The Elemental Apothecary

11/01/2026

Making and dolls used to be my passion, calling even. However for two years I haven’t been able to. I thought the magic had left me. Turns out I just had to focus that magic elsewhere for a while. I’m now taking orders for 2026.

09/01/2026

Apparently Tarot cards should always be gifted….

I’m not sure that’s true but these are the only ones other than my original Rider Waite deck that I’ve ever been gifted.

My sister bought me my original deck. I was aged 14 and they came from Innanas Festival - I tiny occult shop in Norwich.

That deck fascinated me - as a writer the cards told stories that I was hooked into. Colourful characters, good news, bad events and redemption or justice - I revised every card!

I then fell off the tarot bus…. I didn’t revisit cards at all until a decade or so later. Despite still having my OG set I kept trying to find another but nothing really hit.

This combination of Dali (he who painted through and while travelling the otherworldly), tarot itself and the Taschen way seems to have stirred something.

Each card is a work of art. Each worthy of its own frame and worship. Very happy!

08/01/2026

From the beginning to the baking/birthing box..

This Hecate doll was baked underground to connect to the underworld.

The stormy weather has made this poppet particularly happy and well connected to its purpose.

Now she is travelling to my client in California in a dormant coma state until reawoken - happy travels little one.

08/01/2026

Hecate alter doll appended to one of her followers. Deity dolls are made by bringing in the deities presence and reading the soul path of the client. Messages will come directly from guides and the deity as the make continues, helping me tweak both doll and recipe.

This particular make showed me the a very important past life of a client that she wasn’t fully carrying forward - something Hecate herself needed her to unlock. A key guide who was an ally in this lifetime also showed herself, asking to be invited in to help develop my clients memory recovery of her innate magic.

The recipe and ceremony always evolve and remain in the shadows of my spell room.

07/01/2026

Crazy for crystals. Crazy for cats.

07/01/2026

Doesn’t matter where I go in the country, there’s always one tree that pulls me in.

Today was a great day to reconnect. All of the elements were present and I started to flex my magical muscles again.

Working with winter weather has a charm all of its own. The cold, ice and sharp winds show a raw, transformative natural power. It embodies themes of harshness, beauty, and hidden strength.

It’s great to ask questions of these winds, ask for quiet resilience and strength in hard times…

On the way back I found a clear square of ice in my path…yet there is no ice or even water sources nearby. A diamond gifted by the ice elementals and a message to remember what innate power lies within.

07/01/2026

Another piece of folklore I grew up around Twelfth Night and Christmas Decorations involved Goblins.

It was thought if Christmas decorations but particularly outdoor 'winter foliage' like holly, ivy and mistletoe needed to be left up until Candlemass (February 2nd) but if you left them up after then your home would become possessed by goblins. This mischievous sprite would gain power to enter your home through the key hole.

Once inside, these goblins would cause havoc, breaking China ad spoiling milk. They'd create cracks in your larder walls and invite the local rats in to eat all the food, leaving your family to starve through the cold months.

05/01/2026

It's Twelfth Night on 5th January or 6th depending....

Nobody talks much about the Twelfth Night. Growing up, I knew it was unlucky to leave Christmas decorations up after this date. I also knew (from Sunday School) the date signified the epiphany.

As I grew up, I learned more about this tradition. My obsession with literature grew with me. I fell in love with silly chaotic comedy plays such as the madness, mistaken identity, love and festivity that was Shakespeares Twelfth Night.

Maturing more, I started to see how Paganism weaved through this play -

- the role reversal and swapping as we wear masks in pagan festivities to represent others

- the chaos of festivities where fools speak the truth, servants mocked masters... authority is suspended and worlds merge

- the celebration of excess!

Joy. Chaos. Disorder (my unofficial middle names)

Many pagans don't celebrate but if they do it tend to be a final goodbye to the dark. We have a King or Queen of festivities (normally a chaotic character) and we eat, drink, make noise to welcome in the light and celebrate survival of the winter with the hopes of fortune and fertility for the new year

So, for all of you that decide the good times are over on January 1st, charge up your glass with mead and regardless of whether you celebrate Twelfth Night on the 5th or 6th of January, CELEBRATE!

03/01/2026

It's almost time for the wolf moon...

Lots of people copy and paste stuff about moons and sabbats - yes there are some general 'bits' that relate to each moon and exact facts but each moon impacts everyone differently.

When we all go on a boat, some of us get sea sick and some don't... the impact of moons are similar.

In the last few days the moon has looked absolutely amazing as she lines up against father sun - tonight is a great clear night in the uk so give her a look.

Named by Native American tribes and settlers for wolves howling for food during cold, hungry winters, signifying endurance.
Wolves howl to communicate, so the moon signifies connecting with others and the spirit world.

I could tell you to be more wolf and connect with your pack making the moon a symbol of loyalty, family bonds, and collective strength but the wolf is also a loner and finds strength in its primal self.

Over Christmas I said to my dear friend Wild Magick that I felt that I had a scream going off inside of me that was draining me... She simply told me to scream aloud..

So do that tonight, howl and scream like the wolves. I'm scared my scream will never stop, but it will even if it leaves me exhausted and on the ground where Gaia holds me in her arms.

Enjoy her “Go out in the woods, go out. If you don’t go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin.” (Clarissa Pinkola Estes - Women that Run with Wolves)

AI generated images as you won't get me in tribal furs/animal teeth accessories in this lifetime!

02/01/2026

It’s only taken me about two years to get back to poppets BUT I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t in the right place.

I finally put needle to cloth and made a poppet again. One for someone in need owing to some dark wizardry taking hold of them. .

This person wanted a poppet for dark magic protection.

I had to cut a few ties to some pretty dire karma but the main issue was some Slavic dark magic that was stopping this person moving forward. It was also contributing to stress as the stomach area was crying out for care as damage was setting in.

Hades came forward for this one. Not a deity I’m used to apart from gaining his permission to enter his realm on occasion.

He assisted me greatly - one of his biggest pieces of advice for my client was to move forward unseen. This is something Hades is known for. He also helped identify the source of the curse.

My client had been very vocal about success and plans which had attracted the wrong attention - the poppet has been designed to heal, strengthen and also deflect any eyes away that do not wish well.

Back with a bang this new year. Poppet is cooking and getting ready to birth as we speak.

Happy New Year

01/01/2026

The Avalon mists descend as the new year draws in… a mystery of what lies ahead. Embrace what lies in the fog as not everything is yet defined.

Also remember, don’t ’throw away’ 2025 you. Don’t give him/her challenges and chastises. Simply coax and counsel a new blend into life…

Forget this crazy spiritual mantra to cut, rebirth, evolve, move on… go at your pace and appreciate who you are and what you have.

Maybe you’re just fine as you are and life is great so celebrate THAT!

Love you all. May the gods smile down and coat your souls with golden sunshine. Photo shows new life springing from the cold hard winters ground - new shoots always find a way

21/12/2025