Grief By Lilian Anderson

In the UK and Western society, we don’t talk about death. We sugar-coat it in euphemisms and whispers. I didn’t lose my parents, I didn't set them down in the park, get distracted and walk away. Death dragged the two most beautiful, kind, caring, vital people I've ever known away. Cancer lay in wait all … Continue reading Grief By Lilian Anderson

The Origins of Killieween

The town I grew up in, Kilmarnock, located in the West of Scotland has many strange and interesting traditions, from the paper roses that the bride to be wears before marriage to the ‘Paper Roses’ that are sung at Rugby Park (the home of Kilmarnock F.C), to the obsessive cleaning of EVERYTHING before the bells … Continue reading The Origins of Killieween

Why I Celebrate the Green Witch

Many modern witches hate the cartoonish stereotypes of the green-faced witch. Look at her as she stoops, cackling and green-faced, with blackened broken teeth, a hooked nose and gnarled fingers, her hair hanging in knots. The picture of terror and evil, that is so removed from my own path of love, nature, healing and beauty. … Continue reading Why I Celebrate the Green Witch

A History of Jack-o’-lanterns

I wrote yesterday about how Trick or Treating originated in Scotland and Ireland and has been repackaged and returned to us in modern times with an American slant. Today’s Halloween tradition has also made the same journey. The carved pumpkin is a tradition which is now strongly associated with Halloween, but the tradition of the … Continue reading A History of Jack-o’-lanterns

Guising – A Celtic Tradition

Trick or Treating, is that not an American tradition? I see people on social media every day claiming that Trick or Treating is just another sign of the over Americanisation of our children's lives and I guess in some ways they are right. But in so many other ways they are totally wrong! Guising in … Continue reading Guising – A Celtic Tradition

Bewitching Midsummer

Tonight is the night that the Fae and all the other magical creatures come to play tricks and cast pixie dust as we slumber, If The Bard is to be believed that is. Shakespeare’s Midsummer's Night Dream has been a favourite of mine for a long time. But for many years before Puck, Bottom, Tatiana … Continue reading Bewitching Midsummer