The Niðstöng. A Pole of Scorn. In the Saxon and Viking Age, one of the harshest acts of hostility was the raising of a niðstöng, a “pole of scorn.” In Egil’s Saga, Egil Skalla-Grímsson sets a pole in the earth, fixes a horse’s head upon it, carves runes, and turns it toward his enemies’ land. He calls on the landvættir, land-wights, to drive them out and deny them peace. This was not something done slyly or on the quiet, it was very much an open magick. It was a public declar

Today, in the stillness between bare branches, I found the brown hare, still, quiet, taken by the season. A shape once swift, now resting...

Did you know there's a common plant growing in the UK which can be foraged and harvested for free, and that has superfood status? Those...

There are several Saxon yews dotted around the ancient woodland, and along the trackways and holloways of my local area. There's one very...