People often ask me about books and resources to learn more about British Folk Magick and magico-religions, the fairy faith, and pre-Gardnerian Witchcraft. For my purposes, I am sticking with the British Isles / Celtic countries, simply because that’s my wheelhouse. There are also tons of books about Hoodoo, Conjure, Vodoun, and other Afro-Caribbean folk magico-religious traditions. All of these are valuable, and some are similar to one another – not due to appropriation, but because of people sharing customs, trading information between populations, and parallel practices arising at the same time in different locations.
 
While books are awesome – I wrote a few, y’know – also suggested is looking online at museum collections, at photos in magazines, photos of scenery, photos of living people doing ancient folk dances, folkplays, and calendar customs, looking at town historians and tourism sites, listening to music online, and watching videos of living customs on You-Tube. If possible, visit some of the events that are still occurring or that are being revived.
 
So anyway, here is a list of authors, teachers, presenters and venues from modern times who have worked with European versions of Folk Magick, especially the British Isles and amalgamated traditions that came to the USA.
 
Kelden Mercury – Modern folk magick
Byron Ballard – Appalachian folk magick
Shani Oates – British Traditional Witchcraft / Cochrane’s Craft
Michael Howard – Transcribed Robert Cochrane’s information and wrote his own stuff, too
Gemma Gary – Cornish Traditional Witchcraft
Cory Hutchinson – New World Witchcraft
Elsa Marie Edmond – Celtic ways
Kristopher Hughes – Welsh ways, translated some of the older Cymraeg (Welsh) documents
Lupa (Greenwolf) – Bones, vulture magick
Icy Sedgewick
Sarah Anne Lawless – Herbalism, poison path blog and store
Nigel Pearson – old world Witchcraft
Silver Ravenwolf – Germanic / Dutch “Pow Wow” / Brauche tradition
Jake Richards
John Michael Greer – Druidry, European magick
Roger Horne
Alison Davies
Vance Randolph
Ian Corrigan – ADF Druidry
Jason Mankey – Gardnerian Witchcraft, but with info from pre-Gardnerian traditions
Robin Artisson (although I think he is a jerk)
John & Caitlynn Matthews
Mara Freeman
Emma Wilby –  Cunning Folk And Familiar Spirits : Shamanistic Visionary Traditions In Early Modern British Witchcraft And Magic
“Caileach’s Herbarium” – Scots Magick blog
“Cronekdhu” – Traditional Cornish Witchcraft blog
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic – Bostcastle, Cornwall, UK
Buckland’s Museum of Witchcraft and Magick – Cleveland, OH, USA
Sharyn McCrumb (fiction author)
Old World Witchcraft store
Artes & Craft store – proprietor Paul Barbary is a blacksmith and Trad Brit W’craft practitioner
 
Here are some books and authors that are older, which have transcribed folk magick traditions, sometimes by observation, and sometimes by interviewing practitioners and witnesses. A caveat – some of these are really classist, sexist and racist, as they present from the viewpoint of the intellectual elite, Christian white males from the upper crust of British society. However, these resources have valuable information on folklore and magico-religions.
 
The Book of English Folk Tales – Sybil Marshall
The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
The Book of English Magic – Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate
The Encyclopedia of Folklore & Literature
Bloodstoppers & Bearwalkers (tales from the Upper Peninsula of MI) – Richard Dorson
Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britian – John Brand & Henry Ellis
Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time: an account of local observations, festival customs, and ancient ceremonies as yet surviving in Great Britain – Peter Hampton Ditchfield
The Golden Bough – Sir James George Fraser
The English & Scottish Popular Balads – Francis James Child (aka the Child Ballads) (Five volumes)
A Popular History of the Ancient Britons or the Welsh People – Sir John Evans
The Welsh Fairy Book – W. Jenkin Thomas
The Mythology of the British Islands – Charles Squire
Celtic Myth & Legend – Charles Squire
Cunning Folk & the Production of Magical Artefacts – Owen Davies & Timothy Easton
Palgrave Historical Studies of Witchcraft & Magic
Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia – John Koch
“Fairy Books” (by color, such as “The Green Fairy Book”) – Andrew Lang
The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries – Walter Evans Wentz
Barddas – Iolo Morganwg
The Mabinogion – translated by Lady Charlotte Guest
The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies – Robert Kirk
The Magic of the Horse Shoes – Robert Means Lawrence
Teutonic Mythology – Jakob Grimm
Heroic Romances of Ireland – A.H. Leary
Visions & Beliefs in the West of Ireland – Lady Augusta Gregory
Fairy & Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry – William Butler Yeats.
In fact, ANYthing by Yeats!
Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts – Patrick Kennedy
The Witch Cult in Western Europe – Dr. Margaret Murray
God of the Witches – Dr. Margaret Murray
The Gododdin Poems – William F. Skene
Celtic Folklore, Welsh & Manx – John Rhys
Carmena Gaedelica – Andrew Carmichael
Scottish Fairy & Folk Tales – Sir George Douglas
Notes of the Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland – Walter Gregor
Traditions & Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall – William Bottrell
The Folk-lore of the Isle of Man – A.W. Moore
A Peep at the Pixies – Anna Eliza Bray
Tales of the Dartmoor Pixies – William Crossing
Survivals in Belief Among the Celts
A Book of Folklore – Sabine Baring Gould
The Origins of Popular Superstitions & Customs – T. Sharper Knowston
English Fairy & Other Folk Tales – Edwin Sidney Hartland
English Fairy Tales – Joseph Jacobs
Popular tales of the West Highlands  – J.F. Campbell
Irish Druids & Old Irish Religions – James Bonwick
The Religion of the Ancient Celts – J.A. MacCulloch
The Book of Halloween – Ruth Edna Kelley
 
Fiction Authors:
Shakespeare
Spenser
Mallory
Bede (pseudo-history)
Geoffrey of Monmouth (pseudo-history)
Yeats
Burns
Chaucer
Blake

 
This is a discussion about how to prevent the dreaded electronic gremlins from invading your phone, TV, and computer.
 
Magick and electronics do not mix, as many Witches, Pagans, and Ceremonial Magicians have discovered. Always, I have had trouble with batteries going dead, cars refusing to start, and phones which freeze. And don’t even get me started on computers.
 
Recently, I was honored and privileged to be a presenter at WitchCon online, a virtual conference featuring classes and demonstrations with over a hundred prominent Witches. Many of them were famous, revered elders, wise in their craft. Most had written books. Several, like event promoter Christian Day, had electronic equipment that could “launch the Space Shuttle”, as he put it. Others, like myself, struggled along with rural satellite wifi, older equipment, and little computer knowledge. Still, it went pretty well. Mostly. In fact, it was amazing, when we consider that nothing like this event had ever been attempted before.
 
So, to level the playing field for me, my dear husband Dave bought me a new camera and microphone. I practiced with my tech-savvy son Bran, and attended the online instructional session with Kevin Wright, the patient and knowledgeable computer-meister at Hex Education Network, the company which facilitates WitchCon and other wonderful events. Everything worked fine, prior to the actual broadcast. There were tech support people standing by to help presenters go live. Then came the time for my vendor commercial, and the class itself, and the gremlins came out to play. The mic was buzzing, then quit altogether. The computer did not recognize the camera. Ten excruciating minutes went by… and finally, we hit the airwaves. The annoying hum was still present, but at least I could be seen and (mostly) heard.
 
Other people had issues as well – mostly folk magick practitioners, and older Witches who were not as used to using the new technology. Video was lost while sound still functioned, and vice-versa. There were funny noises, slow broadcasts, and some classes even went totally dark. Others had to be postponed. A few viewers could not see the classes they wanted. Afterwards, we all agreed that the tech staff, supervised by Kevin, were superb. It wasn’t even necessarily glitchy equipment. It was likely our magick, interfering with the electronics.
 
My son’s laptop died around the same time, with the fan going dead and the inner workings overheating. This amounted to $125 worth of repairs. While the computer was not around when I was doing my presentation, Bran helped me with the tech. He’s also a magickal practitioner. I was starting to see a pattern, here.
 
When watching others’ classes, I noticed some incredible magickal artefacts in the background. We actually had some antique ritual tools and elder objects used for spellwork in the same room with the computer equipment. This interaction between the eldritch artes and newfangled technology may have caused all the problems. So, on the WitchCon presenters’ group page on FB, I asked for some practical advice. I also asked Chris the High Tech Redneck at Tri-County Computers in Watervliet MI, and Paul Barbary of the huge metaphysical shop, Artes and Crafts of Hartford, MI for suggestions. Here is what people said:
 
Anna Meadows suggested wearing a “grounding cord” around one’s ankle or wrist, which can go out a window and connect with the ground. Using a “grounding pad” to sit on, put one’s feet on, and under the computer was another idea. Fill the pad with rock salt, and crystals such as shungite and tourmaline, to ground out any excess energies. Anna speculated that magickal energies which normally stay in the subtle realms can flow into the electromagnetic – which might be a form of psychokinesis. Jana Nieves suggested putting grounding pads beneath the keyboard, and also on the armrests of the chair, and underneath the computer operator on the floor. The pads should contain hematite and black tourmaline. Ah, this might be why my test-run went smoothly – I was wearing my black tourmaline amulet for the instruction but NOT for the actual broadcast.
 
Several other people recommended shungite crystals, as well. Author Diana Rajchel suggested grounding with hematite, rather than the quartz crystals I had previously placed on my computer tower. She said that computers have enough silica – and also, clear quartz boosts energies. Diana advised putting shungite near the CPU or on the laptop. Paul Barbary said that shungite is not just a “woo-woo” thing, as the crystal is used by professionals to ground out static electricity. Sandra Mariah Wright, author and owner of Gallows Hill Witchery, also suggested orgonite pyramids and shungite to reduce EMF and negative waves. Sandra said she’d used a carnelian for author Laurie Cabot, who had no trouble with her broadcast.
 
Other holistic practitioners agree with these ideas. Bess O’Connor, who writes a holistic healing blog called Sivana Spirit East, posted an article called “Four Crystals to Protect You From EMFs”. This is short for electric and magnetic fields / frequencies. Those really are a thing, according to electric company Southern California Edison. Ms. O’Connor states that the energies emitted by light sockets, tablets, cell phones and computers can have a detrimental result on the body, mind and spirit. They can cause headaches, anxiety, nausea and fatigue, amongst other physical and mental symptoms. She also recommends hematite, orgonite, black tourmaline and shungite. How had I never heard of this before?
 
On the more techy side of the table, Christian Day, who offers the “HEX Offenders” You-Tube show, as well as facilitating WitchCon and numerous other events, suggested getting a power-conditioning power strip, which can eliminate buzzing and static sounds in audio. He recommends a Furman SS6B Power Conditioner. Plain surge protectors do not cut it. Author and presenter Elohim Leafar suggested using the phone to watch an online broadcast, as most phones are newer. Computers older than 2020 might not be up to the task of working with Zoom or Crowdcast, which uses more juice than either FaceBook or YouTube. And while Chris the Redneck Geek from Tri-County Computers scoffs at grounding pads (he is not familiar with magick), he suggested making sure that computers, cords, microphones and cameras are designed for web broadcasts, and that all of them work together. Turns out, the innards of my camera were fried, and one of the USB sockets was destroyed. I believe this was caused by doing magickal workings close to it. However, Chris blamed the wiring in my house lacking proper grounds – rather than ME lacking grounding. Oh well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
 
Kevin Wright recommends ensuring that we test all equipment, and all devices used together before going live with an online broadcast. “The day before the conference is not a good time for an upgrade,” he cautioned. Kevin told us to make sure that all permissions for auxiliary devices are assured within the system, and that security programs recognize the software for the device (I *think* I’m saying that correctly…) While Kevin says that taking measures to ground oneself is a great idea, he thinks that variances in wifi speeds and static electricity are to blame more often than magickal energies or problems with electronic devices. Next year, a tech check will be mandatory for each presenter before WitchCon is broadcast. Since Kevin is the wizard behind HEX Education Network, we really must take his advice seriously.
 
With all of these good suggestions, I bought a new web camera specifically for the purpose of presenting a live class or ritual. New cords were also a must. Chris the High-Tech Redneck tested everything, including the computer tower and the external devices. I went to Artes and Crafts and bought a hematite bead bracelet, and a handful each of shungite, hematite, and black tourmaline crystals. These magickal stones are currently taped to our monitors, keyboards, laptops and perched on top of the tower. Some of them are in velvet bags, tied to power cords. So far, everything is working much better. And as more Witchcraft and Pagan festivals are broadcast online, more of the bugs will be worked out with the technology. WitchCon has opened the door for an amazing new form of communication between esoteric teachers and seekers. Yay!

From:    https://www.scarymommy.com/best-fart-jokes/

25 Fart Jokes That Will Knock The Wind Out Of You

1) Why do you have to watch out for ninjas’ farts?
They’re silent — but deadly.
2) What’s invisible and smells like carrots?
A bunny fart!
3) What happens when you make a bean and onion casserole?
Tear gas.
4) What do you call a ghost fart?
A spirit bomb.
5) I didn’t fart.
My butt likes you so much it blew a kiss.
6) Two flies are sitting on a piece of poop.
One fly farts and the other fly cries, “Hey! I’m trying to eat here!”
7) Why won’t the skeleton fart in public?
He doesn’t have the guts.
8) What is invisible and smells of worms?
A bird’s fart.
9) What’s the ideal weight of a fart?
Zero pounds. If it’s anything more, you’re in trouble.
10) Why did the man stop telling fart jokes?
He was told that his jokes stink.

11) Why did everyone notice when Bill Gates farted in the Apple store?
Because they didn’t have any Windows.
12) Farts are like children.
You don’t mind your own, but you can’t stand other people’s.
13) Do you know what’s scary?
Attempting your first fart after having diarrhea.
14) I got fired from my job delivering leaflets on flatulence awareness.
Unfortunately, I let one rip.
15) What do you get when an aristocrat farts?
A noble gas.
16) I just rang the Incontinence Hotline.
The woman said, “Can you hold, please?”
17) I farted at work yesterday and my co-worker opened the window.
It must have been bad — we’re flight attendants.
18) My partner said he wanted to heat things up in bed.
So I farted under the sheets.
19)  I didn’t fart in front of my partner until we got married. 
Her family wasn’t too impressed.
20) An old married couple is at a concert one Friday night, when the woman turns to her husband and says, “I’ve just let out a really long, silent fart. What should I do?”
The husband tells her, “Replace the battery in your hearing aid.”

21) A fart is like success.
It only bothers you when it’s not your own.
22) If you farted while traveling at the speed of sound, would you smell it before you heard it?
23) Why did the chicken cross the road?
She didn’t want the other chickens to notice that she farted.
24) Did you hear the one about the blind and heartbroken skunk?
She fell in love with a fart.
25) Farting on an elevator is probably the worst thing you can do.
It’s just wrong on so many levels.

Today is the first day of March, so did you say “Rabbit, rabbit” for good luck?

This day has considerable significance, magickally speaking:

For fellow Welsh / Cymric people, it is St. David’s Day, or Dydd Dewy Sant. This Catholic feast day honors a Celtic Christian clergyperson and aesthetic, who was said to be able to work miracles, including bringing a dead child back to life. However, the day has become more about pride in Welsh culture and national honor than about religion. There are parades, festivals, and music and dance – usually, for in this year of plague, almost everything is still shut down. However, we’re still wearing our daffodils, the symbol of Cymru (ours are cloth, because here in MI, there is still snow on the ground, and no flowers are showing yet). We’re going to eat Cawl, a stew made of lamb, beef or pork, containing turnips, rutabegas, and other root vegetables, cooked in a cauldron, with dark beer and whiskey added for flavor. We’ll toast our ancestors with shots of whiskey, and listen to Welsh music, and do Beating the Bounds – a video of which will appear on this site, as well as on You Tube.

For all practitioners of Witchcraft, magick, and Pagan traditions, March first was the first day of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 in Massachusetts. The hysteria over witches had actually been going on since the 1100s in Europe, but they got especially bad in the British Isles during the Protestant Reformation and the reign of King James VI. Here in the USA, the craziness took place with the hysterical invectives of some teenage girls seeking attention… which can happen again at any time… for example, the McCarthy era during the 1950s, when accusations of Communism led to trials, people losing their careers and reputations. We see this event mirrored in today’s “cancel culture” where false accusations can ruin people’s lives. Remember the Witch Trials, and the people who were imprisoned, and even died. Bendythion.

Weather-wise, March is said to come in like a lion, and leave like a lamb, or vice-versa. This means that if there is snowy, rainy, windy or cold weather on March 1st, then on March 31st, it will be sunny and warm. Or the other way around. Today is chilly and windy, yet the sun is shining in Michigan, so we’ll see where we go.


On March 1st is the Roman holiday called Matronalia, which celebrates motherhood. Mater means “mother” in Latin. The Goddess of childbirth, Juno Lucina, was honored in ancient Rome and in the territories which were colonized. Gifts were given to mothers and women who take on a motherly role. This event was later rolled into the Mother’s Day holiday on the second Sunday of May. Hence, today we revere mothers – biological mothers who gave birth, stepmothers, adopting mothers, foster mothers, grandmothers who care for their grandchildren, mothers who take care of neighborhood kids, mothers who work for charities and causes. The Three Matronae were a representation of an actual Triple Goddess, statues of which can be found throughout Europe. So call your mom!