Fabulous Folklore: Place Names

What’s in a name?

Generally old place names were formed from Old English words that were descriptive of the landscape that a settlement sat in, or designed so that people would know what they could find there - for example Blacksmith’s Lane, Bakery Road.

They can reflect old myths and superstitions; for example Nicker Hill, in Keyworth, “nicker” being an old name for a mythical river monster.

Some road names carry a darker reference to the past. For example Gallows Hill in Lancaster. This name refers to the place where the so-called Pendle Witches were executed, a group of people who were tried in 1612 for the murders of 10 people supposedly by witchcraft.

Locally, seven women were burnt on Woman’s Lane in nearby Leicester for supposedly bewitching a thirteen year old boy; but a quick search has revealed that this name has since been changed.

There are some interesting road names in the U.K: Ghost House Lane (Nottinghamshire), Blood Hill (Suffolk), Black Cat Drive (Northamptonshire), Witches Walk (Somerset), Bats Lane (Dorset), Broomstick Lane (Buckinghamshire), Ducking Stool Court (Essex).

I was always curious about a road named in the next village, Panter’s Lane. After doing some research I found out that Panter is an old Scottish and English (mainly Northamptonshire) word for a servant in charge of the supply of bread and other provisions in a monastery or large household. This makes sense as this village dates back to the Middle Ages, and there were two main families of note, presumably with large dwellings, that would have employed the service of others in the village.

Do you live on an interestingly named road? What’s the best road name you’ve ever seen?

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Door Knockers

Fabulous Folklore: Hag Stones

Hag, holey, witch, fairy, dobbie or adder stones are protective charms used in folk magic. Hung in windows or doorways, in barns and on boats, they were believed to protect against the evil eye, witches, evil spirits, and negative energy, whose magic would be rendered useless when the hole was peered through. It was believed they could wars off curses, sickness and theft. In my part of the world ‘witch stones’ were hung in dairies. Witches could stop cows from producing milk, or prevent cream from turning into butter.

It was believed that other worlds and invisible spirits could be seen through the hole, and they were hung in bedrooms to prevent nightmares. Worn around the neck they protect the wearer from harm.

The holes are formed from the boring of a mollusk called a “piddock”, by water, or by smaller stones grinding against the surface.

I found this stone in the cemetery, so I’m really chuffed with it! Do you have any witch stones? If so, where did you find them?

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: White Horses

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NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Wolfsbane

Fabulous Folklore: Toads in Witchcraft

I love this tiny toad with a broomstick. It is found carved in wood on the building of the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall.

Toads have been associated with Witchcraft for many hundreds of years.

During the Renaissance it was widely believed that Satan sent witches familiar spirits to help them with their work. Toads were not liked in Medieval Europe, they were seen as ugly, disgusting creatures that were associated with poison. They were believed to be able to kill people even without being a familiar, which was a common concern. The witch could use the poison of toads to others, so the poor toad became entangled in this idea of harm. Stories of toads joining the Witches Sabbath or being compared to the Devil did not help, and terrified everyday folk, adding to their belief that toads were awful creatures connected to death and filth.

The familiar of the Second Witch in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a toad known as Paddock. He has the witches throw another toad into their cauldron. It is possible that Shakespeare may have read Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) by Reginald Scot, where the word familiar is first seen in print.

It was thought that toads had a “toadstool” in their heads, a sort of magickal gemstone that acted as an antidote for poison. Amulets containing dried frogs were abundant; and cunningfolk may have used toads in their medicine and remedies, keeping them for this reason, and subsequently bolstering the idea of a witch’s familiar.

Bufagin, a toxin produced from the glands on the top of a toad’s head, may have been linked to flying rituals and ointments, but it is a steroid not an alkaloid, and as such produces an anaesthetic effect rather than a psychoactive one. However butofenin, a toad toxin and alkaloid may be a good ingredient for a flying potion.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Hag Stones 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Witches' Flight

Simple Magick: Offerings - What Are They?

Another post about offerings - this time what they actually are. An offering is something we give ~ or sacrifice ~ in Witchcraft for a given reason.

We can leave offerings:

To celebrate 

To give thanks 

To honour 

In memory of 

In appreciation of

We give them to:

Deities 

Ancestors 

Spirits: eg. of the land, a place, a dwelling, a person

Entities and beings eg. The Fae

Offerings vary hugely. They can be anything from an item or object to an act of service. It doesn’t have to be over the top. It can be simple, but should always be heartfelt.

Examples of offerings

Food and drink 

Incense 

Candle

Special words: eg. poetry/verse/song

Bowl of herbs/flowers 

Acts of service: eg. tidying/gardening/cleaning/getting rid of rubbish

Stones, crystals 

Personal affects eg. leaving a hair 

Special items eg. jewellery

If this post has been helpful don’t forget to Save it so that you can refer back to it.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Disposing Spell Remains
NEXT - Simple Magick: Spell-Working Ethics
NEXT - Simple Magick: 8 Tips For Honing Your Intuition
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Neptune - God of The Sea & Freshwater

Fabulous Folklore: The Edith Weston Poltergeist

Several miles from here is a village called Edith Weston. It has a population of about 1100 people, and is named after Edith of Wessex, Queen of Edward the Confessor.

In December 1896, huge flocks of people gathered from afar to witness the haunting of a house; then inhabited by a Mr and Mrs Gray. Extremely loud and repetitive knocking was heard at the doors and windows, and this continued for a full week before Christmas. Hundreds of people witnessed these knocks, including Mr Braithwaite of Edith Weston Hall, who owned the property.

At it’s loudest, the entire village could hear the knocking. Police, clergy and a whole host of other official people came to solve the mysterious problem, but upon investigation, the noise would shift from room to room.

Rumours and theories were spread by the worried villagers. A fifteen year old serving girl was blamed for the mysterious thumping; but when that continued in her absence, it was then blamed on the Devil, who had been invited into the house by her.

Mrs Gray became sick with the stress and worry; and Mr Braithwaite considered demolishing the property. Thankfully the noises stopped at Christmas, but no logical explanation was ever found. An investigator from London blamed the girl. Allegedly, she called “Here I am, come on you” when entering the kitchen; the noises continuing in there long after she left.

A lot of time has passed and it’s now not clear which building housed the Edith Weston Poltergeist, but stories are still told about it to this day.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Black Annis

Simple Magick: Disposing Spell Remains

One of the questions I am asked the most is how to dispose of spell remains and spent offerings. My advice for this one is don’t overthink it!

If your remains are entirely natural, for example ashes and/or herbs then it is perfectly ok to dispose of them outside or in the ground. Likewise, compostable materials can go in a compost bin. All plastics and unnatural materials should be disposed of in the rubbish/trash.

A lot of people say that it’s ok to bury wax in the ground and that’s where it should go in relation to having a successful spell, but personally I don’t feel ok with this.

Glass jars and vessels can simply be emptied, washed and cleansed ready to use again.

Consideration should also be given to the spell and what you are trying to achieve, which can be factored into your spell planning. For example I disposed of some spell remains at an old prison (now a business park) which was symbolic to what I was trying to achieve.

I think the only rule of thumb is to consider the effect on the Earth.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Spirits of The Home
NEXT - Simple Magick: The Spell Process
NEXT - Spell: Cloutie Spell For Justice
NEXT - Ritual: Ostara Spring Ritual 

Fabulous Folklore: Witches’ Flight

And ‘tis an art well known to Wizards old 

And wily Hags, who oft for fear and shame 

Of the coarse halter, do themselves with old

From bodily assisting their night game. 

Wherefore their carcasses do home retain,

But with their souls at these bad feasts they are,

And see their friends and call them by their name,

And dance about the Goat, and sing har, har,

And kiss the Devil’s breech, and taste his deadly cheer.

~ Henry More (1614-1687)

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair

The Woodland Trust’s 2022 Tree of the Year

On Friday I learned from @thewitchesstone that this tree - the yew from Waverley Abbey in Farnham, Surrey - has won The Woodland Trust’s #treeoftheyear 2022. @woodlandtrust

I’m particularly happy about this because it’s a tree that has featured heavily in my lifetime. I’m originally from this part of Surrey, and this tree, thought to be more than 750 years old, has watched over many happy picnics and family days out. I have even featured on the Goths Up Trees website in February 2012 cradled in the branches of this beauty - as seen in the photo below. @gothsuptrees

This tree won with an impressive 16% of the vote, and I’m not surprised; this tree seems to be known by many people near and far. The Waverley Abbey tree will now go on to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year 2023 contest.

Have you ever visited this tree?

Many people don’t realise that one of the scenes from zombie film 28 Days Later, where the fugitives enjoy a brief countryside idyll down in the southwest before heading up the M1 to Manchester, was filmed here. 

Photo submitted to Goths Up Trees by Neil Geddes Ward.

Fabulous Folklore: Yorkshire Witchcraft

York was a Viking capital in the 10th century, known as Jórvík. The first castle to be built in York was built in 1068 following the Norman conquest. It was destroyed by rebels and a Viking army in 1069 and was rebuilt - a fortified complex of castles, prisons, churches, law courts and other buildings. The medieval keep (pictured) is known as Clifford’s Tower. York Castle fell into disrepair in the 15th and 16th centuries, but much of the infrastructure still remains and you can walk around the city’s walls today.

Belief in Witchcraft was widespread in medieval Yorkshire, and feelings were mixed. Some were happy to seek help and healing from cunning folk, but others saw these types of people as evil wrongdoers. Later on in the 19th century, Witch Crosses were a popular type of protective magick used in the countryside. They were hung on the outside of barns and buildings to protect the people and animals inside.

Many local women were accused of being witches. Jennet Preston, one of the Pendle (Lancashire) Witches of 1612, was tried at York. It is thought that the outbreaks of “Witchcraft” in the Pendle area suggests that quite a few people were making a living as traditional healers, and that the two families involved ~ that went on to make accusations against each other ~ might have been in competition.

Mary Bateman was a spiritualist, petty thief and later murderer who was named The Yorkshire Witch. She gained this moniker through her claims she had supernatural powers. Born in North Yorkshire she became a con artist after being sacked from her employment for stealing. She told people they had become cursed or placed under harmful spells, prescribing them with charms and feeding one couple puddings in exchange for money. Unfortunately the puddings were laced with poison, but as only the wife ate the pudding and died, the husband reported her to the police. She was tried and executed in York.

In the 17th century, a man named Edward Fairfax believed that six women had bewitched his daughters. They were also tried at York Assizes but were thankfully cleared.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Witches of Warboys

Honouring Nature: Hedgehog Health & Pumpkins

Message from the Woodland Trust:

“Thousands of tonnes of pumpkin get thrown away in the UK after #Halloween each year - and some of those pumpkins sadly get dumped in our woods.

Pumpkins can make wildlife such as hedgehogs ill if they eat them. Removing dumped, rotting pumpkin waste costs us precious time and money which we could instead be spending on vital conservation work.

Plan ahead if you're carving a pumpkin this year - put it in your food waste or compost bin when you're finished, or bury it in your garden for worms and other invertebrates to enjoy.”  

NEXT - Honouring Nature: The Forager's Code
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Pumpkins
NEXT - Rowan Magick: The Witch's Tree