The Dragonfly in Folklore: Good Luck Symbol & Weigher of Souls

Mushrooms have captured humanity's attention for thousands of years. But they still confuse us. Mushrooms spring up overnight, many of them are dangerous if you confuse them for their safer cousins, and they have an array of fantastical names. Witness the Destroying Angel, Spit Devil, Satan's Bolete, Witches' Butter, and Death Cap. Let's learn more about the folklore of fungi in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fungi-folklore/ Myths and Legends of the British Highwayman with the Last Tuesday Society: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myths-and-legends-of-the-british-highwayman-icy-sedgwick-tickets-794055881517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

17 Feb 202425min

In this month's Valentine's Day-themed episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm thrilled to bring you a chat with Komal Salman! Komal Salman is a creative professional and Founder at Folkloristan, where technology meets storytelling to preserve oral Pakistani heritage. With a background in media studies, Komal is also the Content Strategist at Atom Camp, a tech ed platform. A writer and an illustrator, her passion for history and folklore fuels her creative endeavours, leading to most of her work work being inspired by culture, myth, and magic. In this interview, we're going to talk about romantic tales in Pakistan's folklore, enjoy a story about fairies, and chat about the different influences on stories in the region! Check out the Folkloristan website: https://www.folkloristan.com/ Find Komal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/folkloristan 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

14 Feb 202429min

Trees are some of humanity's best friends, providing oxygen, storing carbon, and even improving the soil where they grow. Some are flashy and famous in folklore, like the oak or the hawthorn. Others are perhaps less well-known, but that doesn't mean they're any less important to folklore!  Let's learn more about alder, birch, and blackthorn in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/woodland-trees/ Enter the Fabulous Folklore Turns 5 Competition: https://forms.gle/F5vqPSNuMAzVYLin6 Myths and Legends of the British Highwayman with the Last Tuesday Society: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myths-and-legends-of-the-british-highwayman-icy-sedgwick-tickets-794055881517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

10 Feb 202425min

Certain plants evoke particular areas, like grasslands, meadows, hedgerows, or gardens. Others are full of the mystery of the forest, splashing colour across the woodland floor. Bluebells are famous for turning ordinary woods into a stunning scene in late March until early May. So in this post, we're going to look at the folklore of woodland plants. Yes, some of them grow in other places, but they are associated with woodlands on the British Isles.  Let's learn more about cowslips, forget-me-nots, lily of the valley, primroses, and red campion in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/woodland-plants/ Enter the Fabulous Folklore Turns 5 Competition: https://forms.gle/F5vqPSNuMAzVYLin6 Myths and Legends of the British Highwayman with the Last Tuesday Society: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myths-and-legends-of-the-british-highwayman-icy-sedgwick-tickets-794055881517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

3 Feb 202420min

In this month's episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm thrilled to bring you a chat with Morgan Daimler! Morgan is an independent folklorist who studies and writes about fairies in historic and modern folk belief. She has written a variety of books on the topic, as well as on Irish mythology, and is an amateur translator of old/middle Irish. Morgan has presented papers on fairies in folklore & fiction, fairies, gender, & sexuality, and fairies & witches for various universities and the Folklore Society.  In this chat, we talk about a range of different types of fairies, why fairies remain so popular, and what to do if you ever encounter a fairy! Check out Morgan's book Fairies: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781782796503 Or 21st Century Fairy: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781803410463 Find Morgan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morgandaimler/ or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorganDaimler 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

28 Jan 20241h 12min

Culloden Moor is perhaps one of the saddest sites in the British Isles, the battlefield that played host to a massacre. It was also the last battle to take place on mainland Britain. The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746. It marked the end of the Jacobite Rebellion. It's also apparently given rise to ghosts of its own, and contributes to local legends inspired by the battle. Let's go and look and some of the legends in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/ghosts-of-culloden/ 'Culloden' (1964): https://youtu.be/hAdlS2Hdw28?si=-3iprbSXNkhbA7VW Mist on the moor: https://youtu.be/vcnErk55In8?si=VHoNFQq7XzIWXnxM Enter the Fabulous Folklore Turns 5 Competition: https://forms.gle/F5vqPSNuMAzVYLin6 Myths and Legends of the British Highwayman with the Last Tuesday Society: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myths-and-legends-of-the-british-highwayman-icy-sedgwick-tickets-794055881517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

27 Jan 202419min

The Denbigh Moors, or Mynydd Hiraethog, lie in north Wales. At its highest point, it's higher than Exmoor. The moors are a wild, desolate place, home to various types of wildlife. Yet if you believe the tales, they're also a place of ghosts and the Tylwyth Teg. A Roman Centurion apparently stalks the moors, and a ruin slowly disintegrates into the landscape. Let's go and look and some of the legends in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/denbigh-moors/ Enter the Fabulous Folklore Turns 5 Competition: https://forms.gle/F5vqPSNuMAzVYLin6 As the Light Returns: The Folklore of St Brigid's Day talk with Creswell Crags: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/as-the-light-returns-the-folklore-of-st-brigids-day-tickets-764409498387 Myths and Legends of the British Highwayman with the Last Tuesday Society: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myths-and-legends-of-the-british-highwayman-icy-sedgwick-tickets-794055881517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

20 Jan 202419min

The name 'Exmoor' conjures mental images of ponies, undulating moorland, and Lorna Doone, R D Blackmore's 1869 novel. It crosses the Somerset and Devon border, hugging the north Devon coast, and takes its name from the River Exe. A wild and beautiful place, designated a national park in 1954, Exmoor is home to a whole range of folklore. Witches, ghosts, pixies, superstitions, and the famous Beast of Exmoor - the park features them all. Let's investigate some of these tales further in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/exmoor-folklore/ Enter the Fabulous Folklore Turns 5 Competition: https://forms.gle/F5vqPSNuMAzVYLin6 As the Light Returns: The Folklore of St Brigid's Day talk with Creswell Crags: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/as-the-light-returns-the-folklore-of-st-brigids-day-tickets-764409498387 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 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

13 Jan 202429min