Where summer sometimes lingers in September, offering the occasional warm day and fine weather, October rolls in here in the north east of England with crisp morning air, papery leaves finally falling from the trees, and the very scent of autumn. It is, after all, the month of Halloween. And in honour of the month, […]
Folklore
Very Very Frightening: The Folklore of Thunder and Lightning
Thunder and lightning offer one of nature’s more cinematic spectacles, so it’s unsurprising they would accrue a degree of folklore. The danger that lightning particularly poses sees a range of practices to ward off storms, while other traditions offer a way to predict events using storms. Thunder and lightning also work together, as the Met […]
The Folklore of the Autumn Equinox: Marking the Sun’s Path
The autumn equinox falls on 23 September in the UK in 2026. This marks the definite slide towards the winter solstice! In terms of folklore, there are many articles about the autumn equinox from a neopagan perspective. Yet the festival only gained the name ‘Mabon’ in the 1970s, named by American Aidan Kelly. He chose […]
Moon Folklore: The Monthly Phases and their Superstitions
Despite being a satellite and not a planet, the Moon was one of the seven classical planets. Most cultures have had a moon deity, while others have discerned animals or people in the crater patterns on the moon. Moon folklore is, as you’d imagine, a huge area. Much online discussion of the moon focuses on […]
The Aurora Borealis: The Beautiful Northern Lights in Folklore and Myth
As we’re focusing on the Folklore of the Skies this month, it seemed only right to start with a celestial phenomenon that becomes a lot easier to see as the nights draw in. Yes, we’re looking at the northern lights, or aurora borealis. Annoyingly, I am yet to see the northern lights. The one time […]
Folklore of Poison Hemlock: The Poison That Killed Socrates
Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a member of the Apiaceae family—otherwise known as the Carrot family. It’s also known as Beaver Poison, Devil’s Porridge, Herb Bennet, Poison Parsley, Water Parsley, and Spotted Hemlock (Dietz 2020: 64). The plants can grow to 2.5m, and they’re commonly found in the British countryside. The whole plant is toxic. […]
