What a lovely afternoon we had at Atlantis Bookshop last Saturday. The afternoon was very well attended and many fans of Mike Howard turned up to have The Witches Herbal signed and a few people turned up to have some of their previous Mike Howard books signed. Mike talked about how he collected some of the information in his book - back in the late seventies/early eighties he put an ad in newspapers asking for information on traditional magical herbal uses - the information he received is included in this book along with a history of magical herbal use, and a section on the Celtic Tree Alphabet. It sparked much in the way of discussion about Robert Graves, ritual use of plants and the pharmaceutical industry.
Along with Mike we had Simon Costin of The Museum of British Folklore who has recently taken over directorship of the Museum of Witchcraft. He talked about plans for the MOW and dispelled some of the rumours flying around about the Museum's future. In essence, new managers are shortly to be announced, the MOW is staying in Boscastle, and no, the collection is not being broken up and sold to America!!
Thanks very much to Geraldine and Bali who put on a lovely selection of cakes and tea. I've included some photos of the day. Along with many others, anthropologist Helen Cornish, author and magician Steve Patterson, and authors Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince were there to show support.
Happy New Year to you all. After a few weeks break touring around France in a campervan we're now back to start the year with some exciting plans for Red Thread Books.
Sales of Mike Howard's new book The Witches' Herbal are going well and on January 18th there will be a book signing with Mike at Atlantis Bookshop in London between 2pm & 530pm. Simon Costin will also be on hand to answer questions about his new directorship of The Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle. Please come along to say hello and find out what we are up to.
I am working on a reprint of Magic in Modern London 1925 by Edward Lovett which should be going to the printers in the next few weeks. This will be illustrated with charms from the Museum of Witchcraft. More on that later.
Looks like the issues we had with the payment button not working are now fixed thanks to Steve at Razor Solutions. Apologies once again for your patience if you have been trying to order. All should now be well.
Mike Howard will be at Atlantis Bookshop January 18th 2014 between 230pm and 530pm to sign copies of his new book The Witches' Herbal. Simon Costin will also be there to talk about plans for The Museum of Witchcraft under his directorship. And even more excitingly .......I'll be there. Come and see us if you're in the area.
I have been informed there is a problem with the ordering button on the website - thanks to those who've alerted me to this. I have my webmeister on the case and he is sorting it out as we speak.......I Hope! It should be rectified by later this evening or tomorrow morning. In the meantime, if anyone has a problem ordering just send an email to kg@theoccultartcompany.co.uk and I will send a Paypal invoice. Don't forget to tell me which country you are in as postage charges differ. Apologies for these teething problems and thanks for being patient.
We are pleased to announce that the first book published by Red Thread Books (an imprint of The Occult Art Company) is now in stock. The Witches' Herbal by Michael Howard.
In this latest of his many literary offerings Mike gives us a comprehensive guide to the subject of magical herbalism in three parts. Part one: a concise history of herbal healing and the use of folk remedies from ancient times to the present day. Part two: a comprehensive illustrated A-Z herbal and plant glossary, with their botanical, cultural, magical, folkloric and medicinal significance. Part three: the magical, folkloric and pagan religious role of common British trees based on the Celtic Tree Alphabet.
The website www.redthreadbooks.co.uk is currently under construction but should be up in a few days. In the meantime if you are interested in ordering a copy please email kg@theoccultartcompany.co.uk and I will send you a Paypal invoice. Cost is £18.50 including postage to the UK. If you are outside the UK, the book including postage to the USA is £23.50 and to Europe is £21.50.
