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Witches, a Witchy Wednesday article.

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Drs. Hermanus Schaepman and Abraham Kuyper, shown as witches, stoke the fire of a cauldron from which emanate devils; symbolising their struggle to institute suffrage, against prevailing resistance in the Dutch second chamber. Reproduction of a lithograph after Van Geldorp, 1901. van Geldorp, active 1901.Date: 28 June 1901 Licence: Public Domain Mark Welcome to another Witchy Wednesday! This week I thought it would be nice to share with you some fabulous images I have sourced from the Welcome Collection. The Welcome Collection is a fantastic place to do historical research both in person and online.  https://wellcomecollection.org/ All of these images are of different depictions of Witches and all are in the public domain due to their age.  A lady seeking knowledge of her lover from a wizard. Process print after Sir E. Burne-Jones. Edward Burne-Jones Licence: Public Domain Mark A witch holding a plant in one hand and a fan in the other. Woodcut, ca. 1700-1720. Date: 1700-1720 ...
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Complex, dangerous, sexual beings': The centuries-old origins of current fairy fiction

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  Complex, dangerous, sexual beings': The centuries-old origins of current fairy fiction Visit BBC website for full article. And I would say more of an adult read so visit and read before sharing with younger Folklorists.    https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20260331-the-centuries-old-origins-of-faerie-smut
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May day blessings to you all xxxx

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  Have the happiest of days! 😊🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸
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Pagan Holidays: Walpurgis Night and how a British lady went from Catholic saint, to Germanic goddess, to witch and gave us a second Halloween

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Great article on Walpurgis Night please visit link below.    https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/pagans-and-heathens/pagan-holidays-walpurgis-night-and-how-a-british-lady-went-from-catholic-saint-to-germanic-goddess-to-witch-and-gave-us-a-second-halloween/
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May Day Celebrations, a Witchy Wednesday article

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  In the merry month of May!  Children dancing around a Maypole. 🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿 Welcome to another Witchy Wednesday, this weeks article is celebrating May Day holiday.  M ay Day. 1st of May folklore, or May Day, originates from ancient Celtic Beltane festivals, marking the start of summer with bonfires, fertility rites, and, "bringing in the May" with flowers. Traditions include dancing around a maypole, crowning a May Queen, and protecting homes from fairies and witches, often by decorating doors with yellow flowers and rowan. Aspects of May Day Folklore: Beltane/Fire Festivals: Historically a major Celtic fire festival (1 May), Beltane celebrated the return of life, growth, and summer, frequently celebrated with, bonfires to protect against evil spirits. "Bringing in the May": Early morning, gatherings involved gathering green branches and yellow flowers (primroses, marigolds) to decorate homes and doors, symbolizing protection. Maypole Dancing: A ...
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Adwell Fairies, a Witchy Wednesday article.

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  T he Dancing Fairies of Adwell!  Dancing Fairies. Hand painted Lokta paper stamped using a dancing fairy from Lavinia Stamps.  Welcome to another Witchy Wednesday, this week it's about the dancing fairies of Adwell Cop. About Adwell. Adwell lies on sloping ground that rises from 299 feet to over 490 on Adwell Cop which is crowned with a Bronze Age barrow. Plot observed entrenchments on the south-east side and erroneously attributed them to the Danes. (fn. 6) This tumulus is probably referred to in the name Copinghemewey which occurs in a document of about 1230. (fn. 7) It means 'the way of the people at the Cop'. The Cop was for long the object of local folklore. It was associated with fairies and the 18th-century antiquary Delafield records the story of the traveller who saw them dancing there and singing: 'At Adwell Cop there stands a cup. Drink the drink and eat the sop, And set the cup on Adwell Cop.'  Taken from A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 8,Lew...
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Oakley Witch, a Witchy Wednesday article.

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  T he Witch of Oakley! W elcome to another Witchy Wednesday, this weeks WW features an article from The Newcastle Courant published on the 13th August 1737.  The following extract is of a Letter from Oakley in Bedfordshire, dated July 28th about the Trial of a Witch.  Sourced from The British Newspaper Archive.  'The People here are so prejudiced in the Belief of ' Witches, that you would think yourself in Lapland, was ' you to hear their ridiculous Stories There is not a Vil- 'lage in the Neighbourhood but has two or three. About a Week ago I was present at the Ceremony of Ducking 'a Witch ; a particular Account of which may not per- ' haps be disagreeable to you. ' An old Woman of about sixty Years of Age, had ' long lain under an Imputation of Witchcraft ; who be- ? ing willing (for her Sake and her Childrens) to ' clear herself, consented to be duck'd ; and the Parish ' Officers promised her a Guinea if she should sink: The ' Place a...
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