Witch Krafting with Kat

Wood prints of mysterious creatures! The Sea Monk by François Desprez 1562   The World's First Costume Book: François Desprez's Collection of Various Clothing Styles (1562)  These woodcuts by François Desprez come from 1562’s Recueil de la diversité des habits (whose full title translates as “a collection of the various styles of clothing presently worn in the countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the savage isles”), published in Paris and sometimes cited as the world’s first costume book. As Europeans encountered and conquered new worlds during the Age of Exploration, they not only took an interest in novel geography, biological specimens, and exportable resources but also in the customs and dress of unfamiliar peoples. Desprez’s 121 engravings illustrate garbs found the world over, accompanied by anonymous quatrains describing the sartorial behavior of Desprez’s subjects. Taken from Public Domain Review please visit this link for the full detailed article.  h...

After watching the beautiful series Small Prophets, which I highly recommend watching, I just had to do a little Witchy Wednesday on the creatures at the centre of the series. If you haven't seen it yet then please come back once you have! It is currently available on BBC iPlayer.  Small Prophets is a British television sitcom created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. Set in and around Manchester, it stars Pearce Quigley as a man who turns to alchemy and homunculi in an attempt to learn what happened after his girlfriend disappeared, with the cast also including Crook, Michael Palin, Lauren Patel, Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing. The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 9 February 2026. Information from Wikipedia. Lovely write up on the TV series here. https://dramaquarterly.com/gently-does-it-2/ Now to the History! What is a Homunculi? Warning contains references to more adult themes!  A homunculus (Latin for "little man") refers to a microscopic, fu...

W elcome to another Witchy Wednesday.  I am having a little study week this week s o instead of my usual written article I thought it would be nice to feature a gallery of costumes including some fabulous witch costume patterns from the Victorian era and early 20th century.  Enjoy! All these images were sourced from Pinterest for you to enjoy and to my knowledge are domain free because of their age. If you are thinking of using any of them for financial gain I would recommend double checking to make sure. 😊 A little note on AI images.  I always try to post original content, not AI generated, on my blog which is just my preference. I am not against technology to create art, I myself have created art using a stylus on a digital canvas which requires as much skill as using a traditional pencil on paper and enjoyed using painting apps to add wording and frames to my photos. But I am personally not too keen on any work produced by an AI generator where you type in words wait ...

  The Sea Serpent of Stonehaven — 1898 Sighting In 1898, an unusual marine encounter was reported off the coast near Stonehaven, a small town sixteen miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland. The account, recorded in local newspapers, describes a creature closely resembling the legendary sea serpent of tradition. For the full story please visit Paranormal Files UK on Facebook. Paranormal Files UK is a fab place for spooky, Cryptozoology folklore stories. Please show your support by visiting, liking and following.  https://www.facebook.com/share/1BD2fyJWEi/

  Came across a very interesting article on the green man on Country File website. Please visit link.  https://www.countryfile.com/people/historical-figures/green-man

  Robin Hood and the Monk by Andrew Lang  Andrew Lang was a prolific Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known today for his collections of fairy tales such as The Blue fairy which introduced generations of children to folklore.  Andrew Lang 1888 Sourced from Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Lang Andrew Lang's poem "Robin Hood and the Monk" tells the classic ballad of Robin's capture at Nottingham's church after a dispute with Little John, his imprisonment, and the Merry Men's elaborate, successful plot to free him, involving killing the treacherous monk and deceiving the Sheriff and King, showcasing loyalty and cleverness. It's one of the oldest, most detailed Robin Hood tales, emphasizing Robin's defiance of corrupt churchmen and the Sheriff, and highlighting Little John's resourcefulness in rescuing his master.  Below a lovely full unabridged audiobook of the classic ...