Swedish Easter Witches by Jenny Nyström (1854-1946) What is a witch? An old woman on a broomstick? There is a treasure trove of Renaissance folklore about witches, to tell us about these creatures. It was between the 14th and 17th centuries that a fear of Witchcraft gripped Europe. People had a lot of funny ideas about what witches did, and this caused a lot of men, women and children, to be tortured and executed for the suspected crime of Witchcraft. It was imagined that witches belonged to a demonic cult, worshipping pagan gods and goddesses. Of course, any Christian knew that the gods and goddesses of other religions were all devils, out to seduce the weak minded into handing over their souls to Satan. How could Satan convince someone to become a witch? He could promise them all sorts of supernatural abilities such as flying through the air, attaining wealth, fame, beauty, or anything they desired by performing magical spells. There would be nothing to stop a witch from using ...

The summer solstice is rapidly approaching and I have been wanting to make some midsummer inspired art. To help me get my creative juices flowing, I've been reading The Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning about the ritual year in Britain, particularly the seasonal festivals that were celebrated during the Middle Ages. So, why is the summer solstice referred to as "midsummer" when most modern Brits regard June as the beginning of summer? Here we see there are several ways of reckoning the seasons: Traditionally, the seasons were reckoned according to the amount of daylight available, and for this reason the darkest months were referred to as winter whereas the lightest months were called summer. Today we measure the seasons according to the temperature, so that the hottest months are called summer and the coldest months are called winter. It may seem strange that the darkest time of year is not also ...