Classics of Pagan Cinema: Hocus Pocus

“As a nation, we love to cast our projections on the witches of Salem,” writes Meg Elison as she examines America’s favorite film about witches. “What we want from the real people who died by state violence, the places where they hanged, the hysteria that killed them, is fun. We want Salem to be a theme park, to amuse us and titillate us.”

The Festival of Pomona

Siobhan Ball celebrates the end of apple season with the myths and folklore surrounding Pomona, the Roman goddess of apples, and includes a frustrating but authentic recipe for a Minutal of Fruit from Apicius, the ancient Roman gourmand.

Review: The Book of Forgotten Witches

“I’ve long been a lover of all things folklore – and all things Witchcraft and Witchy,” writes Alan U. Dalul. “This book was everything I thought it would be and then some. As a collection, it works amazingly. As an illustrated book, it is gorgeous. As a narrative text, it is immersive, creative, complete, and addictive.”

Classics of Pagan Cinema: The Secret of Kells

Meg Elison reviews 2009’s animated film The Secret of Kells, which draws inspiration from the recently-digitized Book of Kells, a fabulously illuminated edition of the gospels. But while the film is set at a Christian monastery, it is full of encounters with Paganism, and these encounters are what will draw viewers back to the film again and again.