNES - R I Page
• THE FOLKLORE OF SHROPSHIRE - Roy Palmer
• THE FOLKLORE OF OLD MONMOUTHSHIRE - Roy Palmer
• CELTIC WALES: A Pocket Guide - Miranda Althouse-Green and Ray Howell
• THE CHARMED GARDEN: Sacred and Enchanting Plants for the Magically Inclined Herbalist - Diane Morgan
• LABYRINTHS: Ancient Myths and Modern Uses - Sig Lonegren
• AN ALPHABET OF SPELLS - Elen Hawke
• THERE BE A STRANGER IN THE VILLAGE: or, What I did at the Clun Green Man Day - Jack (in the) Green

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• 'Forgotten' head-dresses shed light on Mesopotamian death Rites
• Clay Tablets hold key to tale of Helen, Paris and the siege of Troy
• Borders folk may be descended from Africans
• Modern Athenians fight for the right to worship the ancient Greek gods
• Aztec temple is reborn with belief in the sun's power
• Iron Age discovery may be missing link
• Dancing girls and the merry Magdalenian
• Viking 'town' is Ireland?s equivalent of Pompeii
• Lost Etruscan city found in Italy

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Samhain 2004

Featured articles:

• The Regency - Almost forgotten today, The Regency was both an heir of Robert Cochrane and one of the more unusual magical groups operating in Britain in the early 1970s. Ken Rees describes his involvement with the group.
• The Devil went down to Avebury... - Myths, Magic and Mystery in the Ancient Landscape of Britain. It's Samhain. Cue Satan, Hangmen, Gibbets and the folklore thereof by Paul and Vicky Morgan.
• Demon Lovers - There is a long and ancient tradition in Judeo-Christian myth of bonking between human and supernatural entities which has had a profound impact on western magic and folklore. Anthony Roe pulls back the duvet. Ooo-errr missus!
• Brittany - Of Megaliths and Merlin - Just across the Channel and easily accessible from the UK, Brittany is chock-full of spectacular megalithic sites. Moonhunter leads a short introductory tour of this rewarding region.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• The Blair Switch Project?

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• LEYLINES: The Greatest Landscape Mystery - Danny Sullivan
• FOOTPRINTS IN STONE: The significance of foot- and hand-prints and other imprints left by early men, giants, heroes, devils, saints, animals, ghosts, witches, fairies and monsters - Janet Bord
• EXPLORE FAIRY TRADITIONS - Jeremy Harte
• LEICESTERSHIRE LEGENDS RETOLD BY BLACK ANIS
• ARCHAEOLOGY: A Very Short Introduction - Paul Bahn
• THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE ? A Very Short Introduction - John Blair
• THE OUTER TEMPLE OF WITCHCRAFT: Circles, Spells and Rituals - Christopher Penczak
• THE DRUIDCRAFT TAROT - Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm
• THE INTUITIVE TAROT - Cilla Conway
• DOKTOR SNAKE?S VOODOO SPELLBOOK: Spells, Curses and Folk Magic for all your needs (With Lucky Mojo Doll) - Dr Snake (I presume)
• OCCULT CONFERENCE AND BOOKFAIR (Event review)

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Lost Roman capital of 1st Century found in Cotswolds
• The Irish are not Celts, say experts
• First Viking burial ground found in Cumbria
• Skull found at Anglo-Saxon site shows evidence of surgery
• Orkney skeleton reveals ritualistic side to Iron Age
• Thieving magpie barred from pub
• Wal-Mart seeks to build supermarket at Teotihuacan
• Man-made rainforest baffles scientists
• Britain being battered by waves hurling giant rocks

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Imbolc 2005

Featured articles:

• Prehistoric Meath - There are few areas as rich in megalithic and Iron Age sites as County Meath in Ireland. Moonhunter provides a personal introduction to some of the most important and impressive of them.
• The Hazel Tree - The folklore of Britain and Ireland is stuffed with beliefs and traditions about the hazel tree and its fruit. Blackbird Hollins goes nuts and produces the longest article ever published in WD in one chunk.
• The Devil Take the hindmost! - The Lickey Hills, standing at the south-west corner of the West Midlands conurbation, are popular with local walkers and pagans alike. They are also rich in local traditions and folklore, as Chris Jenkins reports.
• The Role and Purpose of Rites of Passage (Part 1) - Societies from all cultures and time periods of human history have employed rites of passage to punctuate the stages of human life. Antony Patchet, an experienced conductor of pagan rites of passage, examines their forms and roles in western cultures.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Don't know what you got till it's gone

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• ENTERTAINING SATAN: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England John Putnam Demos
• LANDSCAPES AND DESIRE: Revealing Britain's sexually inspired sites Catherine E Tuck
• TREES: Woodlands and Western Civilisation Richard Hayman
• STONEHENGE COMPLETE Christopher Chippindale
• PREHISTORIC CHESHIRE Victoria and Paul Morgan
• EGYPTIAN MYTH: A Very Short Introduction Geraldine Pinch
• FIFTY YEARS OF WICCA Frederic Lamond
• THE KRONOS FACTOR John R Mason
• JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL Susanna Clarke

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Foil reveals Roman Magic
• 'Golden Mummies' of Egypt?s princes found
• Ancient burial pit shows how Bronze Age Scots prepared for afterlife
• After the hunt, ice age man chilled out - with a flute
• Moor fire reveals old carving
• Pagan image found smashed
• The English Elm is an asexual clone imported by Rome
• Medieval mural's tales of sorcery
• Town pardons executed "witches"
• Knights Templar seek papal apology for 700 years of persecution
• Lions 1 - 0 Christians
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit translated into Egyptian hieroglyphs

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Beltane 2005

Featured articles:

• The Role and Purpose of Rites of Passage (Part 2) - Societies from all cultures and time periods of human history have employed rites of passage to punctuate the stages of human life. Antony Patchett concludes his examination of why rites of passage are so important to us.
• Renaissance Astrology - During the Renaissance astrology was widely used by nobility and commoners alike and a much respected, if not essential, tool of the European physician. Anthony Roe explores astrology's former prestige and its subsequent decline.
• Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live - Christians and pagans alike get steamed up about Exodus 22:18, but what does it really mean? Sophie Childs attempts to sort the witches from the poisoners.
• Inversion, Reversion - Chris Jenkins takes an in-depth look at the magical and mythic associations of mirrors and reflections and the states of reversion and inversion.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• Are We Of Nature?

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• PREHISTORIC COOKING Jaqui Wood
• The Herbalist: Nicholas Culpeper and the Fight for Medical Freedom Benjamin Woolley
• THE STORY OF VENUS Andrew Dalby
• THE CELTS: Origins, Myths and Inventions John Collis
• FOLKLORE OF THE COTSWOLDS June Lewis-Jones
• FOLKLORE OF WALES Anne Ross
• THE TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO FAIRY SITES: The Landscape and Folklore of Fairyland in England, Wales and Scotland
• THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY: A Very Short Introduction Michael Hoskin
• MYTH: A Very Short Introduction Robert A Segal
• BRIDGID'S HEALING: Ireland's Celtic Medicine Tradition Gina McGarry
• YORKSHIRE WITCHCRAFT, CHARMS AND HEALING Richard Blakeborough

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Bronze Age perfume 'discovered'
• Threat to site of Greek temple
• Bulgarians rage over 'Orpheus and liars'
• Engravings found in Somerset cave
• The sea claimed an ancient capital of India. Now it has given it back
• Major find of prehistoric rock art in Northumberland
• Was Central Asia the cradle of Zoroastrianism?
• Palace find lends weight to myth
• How prehistoric farmers saved us from new Ice Age
• Archaeologist finds 'oldest porn statue'
• Millionaire to fund dig for lost Roman library
• Romans introduced the rabbit
• Duchess of Northumberland's poison garden is unveiled
• Campaign to clear the last British Woman convicted of witchcraft
• Veil falls over Italy's soothsayers

Back to top

Lughnasa 2005

Featured articles:

• Rites of Passage: Design and Creation (Part 1) - Following on from his recent article on the role and purpose of rites of passage, LifeRites celebrant Antony Patchett turns his attention to the matters to be taken into account when designing and creating a meaningful rite of passage.
• The Fairy Faith, Dreams and Fantasies - Ken Rees examines the parallels between, and common features of, two well-known traditional ballads and an equally famous 17th century witch trial.
• Dartmoor: A Swansong - In recent years Sam Fleming has written extensively on pagan relationships with, and attitudes to, ancient and sacred sites. In this article on the landscape and sites of Dartmoor, she para-doxically explains why she's giving up writing about prehistoric and sacred sites in general.
• Adder Stones: The Serpent's Egg in Britain? - What exactly was the fabled adder stone? Fossil? Prehistoric stone spindle whorl? Glass bead? Coral? And what exactly did it have to do with serpents anyway? Blackbird Hollins delves into the mystery.
• Celebrating the Loaf - One of the best ways to understand the agricultural aspects of the pagan year, argues Bryn Colvin, is to grow your own wheat and make a Lammas Loaf. Which is what a group of Redditch pagans did.

Flaming the Dragon

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

• 'Fission Strikes Back?'

Rowans Rant

Reviews

• TABLE-RAPPERS: The Victorians And The Occult Ronald Pearsall
• THE OCCULT IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE 500-1500 P G Maxwell-Stuart
• WHORES OF THE DEVIL: Witch-Hunts And Witch-Trials Eric Durschmied
• WITCH HUNTERS: Prikkers, Unwitchers And Finders Of The Renaissance P G Maxwell-Stuart
• EXPLORE PHANTOM BLACK DOGS Jeremy Harte
• SACRED PLACES: Prehistory And The Popular Imagination Bob Trubshaw
• MYTHS OF REALITY Simon Danser
• HEREFORDSHIRE FOLKLORE Roy Palmer
• THE WISE WOMAN: Her Lives, Charms, Spells And Cures Kelvin I Jones
• STORIES THAT CRAFTED THE EARTH Adrian Beckingham
• CAMERA Eve-Marie Liffner (Fiction)

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Oxyrhynchus Papyri reveal treasures - including parts of lost works by Sophocles, Euripedes and Hesiod
• After 2,600 years, the world gains a fourth poem by Sappho
• Stonehenge druids 'mark wrong solstice'
• Stonehenge quarry site 'revealed'
• Potholers discover ancient Roman mosaic
• Museum buys hovercraft inventor's Greek treasure (a 2,500 year old Greek drinking vessel)
• Ancient Egypt mass-producing glass objects more than 3,000 years ago
• Graves of Mithraist Magi found in Iran?
• Major Bronze Age haul unearthed near Norwich
• Rain Queen's mysterious death could signal end of dynasty
• Thousand year old tree uprooted
• Nightjars are enjoying a renaissance after years of falling numbers

Back to top

Imbolc 2006

Featured articles:

.  STONE AGE CULTURE IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND - What do we know about the prehistoric societies who painted caves and indulged in the first megalithic fetish? Moonhunter takes a short walk from the palaeolithic to the neolithic in the company of Fred Flintstone.

.  TUNNEL LEGENDS AND A CHURCH CALLED CLOVER - If one believes the folklore the underground landscape of Britain is riddled with tunnels into which musicians disappear in an attempt to find where they go, but as Chris Jenkins discovers there's a lot more to tunnels than lost bag-pipers.

.  CREATING AND DESIGNING RITES OF PASSAGE: PART 2 - LifeRites celebrant Antony Patchett concludes his series of articles on Rites of Passage with a look at what elements to include and how and when to conduct a ceremony.

.  'THE GREAT SCARECROW IN DAYS LONG AGO' - Are scarecrows a relic of pagan days gone by, a memory of long-lost fertility rites and cults? Yes, say many pagans. No, says Dr Juliette Wood who considers the scarecrow in folklore, film and literature.

.  IN MEMORY OF GUNNHILDR - Gunnhildr, variously queen of both Norway and York, was accused of witchcraft by her contemporaries. Dr Jenny Blain examines the sagas and other historical evidence for the charges.

Flaming the Dragon -

Readers' Letters

The Environmental Slot -

by Barry Walker
.  Badgering Bill

Rowan's Rant

Reviews

.  ABUNDANCE OF WITCHES: The Great Scottish Witch Hunt - P G Maxwell-Stuart

.  ESCAPING SALEM: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 - Richard Godbeer

.  THE MYSTERIES OF MITHRAS: The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World - Payam Nabarz

.  MYTHS OF REALITY - Simon Danser

.  COPERNICUS - Ivan Crowe

.  FOOD AND DRINK IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND - Debby Banham

.  FOLKLORE OF SUSSEX - Jacqueline Simpson

.  FOLKLORE OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS - Anne Ross

.  HAUNTED - Kelley Armstrong

.  THE DA VINCI ENIGMA TAROT - Caitlin Matthews

Wotsons

.  A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'N Sods

.  Mysterious case of death on the Nile, 4,000 years ago
.  Tsunami reveals ancient temple sites
.  1,200-year-old skeletons reveal war-like ending to Maya civilisation
.  Archaeologist stumbles on 2,000-year-old Mayan mural
.  Hidden for 4,000 years - is this the world's first gay kiss?
.  Leather whip discovery excites image of medieval hanky-panky
.  Mummifed cat wards off witches in Islington
.  Site of pagan well to be restored
.  'Extinct' wild horse roams again
.  Red kite makes a return to London's skies
.  Prove Christ exists, judge orders priest

Back to top

Beltane 2006

Featured articles:

• Dead Wet Nuns: Women and Holy Wells - Mention holy wells to the average pagan and it's immediately assumed you are talking about the Celtic Fringe, but as Jeremy Harte demonstrates, not only does England too have a rich tradition of them, they are also commonly associated with female figures. Dead wet nuns indeed.

Eostre: The Making of a Myth - She is known from only in a single reference in Bede yet has become a fully-fledged pagan deity with her own festival. Adrian Bott returns to shoot another pagan sacred cow.

Hailing Our Ancestors - We've all got them, though some know more about their own than others do and some just make them up as they go along. Bryn Colvin considers the ancestors we all have, whether of blood, place or tradition.

Elen of the Hosts: Goddess, Saint and Ancestor - Variously known as Elen of the Ways or Elen of the Hosts, she is an enigmatic figure in Welsh myth and legend. So who was she? Blackbird Hollins considers the sources and the possibilities.

The Arabian Legacy: Astrology During the Dark Ages - Modern astrology owes a surprisingly significant debt to the that of the medieval Muslim world. Astrologer Anthony Roe considers the uses to which astrology was put by Islamic civilisation.

Flaming the Dragon –

Readers' Letters

The Environmental Slot –

by Barry Walker
•  Later Than You Think

Rowan's Rant

Editorial

BOOK AND OTHER REVIEWS

• CUNNING FOLK AND FAMILIAR SPIRITS: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic - Emma Wilby
• ANIMISM: Respecting the Living World - Graham Harvey
• EXPLORE DRAGONS - Richard Freeman
• THE WATER OF LIFE: Springs and Wells of Mainland Britain - Ian and Frances Thompson
• GOTHIC NIGHTMARES: FUSELI, BLAKE AND THE ROMANTIC IMAGINATION – Art exhibition at Tate Britain
• WORLDS OF ARTHUR - Frances Doel and Geoffrey Doel
• MYSTERY BIG CATS - Merrily Harpur
• CIRCLE DANCING: Celebrating the Sacred in Dance - June Watts
• THE SONG OF AN EMERALD DOVE - Xanna Vinson

Lughnasa 2006

Featured articles:

• Bread Magic - It's that time of year again - when suburban witches who can just about cook chips in a microwave decide to nick some wheat or barley and try to make a lammas loaf from scratch. Fortunately Bryn Colvin knows what she's doing in the bread-making department.
• Looking into the Eyes of the Gorgon - Does the famous relief sculpture commonly known as the Gorgon's Head at Bath Spa really represent a Gorgon? Thea Faye considers the possibilities.
• Hecate - From an Ancient Greek  Perspective - She has become a firm favourite of Llewellynite wiccans and neo-pagans across the English-speaking world, but would the ancient Greeks recognise her from her modern portrayals? Naimh Sanchez examines the original Greek texts and sources for the real Hecate.
• Ancestors, Archaeologists and Reburial in Britain - The appropriate and respectful disposal of the pre-Christian dead in Britain has become something of a hot topic in archaeology as well as paganism. Drs Jenny Blain and Robert J Wallace explore some of the issues which have emerged in recent years.
• Goda, the Regency and Robert Cochrane - Why did Robert Cochrane choose a Shropshire fairy as the Goddess worshipped by his group? Gary StM Nottingham explores Cochrane's links with Welsh border folklore.

Flaming the Dragon –

Readers' Letters

The Environmental Slot –

Too Hot to Handle (More about proposed badger culling)

Rowan's Rant

Editorial

BOOK AND OTHER REVIEWS

• THE LAST PAGAN: Julian The Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World – Adrian Murdoch
• THE HISTORY OF THE HOROSCOPE – David Ovason
• PHARMAKO-GNOSIS: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path – Dale Pendell
• THE COMPLETE GREEK TEMPLES – Tony Spawforth
• TALIESIN'S TRAVELS: A Demi-God at Large – Michael Dames
• THE FOLKLORE OF WORCESTERSHIRE – Roy Palmer
• THE BARDIC HANDBOOK: The Complete Manual for the Twenty-First Century Bard – Kevan Manwaring
• GREEN FIRE: Magical Verse for the Wheel of the Year - Tallyessin Silverwolf,
• WICCAN SPELL A NIGHT: Spells, Charms and Potions for the Whole Year – Sirona Knight

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Skeletons reveal secrets of 9,000-year-old dentistry
• Bones in togas puzzle Vatican archaeologists
• Orkney's '2,000-year-old murder'
• Olive branch clue to how Minoans were wiped out
• Greek gods prepare for comeback
• How the bow and arrow helped humans to colonise the world
• Nothing missing under the kilt (Tutankhamun's willy isn't missing after all)
• Statue attack fuels fears of an Islamist Egypt
• Archaeologists dig Roman dogs
• 'Brazilian Stonehenge' discovered
• Tattooed mummy discovered in Peru
• Rome skeleton find pre-dates city
• Cave face 'the oldest portrait on record'
• 'Killer kangaroo' evidence found

Samhain 2006

Featured articles:

‘Goda’, The Clan of Tubal Cain and Robert Cochrane - Shani Oates, the Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain, makes her debut for WD with an in-depth examination of the rich folkloric, mythological and historical sources for Goda and her place in worship by the Clan.

Psychopomp or the Shade-Leader - A deity or other supernatural power to escort the spirits of the dead to the afterlife has been a feature of many cultures and societies. Anthony Roe examines the psychopompic roles of Thoth and Hermes in the pagan and of St Michael in the Christian tradition.

Blackthorn: Tree of Thorn Thickets and Hedgerows - Ubiquitous across much of the British Isles, the blackthorn enjoys something of an ambiguous, even sinister, reputation. Providing a dense habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, it is highly invasive and difficult to eradicate once established. Blackbird Hollins investigates.

Initiation : Why? - In the light of long-running disagreements on initiation between lineaged Gardnerians and Alexandrians on the one hand and those who support the equal validity of "self-initiation" on the other, Thea Faye ponders the purpose of Wiccan initiation.

The Redditch Wicker Man - Bryn Colvin, one of the organisers of the annual Hallowe'en wicker man in Redditch, discusses the practicalities of building and burning a wicker man and how the Redditch event has evolved.

Flaming the Dragon

Readers’ letters

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

Party Conferences Round-up

Rowan’s Rant

Reviews

• BOUDICA: Iron Age Warrior Queen - Richard Hingley and Christina Unwin
• THE CAT IN ANCIENT EGYPT – Jaromir Malek
• CURES AND CURSES: Ritual and Cult at Holy Wells - Janet Bord
• THE BOOK OF THE SPHYNX – Willis Regier

• THE GREEN MAN IN BRITAIN  - Frances Doel and Geoffrey Doel
• BEOWULF - Julian Glover and Sheila Mackie
• KABBALAH FOR LIFE -Will Parfitt
• TANTRA SADHANA - Mogg Morgan
• ASTROLOGY AND NEO-ASTROLOGY: The Occult Arts Vol 1 – Frater Alius
• THE WITCH'S ALMANAC 2007: Practical Magic and Spells for Every Season – Marie Bruce
• THE BOOK OF DEAD DAYS – Marcus Sedgwick (Young Adult fiction)

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Geneticists say the Celts are descended from Spanish fishermen
• DNA test can detect Picts' descendants
• French excavation reveals Neanderthal 'creative side'
• Saxon chief's gilded buckle found
• Cat drags in new theory on cairns
• Nuisance notice served on National Trust at Avebury
• Hub of Etruscan civilisation found
• Revealed: world's oldest computer
• Bones reveal bloody story of the Aztecs' long revenge
• Bronze Age pyramid found in Ukraine 
• Barn owls in steep decline
• Plans to reintroduce the crane to UK
• Fewer crop circles after guru's suicide
• Sex change for Christian radio station

Imbolc 2007

FEATURED ARTICLES

• Classical and Teutonic Magic Under the Early Church - Academic historians may have put the kybosh on the idea of organised pagan religions in Europe after the arrival of Christianity, but magic itself continued. Shani Oates examines the evidence for the survival of the classical and Germanic magical traditions during the early Christian centuries.

• The Original Sources for Merlin - Many of the sources for the Arthurian myths connect Merlin with the Forest of Broceliande and other places in Brittany. Alexa Duir, a regular visitor to Broceliande and its environs, considers what Merlin's connections with Brittany contribute to our understanding of the myths.

• Horns, Large Horns - Hidden away in the Roman galleries of the British Museum is a small, rather clumsy figurine of a Horned or Antlered Goddess. Helen Clipsom takes a look at the very little which is known about it and tries to decipher its meaning.

• Creating and Undertaking Pathworkings - Pathworkings, or innerworld journeys, are a fundamental skill to be learned by anyone following a magical path. Bryn Colvin considers the practicalities of creating workable pathworkings for one's own purpose and of undertaking such journeys.

Flaming the Dragon

Readers' Letters

The Environmental Slot - by Barry Walker

•  Where’s Winter?

Rowan's Rant

Editorial

Competition!

WIN a copy of The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, donated by the publisher, Thames & Hudson, and worth £25. Prize draw of correct answers to the competition question.

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• RITUAL SACRIFICE: Blood and Redemption - Brenda Ralph Lewis
• HARRY PRICE: The Psychic Detective – Richard Morris
• TOWARDS AN ACADEMIC STUDY OF BRITISH WICCA: An Investigation into its Origins – Jo Harrington
• THE LORE OF IRELAND: An Encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance - Dáithí Ó hÓgáin
• THE ENCHANTED LAND: Myths and Legends of Britain's Landscape - Janet and Stuart Bord
• THE COMPLETE GODS AND GODDESSES OF ANCIENT EGYPT – Richard H Wilkinson
• THE HORSE IN MYTH AND LEGEND - Sophie Jackson
• A GRIM ALMANAC OF NORFOLK - Neil R Storey
• THE CRYSTAL BIBLE: A Definitive Guide to Crystals  - Judy Hall
• WINDSMITH - Kevan Manwaring (Fiction)

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• Stonehenge was the Lourdes of the ancient world 
• Early sketch of Stonehenge found
• Local council buys status symbol from the Iron Age
• Ancient body prompts new theories
• Egypt to dig up pharaonic tombs
• Tutankhamum – it wos the 'orse wot dunnit
• Scared to death by fairies
• Python may have been worshipped 70,000 years ago
• Peruvian Archaeologists Excavate Tombs
• Bridge to Machu Pichu – Provincial Mayor defies Lima
• 500-Year-Old Corpse Uncovered in Shanghai
• Ancient tsunami engulfed Mediterranean coastline
• Bats stage a dramatic comeback in UK
• Bees giving up hibernation
• Goats pose threat to frankincense
• Global warming claims tropical island

Beltane 2007

FEATURED ARTICLES

• Why Cranes? An exploration of their mythic significance - Cranes were sacred to Apollo, associated with shamanism and shape-shifting, and have featured in myth and legend across Europe and the Mediterranean from Egypt and the Aegean to the British Isles. Shani Oates examines the role and symbolism of these graceful birds.

• The Modern Revival of Astrology - With the coming of the Age of Reason in the 18th century, astrology quickly declined in popularity and credibility and all but died out everywhere except in the UK. Anthony Roe considers how and why it hung on to become so popular again today.

• Bacchus and Dionysus: Keepers of the Mysteries - Few deities are as misunderstood as Bacchus and Dionysus. Reknowned for their anarchic and frenzied worship, particularly amongst women, their rites were often dark, disturbing and even frightening to outsiders. Sophie Childs takes a look at the origins of these gods and what is known of their Mysteries.

• The Lady of the Lake- Arthurian and Celtic myth are full of powerful female figures, human or otherworldly, connected with rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, who provide guidance to, or temptation of, heroes, knights and warriors. Blackbird Hollins explores their roles and powers in the myths.

Flaming the Dragon

• Readers' Letters

The Environmental Slot - by Barry Walker

• The Great Global Warming Swindle?

Rowan's Rant

Editorial

Competition! (Extended from Imbolc edition)

WIN a copy of The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, donated by the publisher, Thames & Hudson, and worth £25. Prize draw of correct answers to the competition question.

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• OLD WIVES' TALES: The History of Remedies, Charms and Spells – Mary Chamberlain
• EAT THY NEIGHBOUR: A History of Cannibalism - Daniel Diehl and Mark P Donnelly
• INSIDE THE NEOLITHIC MIND: Consciousness, Cosmos And The Realm Of The Gods - David Lewis-Williams and David Pearce
• EXPLORING THE WORLD OF THE CELTS - Simon James
• THE COMPLETE TUTANKHAMUN: The King, The Tomb, The Royal Treasure - Nicholas Reeves
• GHOST HUNTERS: The Victorians and the hunt for proof of life after death – Deborah Blum
• THE OXFORD GUIDE TO ARTHURIAN LITERATURE AND LEGEND – Alan Lupack
• OVER NINE FORESTS: Folk beliefs and practices from Lithuania to the Urals – K M Koppana
• SONGS OF WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC – CD featuring various artists, from the Witchcraft Museum

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• Crystals may have aided Viking sailors
• Dung-eating mites throw light on Inca civilisation
• Italy mystery of prehistoric hug
• Archaeologists discover the world’s oldest perfumes
• Early dangers of settling down on the farm
• Snake spell is the oldest Semitic text
• Hera statue follows Zeus find
• Tomb of Akhenaten’s seal-bearer found
• Chilis cultivated over 6,000 years ago
• Roman era mass-grave in Normandy – archaeologists scratching heads
• Milk allergy 'caused by Stone Age genes'
• Rare African chromosome discovered in Yorkshiremen
• Fairy fool sparks huge response

Back to top

Lughnasa 2007

Featured articles:

• Shakespeare's Wizard: Prospero and the Tempest - Few, if any, of Shakespeare's plays are as full of magic and the otherworld as is  his last work, The Tempest. June-Marie Courage considers the play in the light both of what the Bard may have known of magic and of the Elizabethans' interest in the subject.

• Geomancy, Myth and Consciousness - The connections between our consciousness, the Earth and our awareness of, and spiritual reaction to, it and the myths that these give rise to are many and varied. Shani Oates explores those relationships and their effects.

• Magical Banishings - Magical feuds and witch wars have long been a feature of the occult scene, which isn't surprising when you consider the egos involved. Thea Faye examines how and why feuds break out and how and why they sometimes end with individuals and groups banishing or cursing each other.

• An Exegesis of the Charge of the Goddess - There surely can be no more central text within Wicca than the Charge of the Goddess. Yet how many of those who use it have sat down and analysed what it really says and means? Wiccan priest Johnothan Cole has done just that.

Flaming the Dragon

Readers’ letters

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

Where's Summer? (and Other Considerations)

Rowan’s Rant

Reviews

• MEDICINE AND MAGIC IN ELIZABETHAN LONDON: Simon Forman - Astrologer, Alchemist, and Physician - Lauren Kassell
• EXPLORE ALCHEMY – Cherry Gilchrist
• THE DRUIDS – Ronald Hutton
• PHANTOM BLACK DOGS IN LATIN AMERICA - Simon Burchell
• INVIZIKIDS: The curious enigma of 'imaginary' childhood friends - Michael J. Hallowell
• SPIRIT ROADS: An Exploration of Otherwordly Routes - Paul Devereux.
• CASSELL’S DICTIONARY OF WITCHCRAFT – David Pickering
• VAMPIRES: A Field Guide to the Creatures that Stalk the Night - Dr Bob Curran
• COTTAGE WITCHERY: Natural Magick for Hearth and Home – Ellen Dugan
• THE MERRYBEGOT - Julie Hearne (YA fiction)
• RETURN FROM THE DEAD - David Stuart Davies
• MAGICFOLK (CD)

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Roman paintings found in City
• Plea to protect 'unique iron-eating tree'
• Recreating ancient Egyptian pigments
• Snake cults in pre-Islamic Middle East
• 2,700-Year-Old Fabric Found in Greece
• North Sea mapping reveals drowned prehistoric landscapes
• Mystery mummy may be female pharaoh
• Builders dig up lost pleasure garden of the ancient Romans
• Diamonds tell tale of comet that killed off the cavemen
• New species of tree discovered on the Isle of Arran
• Ancient gold unearthed in Sudan
• Scottish warlock was inspiration for Mr Hyde
• Knickers to reading

Samhain 2007

Featured articles:

• The Profane Art of Masking - From Hallowe'en through Yule and into the New Year, masks and guising play an important role in traditional customs and celebrations. Shani Oates considers their origins and significance.
• Fire Festivals and Fire Worship - Fire has played an enormous role in the traditional festivals of the British Isles and beyond since time immemorial. Anthony Roe examines the fire festivals of Britain and Europe, including the Church's reaction to them. Mysteries of the
• Honey Bee - The honey bee has featured extensively in Greek and Middle Eastern mythology and in the folklore of the, but in addition, says Ian Chambers, parallels can be drawn between the honey bee's lifecycle and the maiden-mother-crone paradigm popular amongst neo-pagans.
• Hauntings, Folklore and a Spirit Path in Gloucestershire - Most people would not immediately associate Gloucestershire with ghosts, hauntings and their folklore, yet as research over many years has shown it has a surprisingly rich body of such lore. Dave Taylor takes a look at the ghostly legends of one particular site - Lodge Park.

Flaming the Dragon

Readers' letters

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker Brock -

The Final Solution?

Rowan's Rant

Reviews

GRAUBALLE MAN: An Iron Age Bog Body Revisited - Eds Pauline Asingh and Niels Lynnerup

SACRED SITES - CONTESTED RITES/RIGHTS: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments - Jenny Blain and Robert Wallis

MOTHER LEAKEY AND THE BISHOP: A Ghost Story - Peter Marshall

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SECRET SOCIETIES - David V Barrett

THE QUEST FOR THE SHAMAN: Shape-Shifters, Sorcerers and Spirit-Healers of Ancient Europe - Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Stephen Aldhouse-Green

EXPLORE VAMPIRES - Bob Curran

ANCIENT ROME ON 5 DENARII A DAY - Philip Matyszak

THE APPLE AND THE THORN - Emma Restall Orr and Walter William Melnyk

SABBAT ENTERTAINING - Willow Polson

DRACULA'S GUEST AND OTHER STORIES - Bram Stoker

A NIGHT ON THE MOOR & OTHER TALES OF DREAD - R Murray Gilchrist

THE FABRIC OF SIN - Phil Rickman

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Odds 'n Sods

• Cairo toe earliest fake body bit
• 'Aztec emperor's tomb' discovered
• Bronze Age brew proves a vintage ale
• Egyptians' ancient tax burden revealed
• Cornish language experts seek agreement on single written form
• Orkney arrowheads find points to Scotland's earliest settlement
• Bronze Age burial site unearthed
• The world's oldest wall painting looks like modern art
• Ancient burial stones vandalised
• Rune stone deciphered
• The souls of Silbury Hill are bared in burial mound dig
• Petroglyphs vandalised
• 3,500-year-old baby unearthed at English Bronze Age site
• Rare carving found at famous cave Some
• Neanderthals were probably redheads
• Pumpkin ban in Halloween protest
• Crystal ball sets fire to house

Imbolc 2008

FEATURED ARTICLES

• Magic and The Theological Renaissance 1000CE – 1300 - Shani Oates returns with the second piece of her four-part history of magic and its relations with Christianity and here examines the attitude of the Church to magic in the Anglo-Saxon period and the High Middle Ages.

• The Ghost, his Wife, the Detective and the Mabinogion - Herefordshire heathen Moonhunter went in search of the ghost of local Mediaeval villain 'Black Vaughan', and not only found the ghost but also a famous literary pooch and some other surprising literary connections to boot.

• Familiarity with Familiars - Does your familiar lie around on the hearth rug all day doing very little apart from looking decorative? It doesn't have to be this way. Put the bugger to work and make it earn its keep, says Thea Faye.

• What is Nature? - Almost every definition of paganism in use amongst pagans includes the idea of nature-worship, but what exactly is this "nature" that pagans are supposed to worship? Bryn Colvin gets back to basics and asks this fundamental question.

• The Ragwort and the Sabbat - According to evidence presented at the witch trials witches were believed to fly to the sabbat on stems of ragwort, but is there anything about ragwort itself to account for this apparent belief? Rowan sifts some of the evidence.

FLAMING THE DRAGON

• Readers' Letters

THE ENVIRONMENTAL SLOT - by Barry Walker

• Hedgehogs and Homes

ROWAN'S RANT

Editorial

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• TREADING THE MILL: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft – Nigel G Pearson
• THE MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND – Chris Scarre
• HIDDEN HISTORY – Brian Haughton
• THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD – Jonathan Black
• THE GOSPEL AND THE ZODIAC: The Secret Truth About Jesus – Bill Darlison
• WIZARDRY FOR THE UNITIATED – Thea Faye
• THE MABINOGION – Sioned Davies (Translator)

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• Mythical Roman cave 'unearthed'
• Ancient treasures unearthed at farm
• Race to save moulding Lascaux cave paintings
• UN vandals spray graffiti on Sahara’s prehistoric art
• Roman ruins cast new light on a trip to doctor
• Hittites 'used germ warfare 3,500 years ago'
• Bid to save ancient holly trees
• Medical plants 'face extinction'
• How one ancestor helped turn our brown eyes blue
• ‘Scrap metal’ was Bronze Age hoard
• Turin holy water theft blamed on Satanists
• Bodmin Moor Hurlers mystery solved
• Zeus born here - but he wasn't the first
• Unforeseen circumstances

FEATURED ARTICLES

• The Devil's Supper: The Land of Cockayne - In folklore and the evidence of the witch trials alike, extravagant feasting is an intrinsic part of the traditional image of the sabbat. Where does this image of feasting and plenty come from? Shani Oates takes a trip into medieval peasant utopias.

• Witchcraft and the Inquisition - Popular belief, especially amongst many pagans, has it that the Inquisition was responsible for virtually all witchcraft accusations and witch trials in Europe. But just what were the connections between the Inquisition and prosecutions for witchcraft? Not as clear cut as you might expect, says Anthony Roe.

• British Horned Gods - When pagans speak of "The Horned God" they invariably mean the antlered god Cernunnos. But stags, bulls, rams and goats have all turned up as variously horned and antlered gods in the British Isles and its near neighbours, as Blackbird Hollins reports.

• Shortest Night, Longest Night - The summer solstice is the most popular festival for drawing pagans to spend all night out under the stars. Bryn Colvin discusses the practicalities, problems and rewards of the all-night midsummer vigil in the British climate.

FLAMING THE DRAGON

• Readers' Letters

THE ENVIRONMENTAL SLOT - by Barry Walker

• Food for Thought

ROWAN'S RANT

Editorial

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• THE WITCHES OF LORRAINE – Robin Briggs
• THE FOLKLORE OF THE BLACK COUNTRY – Roy Palmer
• A NEW HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans - Jeffrey B Russell and Brooks Alexander
• EXPLORING THE WORLD OF THE VIKINGS – Richard Hall
• VAMPIRES, BURIAL AND DEATH: Folklore and Reality - Paul Barber
• HOLY WELLS IN BRITAIN: A Guide - Janet Bord
• ENTRANCED BY THE GODDESS: Folklore in North Indian Religion - Sudha Chandola
• CELTIC GODS, CELTIC GODDESSES - R J Stewart
• THE GODS WITHIN: The Pagan Pathfinders Book of God and Goddess Evocations - Jean M Williams and Zachary Cox
• THE STOLEN CHILD - By Peter Donohue (Fiction)

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• Neanderthal treasure trove 'at bottom of sea'
• Ancient Seahenge 'returns home'
• Treasure hunter finds rare Carausius coins
• Vikings did not dress the way we thought
• Rare Roman fort found in Cornwall
• Clay tablet identified as asteroid that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
• Discovery of possible fire temple in Iran
• More Unique Finds in Cybele Temple in Bulgaria
• Swedes find Viking-era Arab coins
• Seahorses reach Thames
• Practice safe crux

 

Lughnasa 2008

FEATURED ARTICLES

• TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT - The term "traditional witchcraft" brings us face to face with two of the most semantically complex words in the occult dictionary, yet understanding how they have been used in the past, what they have encompassed and how they have evolved into the present are key to understanding what we might mean by "traditional witchcraft" argues Shani Oates.

• REVISITING THE REGENCY - The Regency, which emerged after the death of Robert Cochrane and was led by members of Cochrane's group, is one of the lesser known elements of British occult history. More than 20 years after it ceased to operate, Ken Rees revisits the group, its activities and its leaders.

• BLACK MAGIC FOR WHITE FOLKS - In recent years western pagans, witches and magicians have been exploring the Hoodoo magic of the African Diaspora - even if they quietly ignore or even deny this is what they're drawing on. Jonny Cole examines the rise of Hoodoo amongst white practitioners.

• GUY OF WARWICK AND ST GEORGE - Guy of Warwick features in medieval romance as a questing knight fighting dragons and rescuing fair damsels - which may have led to his legend being confused with a West Midlands slant on St George. But where does the Green Man fit in? Ian Chambers suggests some answers.

FLAMING THE DRAGON

• Readers' Letters

THE ENVIRONMENTAL SLOT - by Barry Walker

• Saving Bill Brock (more on the proposed badger cull)

ROWAN'S RANT

Editorial

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• PEOPLE AND THE SKY: Our Ancestors and the Cosmos – Anthony Aveni
• THE HAUNTED - A SOCIAL HISTORY OF GHOSTS – Owen Davies
• WITCHCRAFT AND THE ACT OF 1604 – Edited by John Newton and Jo Bath.
• SOLVING STONEHENGE: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma– Anthony Johnson
• DICTIONARIES OF CIVILIZATION SERIES: Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians – Edited by E Ascalone.
• EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PAGANISM – Selene Silverwind
• SEPULCHRE – Kate Moss (Fiction)
• THE LAST WITCHFINDER – James Morrow (Fiction)

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• First farmers made 'lucky beads'
• Excavations of the Ring of Brodgar
• Cerne Abbas giant in danger of disappearing
• Famous ‘Etruscan’ she-wolf statue is really medieval
• Roman ceremonial lance found at Caerleon
• Sex curse found at ancient Cyprus site
• Neolithic men were prepared to fight for their women
• King Arthur is propaganda, say French
• Norfolk poppy fields under threat from EU farming rules
• Britain's largest collection on the supernatural may be broken up and sold
• Burning joss sticks a cancer risk
• Off-roaders banned on ancient lanes
• Wild mustangs being sacrificed in Western land grab

Samhain 2008

Featured articles:

• Heresy and Early Witchcraft: 1300CE - 1600CE - Shani Oates, Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain, continues her history of magic and witchcraft with an examination of the relationship between heresy and witchcraft in the late medieval and Renaissance periods.

• The Evils of Evocation - Few aspects of magic provoke as much fear and as many warnings to the unwary as evocation - despite its being an ancient and illustrious element in magical practice and present in virtually every old grimoire going. Thea Faye takes a look at evocation in history, literature and practice.

• The Mari Lwyd - The Mari Lwyd, in Welsh Y Fari Lwyd, is a traditional New Year folk custom of South East Wales in which a decorated horse's skull is paraded around the streets and attempts to gain entry to pubs, houses and other private property through a battle of song with those inside. Blackbird Hollins considers the Grey Mare and how it (she?) fits into horse myth and folklore generally.

• The Stang - One of the many differences between Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft is the use of the stang as a ritual tool in creating space and time between the worlds. Ian Chambers considers the stang's role, symbolism, meaning and use.

• Seichim: Healing Through Set - Few deities have been as maligned and misunderstood, including amongst pagans, as the Egyptian Set, Lord of the Red Land, yet he has become the focus of a system of magical healing, as described by Frater Y'rrab.

Flaming the Dragon

Readers’ letters

The Environmental Slot - with Barry Walker

Crash!

Rowan’s Rant

Reviews

• A HISTORY OF MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT IN WALES – Richard Suggett
• BOUDICA’S LAST STAND – John Waite

• FROM STONEHENGE TO SANTA CLAUS: The Evolution of Christmas – Paul Frodsham
• HAUNTED SPACES, SACRED PLACES - Brian Haughton
• HEATHEN PATHS: Viking and Anglo Saxon Pagan Beliefs – Pete Jennings
• GOTH CRAFT: The Dark Side of Magickal Culture – Raven Digitalis
• 2009 MAGICKAL DIARY & ALMANAC - Kimberley Morgan

Odds 'n Sods

• Frankincense 'can ease arthritis'
• Shetland revival for pastime of Viking kings
• Antony Worrall Thompson recommends henbane in salads
• Australian history rewritten in rock art
• Swiss finally clear the last 'witch' beheaded in Europe
• Stonehenge 'was a cremation cemetery, not healing centre'
• Stonehenge 'was hidden from lower classes'
• Marketing 'killing Nigerian festival'
• Britain's 'most important archeological' discovery found in desk drawer
• Saxon grave 'couple' may have been two men
• Romans 'brought leeks to Wales'

Wotsons

• A regular listing of what is going on, where, and how much it costs to watch or take part!

Imbolc 2009

FEATURED ARTICLES

• Augury: Divining with the Natural World - There's more to divination than Tarot cards and rune stones, crystal balls and scrying mirrors. Nick Ford, a Romano-British pagan, discusses how the Romans foretold the future using an intricate system of signs derived from birds and animals and their behaviour.

• Ann Tenant and the Witches of Long Compton - The Warwickshire village of Long Compton, sitting beneath the scarp on which sit the Rollright Stones, has been associated with witchcraft since the 19th century. But is its reputation justified?  Ian Chambers investigates.

• Christianity and Magic: The Hermetic Renaissance - In the final part of her examination of Christianity and its influence on magic, Shani Oates brings it out of the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance and the birth of the modern era.

• Perceptions of Reality - Pagans and others on magical paths have long accepted a wider variety than the general population in the outputs of the interaction between our senses and our brains. Where once alternative perceptions were ridiculed or worse, science is now coming to many conclusions familiar to witches and magicians, as Bryn Colvin discusses.

FLAMING THE DRAGON

• Readers' Letters

THE ENVIRONMENTAL SLOT - by Barry Walker

• Chill Winds

ROWAN'S RANT

Editorial

BOOKS AND OTHER REVIEWS

• THE REALITIES OF WITCHCRAFT AND POPULAR MAGIC IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE – Edward Bever
• THE CORNISH WITCH-FINDER: William Henry Paynter and the Witchery, Ghosts and Charms and Folklore of Cornwall – Jason Semmens
• YEW: A History – Fred Hageneder
• BE YOUR OWN LANDSCAPE DETECTIVE – Richard Muir
• TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT – A Cornish Book of Ways – Gemma Gary

ODDS ‘N’ SODS

• Boudicca's gold hoard unearthed
• 1,000 years on, perils of fake Viking swords are revealed
• Israeli archaeologists unearth 12,000-year-old shaman skeleton
• Witchcraft is given a spell in India's schools to remove curse of deadly     superstition
• Fears mistletoe will die out because of modern farming methods
• Finds that made Basques proud are fake, say experts
• 4300-year-old pyramid discovered in Egypt
• Site of Romulus's murder to be tourist draw
• Rare artefacts from the late Stone Age have been uncovered in Russia
• Halloween restrictions at Pendle Hill
• Number of pagan prisoners has doubled over four years
• Druids in row over boy's skeleton