Posts

The Witches of Bedfordshire!

Image
Welcome to this weeks Witchy Wednesday, this week I thought it would fun to share a podcast I recently listened to on BBC website called Weird In The Wade.   The Witches of Bedfordshire Part One Weird in the Wade In this episode Nat takes you on a journey, exploring the history of witchcraft in Bedfordshire from medieval times up until the late 18th century. Kicking off with a ghost story about a witch. This episode moves from what is possibly Bedfordshire's earliest record of witchcraft, to the witch trials of the 17th century and beyond. It seems even when persecuting witches was outlawed in 1735, the people of Bedfordshire persisted in attempting to punish those who they thought dabbled in magical harm. In this episode Dr Francis Young, provides his insight into 16th century religious and political matters. Please visit this link.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/Witches of Bedfordshire Part Two please visit this link.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/Bedfords...

Solstice Greetings to you all.

Image
Best wishes to all my blog readers this Summer Solstice.  Kat 😊 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

Lady's Newspaper and Pictorial Times - Saturday 12 July 1856

Image
Lady's Newspaper and Pictorial Times  -  Saturday 12 July 1856 To view this page please visit.  https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/summersolstice

Arthur Rackham part three, a Witchy Wednesday article.

Image
  The frog prince (1913) Welcome to part three of my Arthur Rackham gallery. My galleries are just a tiny collection of the amazing body of work he created in his lifetime. As he had produced so many wonderful pieces of artwork I promise to post more of Arthurs work in the near future. Until then here are some more beautiful images for you to enjoy.  Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman (1927) The Frogs and the Well (1912) Mother Goose Somebody has been at my porridge, and has eaten it all up! (1927) The Gnat and the Lion (1912) The giant Galligantua and the wicked old magician transform the duke’s daughter into a white hind (1927) ‘Well!’ she chuckled, ‘I am in luck!’ (1927) The witch Sycorax Tree of mine! O Tree of mine! Have you seen my naughty little maid (1927) Witches and warlocks, ghosts, goblins and ghouls (1911) Images and info sourced from ARTVEE. All images are in the public domain.  Thank you for visiting my blog. Witchy Wednesday returns next wee...

Pilgrimage remembers women condemned as witches

Image
Val Thomas made this quilt panel depicting Elizabeth Bradwell, one of the women hanged as a witch Please visit BBC news for full article.   Pilgrimage remembers women condemned as witches

Damselflies and folklore!

Image
Damselflies found in my garden and on local walks June 2025.  I found this interesting article online about the folklore of Damselflies which I will be looking more deeply into.  Folklore Dragonflies hold a dark and unfair reputation in European folklore; in Norway, they are referred to as Eye Pokers, and in Portugal, Eye Snatchers. Several English vernacular names for dragonflies misleadingly allude to them having powerful stings, with Horse Stinger and Devil’s Darning Needle among the most alarming. They are often associated with snakes, as demonstrated by their Welsh name, Gwas y Neidr, or Servant of the Snake. Such serpentine superstitions even span the Atlantic Ocean, where in North America, the Dakota people claim dragonflies to be witches’ familiars and the Pueblo and Zuni People believe Dragonflies to follow snakes beneath the Earth to heal them.  For the full article please visit  https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/llanelli/news/gwas-y-neidr-servant-of-t...

Happy Friday the 13th!

Image
  Wishing you all a lucky Friday the 13th!  There are some fabulous articles on the History website including some on Friday the 13th and superstitions.  https://www.history.co.uk/articles/when-is-the-next-friday-13th https://www.history.co.uk/articles/why-friday-the-13th-was-the-unluckiest-day-for-the-templars