Fabulous Folklore with Icy

Paper is a wonderful material. It's portable and light, and as an everyday material, charms made from paper can be easily overlooked. We can reshape it, recycle it, and completely destroy it...or we can use it to preserve ideas! All of these qualities help explore why it can be a material of choice in some folk magic. Let's find out why it's perfect for spells and charms in this week's episode of...

Glass is a strange material. Its original source material is sand, but it needs human intervention through the application of heat and other processes to find form. We can see through it, but we can't touch what's on the other side. You can use it to concentrate a light source. Or it's helpful if you want to protect your eyes, but still see what you're doing. Both solid and fragile, it can be used...

Stones are perhaps some of humanity's oldest friends. They provided building materials and became simple tools. But they also vary in size, making some of them very portable as amulets. It's no wonder that they've accrued both lore and superstition alike.  Let's find out more in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/f...

Different metals are often baked into mythology. Look at griffins and dragons with their hoard of gold. Or Bellerophon's use of molten lead to kill the deadly chimera. According to legend, people paid for their passage to the underworld with coins placed over their eyes. But how do different metals turn up in folklore? Why is iron such a protective metal, while silver has a whole range of uses? Ho...

Herbs are useful for flavouring your food or drink, but they have a range of protective and magical uses too. How is basil linked with both love and hatred? Why was dill the magician's herb? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/edible-plants-folklore/   Learn Kitchen Herbalism with Rowan + Sage:  ht...

Thyme appears in folklore to bring courage, help bring love, guard against evil, and give fairies somewhere to live. What else can you use thyme for? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/thyme-folklore/   Learn Kitchen Herbalism with Rowan + Sage: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbc...

Rosemary appears in folklore to aid remembrance, love divination, mourning, and protection from evil. What else can you use it for? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/rosemary-folklore/  Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ Learn h...

Sage is delicious and versatile, appearing in magic for love and remembrance, as well as a host of folk remedies. What can you use sage for? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/sage-folklore/   Learn herbalism with Rowan + Sage: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbcraft?affcode=43759...

Parsley has links with death dating to ancient Greece. How is it also linked to both love magic and protection? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/parsley-folklore/  Learn herbalism with Rowan + Sage: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep Get your free gu...

In this fifth episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to Dr Alessandra Pino, the author of A Gothic Cookbook ! In an update since we recorded this episode, the book is now 100% funded, so you're guaranteed a copy if you support the project now! You can also get 10% off your pledge with the code 'GOTHICPOD10'. We talk about what how food works in Gothic texts, mostly literature but also film,...

According to King's Lynn legend, the diamond-shaped brick emblazoned with a heart has a connection to Margaret Read, or Shady Meg, burned as a witch in 1590. How does this strange brick fit into this tale of witchcraft? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/shady-meg-kings-lynn/   Get your tickets fo...

Meg of Meldon is Northumberland's most famous witch. But was she really a witch, or just a hard-hearted businesswoman? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/Meg-of-Meldon/   Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ Become a member of the...

Mother Red Cap once gave her name to a Camden pub, now known as the World's End on Camden High Street. Was she really a 17th-century witch, or simply a misunderstood old woman? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/mother-red-cap/  Tickets for The Summer Solstice: Myths and Mayhem of Midsummer talk:...

Is the Witch of Wookey Hole really petrified in the famous Somerset cave system? Or is it just an old legend with a life of its own that now sustains a tourist attraction? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/witch-of-wookey-hole/  Grab your ticket for the Midsummer Day talk: https://www.eventbrite....

Callaly Castle stands around 9 miles west of Alnwick. It's a Grade I listed building, although there's no public access. Architects divided the house into private apartments in 1987, and it has been a private residence ever since. Yet the castle features an odd history, as many castles in the north east of England do. The fairy folk make an appearance in the story of its foundation. Though, there'...

In this fourth episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to Brandi, the brains and beauty behind Venus in Retro Tarot! We talk about what tarot and astrology can bring us in the 21st century, the importance of making sure divinatory systems are inclusive, and different ways of using tarot that don't involve fortune telling. We also talk about favourite cards and the weird leap big brands have...

Katharine Briggs considers the brownies as one of the "most easily described and most recognizable" fairy types. Their territory stretched from the Midlands, up through the north and east of England, and up into Scotland. They were known as the bwca in Wales, bodach in the Highlands, and fenodoree on the Isle of Man. But what are brownies? How do they relate to their fairy cousins? And what links...

The barguest is a fascinating creature, most often found in the folklore of northern England. In many tales, the barguest was most popularly a death omen. In a most fitting way, Sir Walter Scott thought the name came from 'bahrgeist', or spirit of the bier, as in the bier on which a corpse was carried. Some claim the barguest as a spectral hound, others describe it as a sprite. So is it a demon do...

Many lonely and remote parts of the British Isles echo with tales of local spirits. Whether they're fairies, remnants of older mythologies, ghosts, or Land Spirits decked out in another guise, their stories live on. The north east of England has one such spirit known as Silky. Silky is so named because she announces her presence with a sound like rustling silks. In some cases, the term refers to a...

Cider has a long history, especially here in Britain. When the Romans arrived in Britain, they discovered the locals drinking a beverage made from apples. It wasn't quite cider yet, and no one knows how long this drink existed prior to this point.  But how does cider appear in folklore? We'll learn a fairy legend, how the custom of wassailing works, and who the Apple Tree Man was in this week's ep...

Coffee is an incredibly popular drink all over the world. Director David Lynch reportedly said, "Even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all". From Ethiopia to Yemen, and then on into Europe, coffee was even referred to as the Devil's drink until Pope Clement VIII tried it. According to legend, he decided it might be a better option than alcohol and gave coffee his blessing. So let's...

Like beer, wine has enjoyed a long and prosperous history. It's been enjoyed by the ancients, used as a safe alternative to water, prescribed as medicine, and offered in ritual. And like beer, wine also has patron deities from a range of cultures.  But how does it appear across mythology and folklore? What are its links to witchcraft and apotropaic magic? Let's find out in this week's episode of F...

The folklore of tea is woven through the history of this fascinating plant. Well-known for its use in fortune-telling, through reading tea leaves, it also has a range of magickal uses and appears in mundane folk remedies. Let's explore the appearance of tea in folklore, its medicinal and magickal uses, and even its relationship to poison in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images...

Beer is a popular drink in many parts of the world. In the US, it's the most popular alcoholic beverage. Throughout the centuries, beer becomes the drink of choice in eras and places where drinking water is unsafe for consumption.  Yet its continued popularity over such a long timespan leaves it ripe for a whole host of legends and folklore to emerge. Linked with saints, gods, and even witches, be...

There are few flowers quite as recognisable as the lily. Yet despite its beauty, the lily is a toxic plant. In some ways, this goes to show the contradictory nature of the flower, used in both bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths. Yet in other ways, its contradictory uses make sense since they often come from a common root—the link between the lily and purity. Let's explore the appearance of lily i...