He is the Green Man, Cernunnos, the Horned One, Jack in the Green, Green George and the Old Man of the Woods. He is the archetypal male essence, the thrusting life force, the potent initiator whose body is wild nature itself, the vitality of the forest merging with man… and many other things besides. Seguir leyendo »

Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge
Cry God for Harry, England and St George! Seguir leyendo »

In popular legend Fawkes was an Englishman who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder. He was caught, tortured, imprisoned, and finally, in a particularly grisly manner, publicly executed. Seguir leyendo »

And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring,
and its wild bark thrill’d around,
His eyes had the glow of the fires below,
’twas the form of the spectre hound ..

One of the most chilling omens of death in English folklore is the large, spectral demon dog called Black Shuck. Seguir leyendo »

My Great Aunt Nell taught me to wish on the White Horse for good luck, especially while traveling. The horse is a powerful symbol in mythology, and a half-forgotten folk memory can end up 10,000 miles from its origins. Seguir leyendo »