Did you know that the dead had nothing to do with Samhain? Originally the Gaelic festival focused on the supernatural as around this time the membrane between the worlds thinned, the need for protection was heightened, fires were lit to ward away the darkness, spirits and other unspeakable creatures. Creatures that within Gaelic texts and mythology invaded our world, heroic and royal figures met their untimely demise by their hands and ancient capitals were laid siege to. This link to death and ancestors didn’t come into play till about 700CE when the pope moved the the holiday All Saints Day to November 1st, whereby the churchs many saints were honoured and prayed to. Divination was themed around death and marriage, did you also know that Halloween was massive rival for Valentines day in the victoria era?  All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mabon/Autumn Equinox celebrates the second harvest that included wild nuts, fruit trees and berries - usually growing without human intervention it was seen as wild, sacred and often a divine boon, a miracle that could save entire communities from starvation as around this time of the year you could gage if you had enough food to survive the upcoming winter - which was potentially a very bleak realisation. What unites communities around this time is the absolute reverence they had for this harvest, how did they display this and how can we bring this festival into our modern era that's so far removed from our food sources and agricultural calendars? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lammas is essentially the pagan harvest festival and it doesn’t get a lot of attention - not as much as Beltane or Yule - but it's still a really important time to honour and hold space for. Traditionally ushered in the ending of hunger and to celebrate the abundance that the land had produced. It was also quite a sexually charged event with the sexes coming together to harvest the crops and we see marital fairs set up and temporary marriages arranged which could be made permanent after a year if the couple agreed to it. How is this festival relevant today in our modern world and what lessons can we learn from it?  All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Litha or Midsummer is highly anticipated within the pagan world, celebrating the summer solstice or the longest day of the year and the height of the suns power. Traditionally the day was rife with agricultural protective wards, feasting and general merry-making. Botanicals and crystals are especially powerful and revered during this festival as the power of malicious spirits peaks from the fae to the trolls over in Scandinavia. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beltane is one of the major fire festivals within the wheel of the year and celebrates the beginning of summer, traditionally it was time to cleanse through fire rituals and to protect because around this time as the threat of the supernatural was heightening with risks from the fae and malicious witches. How can celebrate Beltane today and how can honour this ancient festival. Beltane is now live and you can listen to the mages well wherever you listen to podcasts. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the things the psychologists of the future will say about our era is how easy it was to hate ourselves. We are living in a pandemic of self-hatred - fuelled by how we’re raised, manipulative advertising and marketing and the rise of social media that permeates every aspect of our lives. Never before have we been so mentally unwell as a collective. The world can be a dark and scary place but your mind and how you feel about yourself doesn’t have to be. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I don’t know about you but I’m sick of hearing the phrases ‘just love yourself,’ and ‘self-love is easy and natural.’ What does that actually mean and how do you do it? As someone who’s worked in the modelling industry for over 10 years, self-love wasn’t something that came naturally to me, I’ve gathered some tips and guides as to how to begin this practice and to make your mind a friendlier place to be, because our best friend and ally is ourselves. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Venus and Aphrodite are powerful goddesses ruling over the word 'desire' and all it’s turbulent connotations, but how well do we really know them? Looking into their eastern origins they have connections to goddesses who reside over war and strife. How can we harness the energy of these goddesses and what do you need to know to build your own rituals? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Witchcraft and cities of the dead have always had an intimate and nefarious relationship as these sites are some of the most magically potent on the planet, holding various superstitions, beliefs and folklore by the societies they’re framed within. Packed with hidden symbolism, how can we fully utilise these spaces within our witchcraft while paying homage to our long dead ancestors?  All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dittany of Crete is arguably one of the most important herbs a witch can own. Coming from the Greek island of Crete it’s heavily tied to the mysterious goddesses of the ancient civilisation - the Minoans. A firm favourite of Alister Crowley and Helena Blavatsky for waking up the dead, calling spirits and manifestation, how is this plant used within witchcraft and Could it be useful within yours? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pagan festival of Ostara falls around the 20th of march, depending on the year and where you live. It’s origins are lost in the pages of history and there’s a lot of misinformation in circulation about this festival. A festival that honours spring, marking the end of hibernation and the return of fertility to the land. But what do we actually know about it? How can we celebrate it in a way that is relevant today and what magic can we perform around the idea of the suns return? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To the ancient Babylonians, Sagittarius was a gate keeper of the underworld as the soul travelled through the cosmos, and through the Milky Way that acted as a road for the dead. Omens around this sign paint a pretty bleak picture with predictions of destruction, carnage for the land and warfare. How does the ancient race of half man half scorpion feature in the mythology of Sagittarius? What myths did the ancients attribute to this sign? And why is it linked to centaurs? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every culture, every society, every community has got it’s own systems and techniques for predicting the future, that are turned to when difficult decisions need to be made. Social media might may you think that there’s only tarot, astrology or pendulums to use, but there are literally hundreds of divination methods. From Nigerian spider divination - Nggam Du and Chinese jiaobei or moon blocks, to the infamous Japanese crossroads divination tsuji-ura, the Yoruban Ifa - using sacred texts and complex mathematical formula’s - to the Greek Nympholepsy - a condition a whereby individuals were possessed by nymphs - join me as I dive into prediction methods that lie off the beaten track. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Middle Eastern Djinn, a land or fire spirit, they were created after angels but before humanity. Belief in the djinn is widespread and they enter the written record around 2400 BCE but are likely to be much, much older. Ambivalent tricksters, they’re capable of abducting humans, haunting buildings and possession, driving their victims into madness. Are they Pre-Islamic gods? Why are they linked to poetry? And why have people been abducted and taken to djinn courts to face trial? Tune into the Mage’s Well podcast to find out, available wherever you listen to podcasts. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week I looked at Scotland's most famous witch - Isobel Gowdie and her infernal, mind-boggling, (and quite saucy) confessions. But what is actually going on with the frankly bizarre and incredible account of her witchcraft practice, was she performing shamanic death divination, she did terrible things but was she redressing the imbalance of power in her society by donning the cloak of a witch, was she in a dream cult, the suggestion of this forces us to radically reassess what our dreams actually are, was she communing the devil or was it something else - a land spirit or a spirit helper conjured as a protective entity on account of her harsh life, were her coven being contracted by community members to perform death transference? What is really happening? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isobel Gowdie is Scotland's most famous witch, giving the world the idea of a coven and that must contain 13 members. On trial as a witch, four infernally sensational confessions rocked the late medieval world, so much so that modern historians have described her confessions as ‘one of the most remarkable documents in the history of witchcraft.’ Todays episode is difficult to listen to in places in regards to how women and those labelled a witch were treated within the legal system. But the suffering Isobel endured wasn’t in vain, we have some powerful insights into how this talented woman practiced witchcraft. Ironic, considering the very system that sought to condemn and quell people like Isobel the documents from which are being pawed over and have the ability to empower a new generation of witches, the numbers of which haven’t been seen the world before. It’s very much the season of the Witch, and possessing powers over life and death - Isobel Gowdie is a blinding beacon.  All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sleep is vital for our wellbeing and mental health, but what do you do when your sleep schedule has gone awry? I’ve created a guided sleep meditation with sound beats technology to lull you into a deep and restful sleep where you wake up actually feeling re-energised. Sleep like you never have before. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1st and 2nd of February is known to Pagans as Imbolc, also aligning with the beginning of spring depending where you live. Traditionally an ancient, Irish, Gaelic festival with themes of a bountiful harvest and renewal, it was also a time to honour the Gaelic deity Bridget, to celebrate the return of warmth and the lands fertility, as well as weather divination. While winter stocks ran low in pantries and larders the festival gave hope. How can we incorporate elements into the 21st-century? All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ix Chel is the Mayan moon goddess also known as Lady Rainbow or She of the Pale Face as she personifies the moon. From her sacred island called Cozumel, her name that we have difficultly translating and the fact that she was misrepresented by white western enthnohistorians in the 60’s - who is the enigmatic goddess and is our modern thinking around her actually correct?  All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you been suffering from nightmares, fatigue, reoccurring accidents and bad luck, illnesses or shadows out the corner of your eye? You may be in need of some psychic protection. This protection is vital if you are working within spirituality or with energies, in this episode I give you 8 easy exercises to boost your defences and empower you to brush off any stagnant nasty energy sent your way. All my links are here. Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/themageswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.