Meet Vulcan, Roman God of Fire, Volcanoes and Blacksmiths

In this 12th episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Sacha Coward, a queer historian who has been working in museums for the past 15 years. He is currently writing his first book about the queer history of mythology and folklore called Queer As Folklore. In this interview, we chat about queer history, mermaids, and new ways to look at folklore! Find Sacha on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/sacha_coward Preorder Queer as Folklore here: https://unbound.com/books/queer-as-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

17 Apr 20231h 7min

Most people at some point will have experienced the pain of a nettle sting. I once managed to fall hands-first from a fence into a whole patch of nettles. So it's hardly surprising that people consider them unwanted or unloved plants. The stinging nettle, or common nettle (Urtica dioica) is Europe's most common nettle. Other names for the plant include burning weed, fire weed, and burning nettle. It's (surprisingly) edible, and has a wealth of medicinal and magical lore in its spiky back pocket. Let's discover how you can use nettles to ward off witchcraft, boost your iron intake, and even dye fabric in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/nettles-folklore/ Join Rowan + Sage's Herbaria to learn herbalism: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/herbaria?affcode=437598_3qokpyep 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

15 Apr 202315min

Plants often become unwanted plants when they're especially prolific. Celandine is one such plant, quickly spreading to fill an area with its glossy green leaves and dizzyingly bright yellow flowers. But celandine is also a confusing plant, since the two varieties with the same name are not related. The greater celandine Chelidonium majus is a member of the poppy family, while the lesser celandine Ranunculus ficaria is in the buttercup family. Still, it's worth exploring the folklore and legends of both varieties, especially since there is some overlap! Let's find out how we can use celandine to ward off witches, cure warts, and predict the weather in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/celandine-folklore/ Join Kitchen Herbcraft to learn herbalism: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere-british-sea-based-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

8 Apr 202314min

Dandelions are cheerful little splashes of colour in lawns and borders. They flower longer than any other plant, providing food for early pollinators. Sadly, not everyone loves them as much as I do. They're often considered weeds, and are somewhat unwanted plants. But remember. Weeds are just flowers that grow where we don't necessarily want them to. Still, they've grown up alongside us here in the British Isles so there's naturally plenty of folklore about these sunshine plants. Let's find out how we can use them to make wishes, cure warts, and predict the weather in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/dandelions-folklore/ Join Kitchen Herbcraft to learn herbalism: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere-british-sea-based-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

1 Apr 202317min

In this 11th episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Rachel, the part-time storyteller and food lover behind the Folklore, Food and Fairytales podcast. The Folklore, Food and Fairytales podcast features storytelling & folklore with connected recipes and food history and the importance of honouring the stories despite how tenuous the link to the recipes becomes. As well as the podcast Rachel has a (nearly) weekly newsletter featuring snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, remedies, herblore & the occasional cocktail. In this interview, we chat about food history, food myths, and cheese pirates! Find Rachel on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/FairytalesFood Visit her blog for the podcast and Substack: https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/ The book about cheese pirates that Rachel mentioned is A Cheesemonger’s History of The British Isles by Ned Palmer. The Italian stories mentioned are The Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile. 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

30 Mars 20231h 12min

According to the Venerable Bede, what we call February was called Sol-Monath by the ancient Britons. This translates to 'Month of Cakes' and the people gave cakes to the gods as offerings. I don't know about you, but that's a practice I could get behind. It's worth bearing in mind that what we think of as 'cake' is not what people of earlier centuries had in mind. Often, early 'cake' was more like bread. The type of cake we eat now first emerges in its original form in the mid-17th century. Yet that doesn't stop cake from accruing a whole range of folklore, helping people to ward off witches, find love, and celebrate important occasions. Let's explore this folklore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/cake-folklore/ Water, Water, Everywhere class (Water in British Folklore) for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere-british-sea-based-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

25 Mars 202321min

The Widow's Son pub in Bromley-by-Bow is famous for its collection of hot cross buns above the bar. But why are they hanging there? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/hot-cross-buns/ Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere-british-sea-based-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

18 Mars 202317min

We're told to eat fruit as part of our '5 a day' but people of years gone by had a range of uses! Apples could predict your future lover, while pomegranates kept witches at bay.  Let's discover some of these alternative uses for fruit in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fruit-folklore/ Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere-british-sea-based-folklore/ 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 Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick Find Icy on Mastodon: @IcySedgwick@mastodonapp.uk Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

11 Mars 202318min