Samhain, pronounced ‘SOW-in’ (as in ‘sow’ like a female pig and ‘in’ as in “I hope you are interested in learning about Samhain”), is a festival that was predominantly celebrated by the Iron Age Celtic people living in Ireland. The festival often crops up around this time of year, featuring in articles claiming it as the Celtic progenitor of Halloween or in films wishing to cash in on an extra layer of folkloric spookiness. However, the often-popularised claim that this festival is the origin of Halloween is, at the very least, an oversimplification of history. So, if that’s the case, then what is Samhain? And where did Halloween come from?

If Swinging London had a pulse, it beat loudest in Chelsea and Carnaby Street, two enclaves, two stages, each dancing to the rhythm of a generation desperate to shrug off the greys of post-war Britain and paint the city in wild, psychedelic colour.

According to the Ocean Conservation Trust, “The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated in 2014 that seagrasses are declining by 7% a year globally. This estimate makes it the fastest disappearing habitat on the planet.” Sadly, these life-bringing ecosystems don’t have the protection that should be given to habitats of this magnitude that are declining this rapidly.

A slightly more macabre wassailing tradition takes place in Wales, the Mari Lwyd. Mari, who’s head is made from the skull of a horse, with baubles for eyes and flowing ribbons for mane, is operated by a long pole hidden under the white sheet that acts as her body. Snapping her jaw at passers-by, she leads a procession around the town going from house to house. The terrifying nature of the Mari Lwyd is only exaggerated by the fact that she is sometimes so tall that she can knock upon the second-floor windows (Firestone, 1978).

As a nervous and superstitious child, I was convinced that the English countryside was stalked by escaped wild cats and phantasmic black dogs. Whether this notion could be tied to some deep-rooted connection with my ancestors that channelled my psychic awareness or the fact that I was exposed to the 2002 film ‘Dog Soldiers’ too early as a child one Christmas Eve, I couldn’t tell you.

There’s a quote from Jeremy Bentham – “Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet”. I think that this is true of many of us.

We’ve reached the magic seventh instalment of ‘Sacred England’, our series that seeks out mythology in English places – but what even is mythology, anyway?

Women have always faced judgement, and have had disproportionate emphasis put on their relation to men; labelled as virgins or whores, nurturing mothers or wicked stepmothers, dutiful wives or cheating Jezebels. Heaven forbid we should just be allowed to exist in our own right.

Do you remember when we went on a witch-hunt? I spoke of folklore being a huge sub-section of English myth – at least when comparing our tales with different, perhaps more prevalent, mythologies.

Honeymoon’s first began in 19th century Britain. Newlyweds would travel to visit various relatives who had been unable to attend the wedding, which sounds dreadful and certainly not as relaxing as lying on the beach in the Maldives.

The veil originates from brides wearing them in ancient Rome to protect them from evil spirits. And the garter? Traditionally tossed as “proof” that the couple have consummated their marriage...and worse, the groom has to stick his head up the bride’s dress to remove it with his teeth in front of everyone. I mean, I consider myself pretty sexually liberated, but I am not sure that I want my family and, specifically, my husband’s family to see that.

Being Wiccan isn’t about the fancy altars or acquiring vast amounts of knowledge. I know that it requires me to just exist in the world, and harm none. All I have to do is be present, and find joy in the world – and if that’s in the middle of a supermarket, then so be it.

At 15 months old I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It gave my parents quite a fright to put it mildly. I almost died. So now I need to manually regulate my blood glucose levels. You can’t calculate the right dose of medicine if you don’t know where you’re starting from. That is where blood glucose monitors come in and they have come on such a long way in the 20 years I have been using them!

How can we imagine so much about the past? The answer is simple: through the stories left behind for us. Both ‘The Elfin Knight’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’ tell the story of a woman who’s about to marry a mysterious man. The wedding doesn’t have to go ahead – but only if she completes certain impossible tasks. The situation sounds hopeless.

I am the kind of person who hears a thud in the night and automatically goes to poltergeist instead of burglar. If I need to use the loo in the wee hours of the morn (pun intended), then I try to wait until after 4am. This is because I once heard that ghosts are most likely to appear between midnight and 4 o’clock in the morning.

Millennia ago, Britons – also known as Celts – shared what is now the UK with other peoples like the Romans, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons. Theirs was a Pagan society; spiritual lives centred on the natural world. Different bodies of water, for example, were valued for their healing properties and viewed as portals to the Otherworld.

Happy Holiday Season, everyone! From Halloween to Hanukkah and beyond, we're well into the annual period of wintry festivities. Whichever you choose to celebrate, I hope you enjoy yourselves and stay safe. For Christmas, I'm looking at some familiar tropes of this time from across English culture. Join me as I travel through history, exploring the folklore behind some of our favourite traditions.

Back in December 2020, I tripped and fell into Bullet Journal Instagram. As someone with a creative streak I don’t indulge in nearly often enough and a crippling need for order and organisation, I’d found the answer to a question I didn’t realise I was even looking to answer. I knew, then and there, that I needed to join the Bullet Journal revolution.

There are over 200 types of magic mushrooms in the world, now that is a lot of magic mushrooms! If you’re not familiar with the nature of magic mushrooms, you’re probably wondering what makes a magic mushroom, magic? The key to this mind altering/expanding little group of fungi, is its grouping.

English myth is a curious being. Compared to, say, that of Ancient Greece, which gives origin stories to real-life flora and fauna from across the world, our tales often involve more local variations.

As more and more people embrace being a cat lover, in this article Julie-Anne Thorne, Holistic Cat Therapist, explains how cats can mirror our emotions and even health conditions.

It’s the holiday that, nowadays, seems to pay homage to America; it’s often a commercialised, over-the-top affair that gives a flavour of US life to those across the globe. With how the day has evolved over time, it’s origins have certainly become overshadowed by more recent customs that have transformed tradition into scary fun.

I understand none of us want to be reminded of 2020 but with 2022 creeping up on us thick and fast, a light-hearted recap of some of the craziest Covid conspiracies can’t hurt…