The common images of spinning in folklore reflect its status as both a craft and form of industry. Most cultures have a figure related to spinning, from North America’s Spider Woman to the Norns of the Norsemen. As Freyalyn Close-Hainsworth points out, spinning is our oldest textile skill (2017). Being able to make rudimentary string […]
Weaving in Mythology: Creating Fate and Fantastic Images
Where crafts appear within stories and folk tales, they’re often more than just a craft. Weaving in mythology and legend tied into ideas around fate and creation. Take ancient Egypt. Some consider Neith to be the first creator of ancient Egypt (though Ptah, the god of smiths we briefly met last week, also held this […]
Ghost Train – Spooky Fiction set on the London Underground
The train lurches out of the Tottenham Court Road station and rattles east. Elsa flicks from her Kindle app to the clock – another ten minutes and she’ll be at Liverpool Street. Plenty of time to catch the train to Stansted before her flight to Naples. The train slows and rumbles to a stop. Elsa […]
#BookReview – Paganism for Beginners
One of the problems with books about a religion as broad as Paganism is that authors can sometimes take a stance that their way is the ‘correct’ way, and alternative traditions are only included as a passing afterthought. As far as I’m concerned, this kind of gatekeeping should have no place in spirituality whatsoever, especially […]
Blacksmith Gods: Making Magical Items of Myth and Mayhem
Blacksmithing looks like a magical art at the best of times. Take metal from underground, apply fire and pressure, and create something wonderful – or deadly. It’s hardly surprising that so many cultures would have blacksmith gods among their deities. From Ptah in ancient Egypt to Vulcan in ancient Rome, these creators were also often […]
Blacksmiths of Legend: Wicked Wizards of Metal and Flame
Blacksmiths have long been held up as having supernatural abilities – either for good or ill. In Ireland, smiths held such a high status that people thought they had magic powers (Doyle 2010: 11). Notice I say ‘smiths’ at this point. The term does refer to metalwork, and it breaks into specialisms like silversmiths, blacksmiths, […]
