Pagan Nation II

Continue reading Welcome to the Resistance (US)

Where do you think I took this photo of bluebells – out in the countryside on a woodland ramble, or in a tiny urban park?

It was the latter. I saw the swathe of bluebells when I was taking a shortcut through my local recreation ground to drop off handcrafted things for a May Day Market stall in aid of Ukraine. I’ve often heard pagans say you have to get out of the city to enjoy the beauty of nature, but it isn’t true at all. You have to keep your eyes open a bit more to spot it in urban areas – but nature is everywhere.

My Pagan Eye posts show photos that I find interesting – seasonal images, pagan sites, events, or just pretty pictures. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself. 

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/pagan-eye-standing-under-blossom-tree.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/pagan-eye-tiny-spider-among-may-blossom.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/05/pagan-eye-picture-of-perfect-bluebell.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/01/get-outside-to-cheer-yourself-up-on.html

I spotted this hawthorn tree just coming into blossom in a small courtyard near where I live. Hawthorn has white or pink blooms by early May in England, which is why it is also called the “May tree”. In the wild, most have flowers with five petals but some varieties – like this one – have double flowers. I’m sharing it here as part of my Floralia flower photo series of posts. 

Beltane and May Day are this weekend! Here’s a list of talks, workshops, rituals and other events for pagans, witches and those with similar interests over that time and the week ahead. As well as online activities, I also in-person things taking place in or near London – and a few larger events further afield. If you know an event you want included, please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com

Now to 17 July; The World of Stonehenge. Exhibition at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Tickets: £20/£10/free for members. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions-events

Now – Saturday 30 April; Original artworks from  the Beowulf Oracle by Joe Machine on exhibition. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LY. Time: During shop hours. Free. http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Every Wednesday and Friday; Open Days at the College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 11am – 4pm. Free, just pop in. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Now – Friday 29 April; Seiðr/Fornsed and Norse Shamanism introductory course with Imelda Almqvist, author of North Sea Water in my Veins. Online course with  2-3 sessions a day plus tasks set for working at home on your own. Tickets: £595. https://pregnant-hag-teachings.teachable.com/courses

Wednesday 27 April; CACAO Ceremony Outdoors,  on Hampstead Heath, with Freya via London Woodland Witches, Wiccans and Pagans. Meet at Hampstead Heath near Parliament Hill, London, N6 6JS). Time: 11am. Tickets: £11 pay cash on the day. https://www.meetup.com/LondonWoodlandWitches/

Wednesday 27 April (tbc but usually weekly); W!tchy B!tchy Sisterhood Bookclub: Reading group session. Venue: Princess Louise, 208 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EP. Time: 6.30pm. Free. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/43585355653

Wednesday 27 April; Learn Marseille Tarot – Course on Major Cards. Start of 4-session course with Adrien Mastrosimone via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £100. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 27 April; The Witch Wavelength Workshop. Join author Sheena Cundy for an elemental workshop of personal development for the magical self. Venue: Crystal Shack, 14 Edwards Walk, Maldon CM9 5PS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £30. https://www.facebook.com/events/4894516163995590/

Wednesday 27 April; Witchcraft series 3 of 4 – Living Witchcraft. Online event by Heritage Lincolnshire. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £7.06 – £9.21. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/heritage-lincolnshire-20095110961

Wednesday 27 April (every Wednesday); The Witching Hour on the Witches Inn YouTube channel. Time 8pm. Free. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4Kl-MbdjsApFvodCnvANA

Wednesday 27 April: Cornish Bards and Witch Hunting in Cornwall in the early 20th Century. Lecture by Jason Semmens via Zoom through The Last Tuesday Society. Time: 8pm. Tickets · from £5.82. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 28 April; Midweek Meditation with the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 3pm. Tickets: free for members/£7.50 for non members. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Thursday 28 April; Dante’s Divine Comedy. Online talk by Mark Vernon via Watkins Bookshop.  Time: 5.30pm. Tickets: free. https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks

Thursday 28 April; Inspired by Stonehenge and its world. Online event by the British Museum. Time: 5.30pm. Tickets free but you must reserve a place. https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/inspired-stonehenge-and-its-world

Thursday 28 April; The Curious History of Labyrinths and Mazes with Dr Julie E Bounford. Online event by Heritage Lincolnshire. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £7.06 – £9.21. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/heritage-lincolnshire-20095110961

Thursday 28 April; Talk on a paranormal subject for ASSAP members. Time: 7pm. Free event, with Zoom link details emailed out to members. To join ASSAP, for £5 per year, visit http://www.assap.ac.uk/.

Thursday 28 April; The Magic Mirror: The History and Practice of Skrying. Online lecture by me, Lucya Starza, via the Magickal Women Conference. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. https://www.magickalwomenconference.com/events

Friday 29 April (every Friday); Friday Live Chat hosted by Rachel Patterson, author of the Kitchen Witch series of books. Time: 9am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks/

Friday 29 April; Moonology Dark Moon Ceremony with Yasmin Boland. On Facebook Live. Time: 4pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/yasminbolandmoonology

Friday 29 April to 2 May;  Hastings Jack-in-the-Green Festival – traditional annual event to celebrate May with music, a procession, Morris Dancing, a May Queen and Jack-in-the-Green. Full four-day festival programme culminating on Bank Holiday Monday with the parade.  https://hastingstraditionaljackinthegreen.co.uk/

Friday 29 April to 2 May; Space to Emerge. Family-friendly Lake District festival. Venue: Newby Bridge, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 8NN. Tickets: 4-day adult £220/ 1-day £70. https://www.spacetoemerge.com/

Friday 29 April; Dark Moon Ceremony with Yasmin Boland. On Facebook Live. Time: 4pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/yasminbolandmoonology/events

Friday 29 April; Ancient Goddesses of London – Evening Walking Tour with short rituals by Out of the Norm Tours. Meet at the Statue of Queen Anne, St Paul’s Churchyard, London. Time: 5.30pm. Donations welcome. https://www.facebook.com/events/503821648049044

Friday 29 April; Goddesses of Beltane. Second part in 2-Friday online event by Tatum Christina/Owner of Akashic Alchemy. Time: 6pm. Tickets: free. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/goddesses-of-beltane-tickets-322139787777

Friday 29 April; Beltane Moot with the Wonky Witch. Venue: Kallima Wellbeing Centre, 8A Adam Business Centre, Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, SS14 3JF. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £17.84. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/kallima-wellbeing-centre-15972923230

Friday 29 April; Yoga with Gobal Fusion Music and Arts Free Stuff. Time: 7.30pm. Free online event. https://www.meetup.com/freestuffandfreeevents/

Saturday 30 April – 1 May; Beltane Pilgrimage to Sacred Sites of Glastonbury organised by Aho Studio. Leaving from London. Tickets: £190. www.aho.community

Saturday 30 April;Writing and Rewriting Fairytales. Weekend online course with 2 sessions by Helen Cox via City Lit. Full fee: £69, Senior fee: £69, Concession: £28. Course Code: HW566 To enrol call: 020 7831 7831 or visit the City Lit website: https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/weird-and-wonderful-city-lit

Saturday 30 April – 2 May; Rochester Sweeps Festival 2022. Folk music and folk dance festival, including lots of traditional May Day customs and Spiritual Alley. Free to attend. https://www.visitmedway.org/events/rochester-sweeps-festival-2022-79679/

Saturday 30 April; Meditation Session Global Fusion Music and Arts Free Stuff. Time: 10am. Free online event. https://www.meetup.com/freestuffandfreeevents/

Saturday 30 April; Working with Animal Spirit Guides. Online class with Hernan Cotroneo via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 11am. Tickets: £105. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 30 April; Free And Open Gorsedd For Beltain – Druidic ritual. Venue: Avebury Stones, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF. Time: 1.30pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/386450312951568/

Saturday 30 April; Woodland Witches Beltane Ceremony and Seasonal Gathering with Mani via London Woodland Witches, Wiccans and Pagans. Meet at the entrance to Queen’s Woods, Queenswood Rd, Highgate, London N6 5UU). Time: 2pm. Tickets: £7/£5. https://www.meetup.com/LondonWoodlandWitches/

Saturday 30 April: Beltain Festival – Burning of the Wickerman. Venue: Butser Ancient Farm, Petersfield, Hampshire. Starts: 4.30pm. Early tickets £25 Adult, £18. https://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/whats-on/beltain-festival-2022

Saturday 30 April: Evening Sound Bath Meditation with Molly Anne Chinner. Venue: She’s Lost Control, Valentine Road, London. Two Sessions: 6pm and 7.30pm. Tickets: £15.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Saturday 30 April: The OBOD Online Bealtaine Ceremony. Free online event. Time: 7pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/1039043000355668/

Saturday 30 April: Walpurgisnacht: Stories of the witches’ night. Online event by storytellers Jason Buck and Rosalind Buck. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets:  £2.50-£9.50. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/walpurgisnacht-stories-of-the-witches-night-tickets-262774795487?

Saturday 30 April: Solar Eclipse Star Wisdom. Online meditation workshop via Zoom by The Henge Shop in Avebury, Cosmic Classroom and Sue Coulson . Time: 8.30pm.  Tickets  £21.28. www.cosmicclassroom.co.uk/eclipse-meditation-workshop-s2022

Saturday 30 April: New Moon Eclipse Ritual (Taurus) with Yasmin Boland. On Facebook Live. Time: 9pm. Free. https://www.facebook.com/yasminbolandmoonology

Sunday 1 May; Waffling Witches – Kitchen Witchcraft 10th Anniversary. Online event with Rachel Patterson. Time: 11am. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/502541981355497/

Sunday 1 May; Mythic London Super-Walk. Three hour walk with Caroline Wise, co-author of The Sceret Lore of London. In-person event via Treadwell’s. Meet outside St Clement Danes, Strand, St Clement Dane Church, Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1DH. Time: 11.20am start. Tickets: £30. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Sunday 1 May;  May Day 2022: Fowlers Troop will be processing in Deptford with Jack in the Green. Timetable: Noon: Dog and Bell, 116 Prince St  SE8 3JD;

12.30: Sail Loft, 11 Victoria Parade, SE10 9FR; 13.15: Duke, Creek Road; 14.00: Birds Nest, Church Street; 15.00: Royal Albert, New Cross Road; 15.45: Market Yard/Job Centre; 16.20: Villages Brewery, Resolution Way; 17.10: Dog and Bell, 116 Prince St. https://www.deptford-jack.org.uk/mayday2022.htm

Sunday 1 May; Beltane New Moon Circle with Tree Carr. Venue: She’s Lost Control, Valentine Road, London. Tickets: £45. Time: noon. https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Sunday 1 May (and other dates); Drury Lane – a guided walk by Minimum Labyrinth. Meet at Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5QD. Time: 2pm. Tickets: from £19.50. http://minimumlabyrinth.org/

Sunday 1 May;  Story Co-Operative (Theme: Celebration). Organised by London Dreamtime. Venue: The Electric Elephant Cafe, 186A Crampton Street, London, SE17 3AE, Time: 3pm. Free but you must reserve  a place. https://www.londondreamtime.com/calendar/

Sunday 1 May (and other dates); Women’s Circle by Kate.Venue: Sanderstead Road, South Croydon, CR2. Time: 5.30pm. Tickets: £16.76. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-circle-tickets-264032828297?

Sunday 1 May; Woodland Bard Online – Oak. Event by Walkwithtrees. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £7. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/jonathon-huet-at-walk-with-trees-30650264428

Sunday 1 May;  Women’s Circle – Beltane. Part of the Women’s Circles collection by The Reformed Bohemian. Online event. Time: 6pm. Tickets: £15. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-circle-beltane-tickets-241411256567

Sunday 1 May; Beltane Celebration Cunning Folk. Free online event. Time: 7pm.  https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cunning-folk-7829505560

Sunday 1 May; Beltane Wheel of the Year ritual at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim’s Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. http://www.rosslynhillchapel.com/

Sunday 1 May; Goddess Temple Beltane Ceremony (Online): Opening to Her Pathway Ahead by Glastonbury Goddess Temple. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £5. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/glastonbury-goddess-temple-30131715820

Sunday 1 May; The Spiritualism Symposium: Spiritualism, Science of Crime. Lecture by Cathy Gutierrez by Zoom through The Last Tuesday Society and The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. Time: 8pm. Tickets · from £5.82. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Monday 2 May; ‘Birth of the Greek Gods’ IV. Part of 4-session course with Sasha Chaitow via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £100. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Tuesday 3 May; The Sound and Touch of Summer. Venue: The Mandrake, 20-21 Newman Street, London W1T 1PG. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets: £45. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-mandrake-17825575648

Tuesday 3 May; Lucid Dreaming Workshop. Start of 4-week evening class course with Sarah Janes via Zoom through The Last Tuesday Society and The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. Time: 7pm. Tickets · from £52.84. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Tuesday 3 May (first Tuesday each month); Talk on Dr John Dee. Romford Pagan Moot. Venue: The Golden Lion, 2 High Street, Romford. Time: 7.30pm. Entry £4. https://www.facebook.com/Romford-Pagan-Moote-634178063700381

Tuesday 3 May; The Last Witches of England: the Bideford Witches. Talk by John Callow. Venue (tbc as might move online): The Miller, 96 Snowsfields, London Bridge, London SE1 3SS. Time: 7.45 Tickets: £5 / £2. http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com/

Tuesday 3 May (tbc but usually first Tuesday each month);  The Witches’ Inn Moot. Venue: The Pavilion, Plough Road, Smallfield, Horley, RH6 9JL. Time: 8pm. Free event. https://www.facebook.com/The-Witches-Inn-1568424150049437

Wednesday 4 May  (tbc but usually first Wednesday of the month); Drumming and Meditation Online with Taz Thornton. Monthly event. Time: 7pm Price: free. https://www.facebook.com/TazThorntonOfficial#

Wednesday 4 May;  Drum Healing Session. Venue: She’s Lost Control, Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £25.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 4 May; Old Magic and Lore of May Day. Workshop with Hannah Sanders via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £20/£18. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 4 and 11 May; Intro to Chaos Magick 1: Spells and Sigils . Two-evening workshop with David Lee via Zoom through The Last Tuesday Society and The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. Time: 7pm. Tickets · from £5.82. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Wednesday 4 and 18 May; Tarot Cards of Challenge with Kasia Gwilliam. Online event via She’s Lost Control. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Wednesday 4, 11, 18 and 30 May; Effective Spells II: Servitors and Godforms. Start of Mark Vincent Smith’s new four-week course on applying chaos magic to a real-life issue. Dates: May 4th,  via Treadwells Online. Time: 7pm start. Tickets: £100. https://www.treadwells-london.com/events

Wednesday 4 May; The Mythologies of Death: Psychopomps, Liminal Spaces. Start of 6-evening class course with  with Joanna Ebenstein via Zoom through The Last Tuesday Society and The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets · from £99.86. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-viktor-wynd-museum-amp-the-last-tuesday-society-12203346619

Thursday 5 May; Earth Alchemy Oracle Card Deck. Talk by Katie-Jane Wright and Nikki Strange. Venue: Watkins Bookshop, 19-21 Cecil Court, · London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5.30pm. Tickets: free. https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks

Thursday 5 May;  Fertility – Listening to Spirit Baby event with Chloe Isidora. Online and in-person event via She’s Lost Control. Address: She’s Lost Control, Valentine Road, London. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £25.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Friday 6 May; The Witches Circle Monthly Class. Venue: Kallima Wellbeing Centre, 8A Adam Business Centre, Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, SS14 3JF. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £16.76. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/kallima-wellbeing-centre-15972923230

Saturday 7 May; SPR Study Day with talks on physical and psychical research in the late nineteenth century, Phantasms of the Victorians, mediumship 1880s-1930s, archives, Looking to the future. Via Zoom through the Society for Psychical Research. Starts 10am.. Tickets £25/£20/£15. https://www.spr.ac.uk/

Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 May; A Festival for Pagans and Witches. Venue: Campsite at Meriden, Coventry. Tickets: £30. https://www.covenofgaia.co.uk/

Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 May;  Beltane Fire and Feast Festival by The Wellderness CIC. Venue: Wild Heart Hill Camp, Long Furlong, Worthing, BN14 0RJ. Starts at noon. Tickets: £10. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beltane-fire-and-feast-festival-tickets-273499643797

Saturday 7 May;  Scrying Skills and Ancient Divination. Online workshop with Ann Théato via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 11am-5pm. Tickets: 105. https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 7 May; Sweat Lodge Ceremony organised by Aho Studio. In-person event. Venue: Berkeley Farm, a few miles outside London. Time: 1pm-6pm. Tickets: £80. www.aho.community

Saturday 7 May;  Beltane Celebration. Venue: Colet House, 151 Talgarth Rd, London. Time: 3pm. Tickets from £14. https://www.facebook.com/events/992452978316547/

Saturday 7 May; The Unburied Corner of London – a guided walk by Minimum Labyrinth in the environs of the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN. Time: 3.30pm. Tickets: from £9.50. http://minimumlabyrinth.org/

Saturday 7 May; Introduction to Welsh Folk Magic and Cunning Traditions. Online event with Mhara Starling by Sisterhood of Avalon. Tme: 5pm. Tickets: $30. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/sisterhood-of-avalon-32592136039

Sunday 8 May;  Beginner’s Guide to Crystals with Gemma Petherbridge. In-person event via She’s Lost Control. Venue: She’s Lost Control, Valentine Road, London. Time: Morning. Tickets: £35.  https://sheslostcontrol.co.uk/collections/all-events

Sunday 8 May; Woodspirits – Beltane. Meet at Cheshunt station before walking to Lee Valley Park. Time: 3pm. Free in-person event for members of Woodspirits group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4032235040150960

Sunday 8 May (tbc); Luna Iter Ritual. In-person ritual in Hackney, East London for members of the group. Time: afternoon. Entry: £8/£6. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1230392930656154

In Ancient Rome, a five or six-day festival of Floralia, in honour of the goddess Flora, began on what is now the 27th or 28th of April. Her name means vegetation, and the goddess of flowers and fertility was one of most honoured deities in Rome. She had a huge temple and her festival was one of the most popular of the year. It was a time of dancing, gathering flowers and wearing bright, multi-coloured clothes (or sometimes no clothes at all). 

Flowers, especially lupins, were scattered over the crowds enjoying the festivities to promote fertility – but it was also a celebration of sex for pleasure as well as procreation. There were games, theatrical performances and ceremonies in which sacrifices were made to the goddess. According to historian Ed Whalen: “Some scholars believe that the Floralia was the inspiration for the May Day Festival.”

Flora’s origin storyis told by Ovid: Zephyrus, the West Wind, kissed the nymph Chloris who as a result became deified as Flora. The goddess later helped Juno become pregnant with Mars by giving her a magical flower.

A bit of folklore in Every Day Magic – A Pagan Book of Day also links the end of April to May with weather and flower lore:  “Sweet April showers/Do spring May flowers. (From a poem written in 1610)” 

Over the last week or so I’ve beeng posting pictures of spring blooms on my blog, and this carries on the theme. If you have a photo of flowers you’d like to share, please leave a comment. In particular, it would be great to see some pictures of lupins if you spot any growing!

The picture at the top is a Jill in the Green I created from flowers and leaves from my garden a couple of years ago.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/pagan-eye-bees-and-blossom-on-crab.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/pagan-eye-pink-blossom-and-good.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/pagan-eye-standing-under-blossom-tree.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/04/full-moon-festival-flowers-and-sex.html

I got some really exciting news from my publisher: Pagan Portals – Candle Magic has now sold 7,000 copies worldwide. 

Continue reading GUEST POST: A Moon Ritual to Dispel Imposter Syndrome (Plus: Added Imposter Syndrome!), Pt. 2