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. We even have a link between wine and witchcraft. But how does […]
Folklore
The Folklore of Tea: Magic, Predictions and Poison
Tea is not simply the ‘go-to’ comfort beverage in the UK. Bill Laws describes tea as a history-changing plant (2016: 26). So naturally, the folklore of tea is bound to be an extensive topic. The earliest records about tea are a preparation guide written during China’s Tang dynasty between 760 and 762 CE. That said, […]
The Legends and Folklore of Beer: Remedies, Witches & Saints
Beer is a popular drink in many parts of the world. In the US, it’s the most popular alcoholic beverage. It’s not surprising then that we’d have plenty of folklore of beer to explore. It also enjoys an incredibly long history. Barley beer is likely to come from the Middle East, since evidence of beer […]
The Lily and the Lady: Plants of Purity and Protection
There are few flowers quite as recognisable as the lily. Yet despite its beauty, the lily (Lilium) is a toxic plant. All parts of the plant are poisonous, which is why it’s recommended not to grow them if you have pet cats. It’s probably helpful then that the orange variety represents hatred and revenge, as […]
Lavender Folklore: The Tales Behind The Calming Plant
From cleaning wounds to repelling plague, lavender has had a myriad of uses throughout the centuries. It’s now quite a common garden plant in the UK. It’s come to represent devotion, purity, luck, cleanliness, and compassion (Gray 2015: 112). It also represents constancy, faith, humility, and love (Dietz 2020: 126). Yet in the Victorian language […]
From Medicine to Murder: How the Apothecary Garden Found Its Dark Side
There’s something about the concept of a poison garden that either titillates or terrifies, depending on your preferences. The UK’s most famous poison garden is at the Alnwick Garden. Its influence is so far-reaching that if you Google “poison garden”, it dominates the first several pages of results. So much so that I assumed the […]
