Thunder and lightning offer one of nature's more cinematic spectacles, so it's unsurprising they would accrue a degree of folklore. The danger that lightning particularly poses sees a range of practices to ward off storms, while other traditions offer a way to predict events using storms.

Thunder and lightning also work together, as the Met Office explains: "When the electrical current from a lightning strike passes through the air, it heats the surrounding air rapidly—up to 30,000°C. This sudden heating causes the air to expand explosively, creating a shockwave that we hear as thunder. [...] A sharp crack indicates a nearby strike, while a low rumble suggests the lightning occurred farther away".

Many cultures also have storm deities, such as Thor, Perun, Ọya, Jupiter, Set, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and Taranis, among others. Yet as fascinating and complex as they are, we're going to focus on the folklore around the storms, rather than those who control them. 

So what does folklore tell us about storms, thunder, and lightning?

Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/thunder-and-lightning/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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The autumn equinox falls on 23 September in the UK in 2026. This marks the definite slide towards the winter solstice!

In terms of folklore, there are many articles about the autumn equinox from a neopagan perspective. Yet the festival only gained the name 'Mabon' in the 1970s, named by American Aidan Kelly. He chose 'Mabon' from Mabon ap Modron, who appears in Welsh mythology, though there is little in Mabon's story to link him with the autumn equinox.

There's little evidence that anyone celebrated the equinox in the same way they might celebrate the winter solstice. Instead, this period of the year is traditionally a time of harvest festivals. 

But as we’re looking at the Folklore of the Skies this month, I wanted to know: is there anything folklore about the autumn equinox in an astronomical sense?

Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/autumn-equinox/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm joined by writer Charlie Creed, to chat about his new book, The Faery Rules: Forgotten Folklore for Living in Harmony with the Fae.

We talk about why people persist in thinking fairies are all lovely and light when folklore says otherwise, ways you can protect yourself from fairies, and some of the more unusual beliefs that abound when it comes to talking about all things fairy-like!

Charlie Creed is a writer from Bristol. He studied English Literature at Cambridge University before working as a musician, newspaper subeditor, and freelance writer. He is the author of The Cat's Tales: Feline Fairy Tales and Folklore and The Faery Rules: Forgotten Folklore for Living in Harmony with the Fae. He lives in Bristol with his wife and two daughters.

Buy The Faery Rules: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781446317433

Find Charlie Creed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charliecreedwriter/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: https://icysedgwick.com/start-here

Much online discussion of the moon focuses on the new and full moons, especially when it comes to setting intentions and releasing things. I prefer to work on a more seasonal basis than monthly, but I'm also terrible at intention setting because I invariably forget what I intended. (No, I intend to remember my intentions doesn’t work).

Yet examining the plethora of superstitions and beliefs about the moon in folklore reveals that things weren’t quite so clear-cut in previous centuries. Practices vary across time and space, but the new moon wasn’t always a positive thing, as it’s viewed now. The full moon could be both lucky and dangerous.

I’m predominantly drawing from British and Irish belief as that’s where I’m from, but feel free to leave any other moon superstitions or beliefs from your culture or background in the comments! 

Let’s explore the moon in folklore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/moon-folklore/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: https://icysedgwick.com/start-here

As we’re focusing on the Folklore of the Skies this month, it seemed only right to start with a celestial phenomenon that becomes a lot easier to see as the nights draw in. Yes, we’re looking at the northern lights, or aurora borealis.

Annoyingly, I am yet to see the northern lights. The one time they were visible with the naked eye across the whole of the UK, I was in bed with a migraine.

I know, I know, strange lights in the sky, with one individual unable to see them, is how Day of the Triffids starts.

We will focus on folklore from Britain and Scandinavia. There are Indigenous legends, but they’re not mine to tell. But if you’re reading this and you’re Indigenous, please feel free to share anything you feel called to share in the comments!

Let’s explore the aurora borealis and its folklore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

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Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/northern-lights-in-folklore/

Watch my chat with Ùna Maria Blyth: https://youtu.be/euu7P8Be4VE

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a member of the Apiaceae family—otherwise known as the Carrot family. It's also known as Beaver Poison, Devil's Porridge, Herb Bennet, Poison Parsley, Water Parsley, and Spotted Hemlock.

The plants can grow to 2.5m, and they're commonly found in the British countryside. The whole plant is toxic. According to Mrs Burke's Language of Flowers dictionary, hemlock meant 'You will be my death'.

The plant appears in history, but how does it appear in folklore, if at all? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-poison-hemlock/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) is part of the Solanaceae family, which also contains peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and potatoes! This most famous of poisonous plants is also known as belladonna, banewort, deadly dwale, Devil’s cherries, or death’s herb.

The deadly nature of belladonna was noted as far back as 1550 BC. It's not a particularly common plant in the wild, although it does prefer woodland.

Yet it’s not necessarily a plant you might rush out to grow. You might also be hard-pressed to use it for meaningful communication. According to Mrs Burke's Language of Flowers dictionary, nightshade meant 'truth'. In the same book, belladonna is listed with the meaning 'silence'.

So how does this plant appear in folklore, besides its links to the Devil and witchcraft? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/deadly-nightshade-folklore/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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Aconitum, referred to as ‘aconite’, is part of the Ranunculaceae family, or the buttercup family. 

The Aconitum genus contains around 100 species, each of which is poisonous. Records of its use date back 3000 years. 

The Anglo-Saxons apparently called it ‘thung’, which meant 'poison plant'. The plant also gained the nicknames 'helmet flower', 'friarscap', 'old wife's hood' and 'granny's nightcap'.

Given how horrifically poisonous the plant is, it has few medicinal or even magical uses. Yet it still appears in folklore and legend, so let’s explore some of the tales of aconite in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/aconite-folklore/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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Foxgloves are one of the most enchanting wildflowers you might encounter in a shady woodland. With their deep pink flowers on spikes that can grow as tall as a person, they certainly arrest the attention.

Even their name is evocative, with a smattering of legends to explain where ‘foxglove’ came from. Yet as pretty as the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is, the plant is also poisonous. It’s great for bees, but less so for us.

At least, not if we don’t need the toxins it provides the pharmaceutical industry for heart medicine!

But given their host of folk names, association with witches, and appearance in legend, let’s dig into the folklore of foxgloves in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-foxgloves/

Non-traditional haunted houses writing workshop: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/summer-scares-6-week-horror-writing-school-tickets-1980775625216

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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When we talk about poisonous plants, your mind might leap to the celebrities, like foxglove, aconite, or belladonna. You may not immediately think of cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum). It’s native to the UK and surprisingly common. I’ve equally found it in botanic gardens and city centre flowerbeds.

Poisoning caused by this plant is thankfully rare, and they do serve a purpose in the ecosystem. Their berries feed birds and they’ll grow in conditions other plants don’t enjoy. Arum maculatum is in the araceae family.

But how did people use arum for both mundane and magical purposes? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/cuckoo-pint/

Buy Bring Me Love: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781786789747

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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