Mention alchemy to most people and they’ll either think of the philosopher’s stone. Or they’ll think about turning lead into gold. Alchemy was actually a worldview, according to the oldest texts written in Greek. They came to Europe via the Middle East after being translated into Arabic. Robert Allen Bartlett makes the claim that alchemy […]
Folklore
The Brazen Head: Medieval Prophecy Machine or Tall Tale?
Over here in the Fabulous Folklore Family, we’re no strangers to severed heads. And we’re old friends with those that make prophecies, like that of Bran the Blessed. Or Orpheus, whose head washed up on the island of Lesbos. But as it’s Magical Month, we’re going to delve into the mysteries of the Brazen Head. […]
John Dee: The Magician and the Devil in Manchester
What does an Elizabethan mathematician, a northern pre-industrial town, and Beelzebub have in common? Answer? They all appear in the tale of John Dee and the Devil in Manchester. Dee, immortalised in the opera Dr Dee by Blur’s Damon Albarn, is a fascinating figure in Britain’s occult history. He even inspired a deck of oracle cards, The […]
Daemonologie: Or, How A King Whipped Up a Witch Craze
Sometimes it can be difficult to comprehend the popular appeal of a book. Sure, we’ve had phenomena like Harry Potter and 50 Shades of Grey. But neither of them (as yet) have led to the mass persecution of (probably) innocent people quite like Daemonologie. To give it its full title, Daemonologie, In Forme of a […]
Witches’ Familiars: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird
We’ve all seen the images of witches with their loyal cat or toad by their side. These witches’ familiars help them cast spells, or in the case of Harry Potter, deliver the mail. But what are familiars and why are they so important to ideas around witchcraft? And what unusual familiars can we find in […]
What were the three types of water nymphs in ancient Greece?
For the past three weeks we’ve been looking at mythology related to water and the sea. Our final aquatic jaunt will be to meet the three groups of water nymphs in ancient Greece. They are the Naiads, the Nereids, and the Oceanids. Just to make things more complicated, you also have undines. Wikipedia lists naiads, […]
