Paranormal Places: Cannock Chase Part 2

 Paranormal Places

Cannock Chase Part 2

Mysterious military manoeuvres 

Having been  there on a foggy November day close to Remembrance Sunday it is no wonder that the location has tales of paranormal activity. With such loss and sorrow concentrated in one place and the natural energy that the Chase seems to have it’s no surprise that strange things are happening here. 

 The Katyn Memorial and the soldiers who haunt the Chase

The Katyn Memorial on Cannock Chase (in Staffordshire, England, near Cannock and Brocton) is a poignant tribute to the victims of the Katyn Massacre. In 1940, Soviet NKVD forces executed around 22,000 Polish military officers, police, intellectuals, and other elites in the Katyn Forest (near Smolensk, Russia) and other sites, an atrocity initially blamed on the Nazis but later confirmed as a Soviet war crime

It’s widely regarded as one of the UK’s most active paranormal hotspots. Reports over the years include:

•  Sightings of ghostly soldiers (often in WWI/WWII uniforms, sometimes specifically German soldiers near the nearby German War Cemetery)

•  The infamous “Black-Eyed Child”

•  Werewolf-like creatures

•  Other entities like a ghostly woman in white, a phantom parachutist, or shadowy figures

Regarding specific ghosts or hauntings tied directly to the Katyn Memorial itself, there aren’t many widely documented or specific eyewitness accounts of apparitions of Polish victims appearing there (unlike the more famous soldier ghosts elsewhere on the Chase). However, the site’s tragic historical resonance—commemorating a mass execution in a forest setting—contributes to its eerie reputation. Paranormal investigators and visitors sometimes describe feelings of being watched, a heavy or oppressive atmosphere, unexplained sounds, or a sense of “lingering energy” or presence around the memorial, especially given its somber purpose and isolated woodland location.

It’s not just here however…

The hotspots for these encounters include:

•  German War Cemetery (also called Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery): This is the most frequently mentioned site for soldier ghosts. It holds nearly 5,000 German and Austrian servicemen (plus a few others) from both world wars, many of whom were POWs who died in UK captivity and were later reinterred here in 1967. Reports describe ghostly soldiers in German uniforms (WWI or WWII era) patrolling or standing among the dark stone crosses and the central hall. Visitors often feel an oppressive presence, cold spots, or the sense of being watched. Some accounts mention a particularly eerie “9ft headless German soldier” roaming the broader Chase area, though this blends into wider folklore. Paranormal groups and YouTube investigators have captured claimed EVPs, shadows, or figures here during night vigils.

•  Nearby Commonwealth War Cemetery (Cannock Chase War Cemetery): This site buries over 500 Commonwealth troops (mostly New Zealanders from WWI, plus some WWII), along with 286 Germans. Ghosts of Allied soldiers (in British/Commonwealth uniforms) have been reported wandering or running through the woods around it.

•  General woodland trails and former camp areas: Soldiers are seen sprinting through trees or appearing as misty figures, especially at dusk or night. Some tales include “time-slip” experiences where people glimpse entire platoons in old uniforms fading away.

https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/4007266/cannock-chase-german-military-cemetery/

Join us next time for more paranormal activity on Cannock Chase including werewolves, big cats and even a pig man!

Ancient Egypt: Sekhmet

 Ancient Egypt 

Sekhmet: The Lioness of Fury and Healing

In the vast pantheon of ancient Egyptian deities, few figures embody the profound duality of creation and destruction as vividly as Sekhmet. Known as “She Who Is Powerful,” her name derives from the Egyptian word sekhem, signifying might and authority.  

This lioness-headed goddess, often depicted with a woman’s body crowned by a solar disk and uraeus cobra, represents the scorching heat of the desert sun, the chaos of war, the terror of plague, and paradoxically, the balm of healing.  Sekhmet’s essence captures the mystical interplay between life’s ferocity and its restorative grace, a theme that resonates through millennia of myth and worship. As both a vengeful warrior and a protective mother, she stands as a timeless symbol of empowered rage and renewal, reminding us that true power lies in the balance of opposites.

Historical Origins and Depictions

Sekhmet’s roots trace back to the early dynastic periods of ancient Egypt, where she emerged as a prominent deity in the Memphite triad alongside her consort Ptah, the creator god, and their son Nefertem, associated with the lotus and healing.  

Primarily linked to Upper Egypt, she was revered as a solar goddess, her fierce nature mirroring the unrelenting sun that both sustains and scorches the Nile Valley.  Archaeological evidence, such as the hundreds of statues dedicated to her during the reign of Amenhotep III in the 14th century BCE, underscores her importance in royal and temple cults. These granite effigies, often seated or standing with a papyrus scepter symbolizing Lower Egypt, were placed in temples like those at Luxor and Karnak to invoke her protection. 

Her iconography is unmistakable: a leonine head evoking the desert’s fiercest predator, clad in a red sheath dress that evokes blood and the sands of Lower Egypt.  The sun disk atop her head aligns her with Ra, the supreme solar deity, while the uraeus cobra signifies royalty and divine authority.  

In historical contexts, Sekhmet served as the patroness of pharaohs, leading them into battle and safeguarding the realm from enemies.  She was also the goddess invoked by physicians, her dual role in spreading disease and curing it reflecting the Egyptians’ holistic view of health as a balance of forces.  Temples dedicated to her, such as the one in Memphis, hosted rituals where priests placated her wrath through offerings, ensuring her benevolence toward the people.

Mystical Myths and Symbolism

At the heart of Sekhmet’s mysticism lies her origin myth, a tale of cosmic fury and redemption. Born from the fiery eye of Ra when he gazed upon a rebellious humanity defying Ma’at—the principle of cosmic order and justice—Sekhmet was unleashed as the “Eye of Ra” to punish the disobedient.  Transformed into a rampaging lioness, she ravaged the earth, her breath forming the desert winds and her claws staining the land with blood.  

This bloodthirsty episode, detailed in texts like the “Destruction of Mankind,” illustrates her as an instrument of divine retribution, embodying the chaotic forces that precede renewal. 

Yet, the myth takes a mystical turn toward equilibrium. Fearing total annihilation, Ra devised a cunning plan: he flooded the fields with beer dyed red with pomegranate juice (or ochre, in some variants), mimicking blood. Sekhmet, mistaking it for her victims’ gore, drank deeply and fell into a drunken slumber, awakening as the gentler Hathor or Bastet, her rage quelled.  

This transformation symbolises the alchemical shift from destruction to fertility, mirroring the Nile’s annual floods that devastate yet enrich the soil—a cycle of death and rebirth central to Egyptian mysticism. 

Mystically, Sekhmet represents sacred rage, the righteous indignation that protects boundaries and enforces justice.  Esoteric interpretations link her to Kundalini energy, the coiled serpent power at the base of the spine, rising like her uraeus to awaken spiritual potential.  As “The One Before Whom Evil Trembles,” she empowers the marginalised , channeling fury into transformation.  Her association with plague and healing underscores the tantric union of opposites: she who mauls also mends, teaching that true enlightenment arises from embracing shadow and light.  In modern mystical practices, invoking Sekhmet fosters personal empowerment, urging one to harness inner fire for healing and protection.

Sekhmet Worship and Her Enduring Legacy

Sekhmet’s cult flourished across Egypt, with festivals like the “Pacification of Sekhmet” involving music, dance, and libations to soothe her wrath and invite her healing.  Priests, known as “w’abu Sekhmet,” performed exorcisms and medical rites in her name, blending mysticism with practical medicine.  Her temples, adorned with her statues, served as sanctuaries where the ill sought cures, reflecting her role as a divine physician. 

Today, Sekhmet’s mystical allure persists in neo-paganism, feminist spirituality, and esoteric traditions, where she symbolises unapologetic strength and the sacred feminine.  Her story invites reflection on the power of controlled chaos, urging us to wield our inner lioness not for mindless destruction, but for profound regeneration.

In Sekhmet, the ancients wove a tapestry of history and mystery, a goddess whose roar echoes through time as a call to embrace our full, paradoxical selves.

Next time, we will look the Goddess Bastet who is very much linked to Sekhmet. They share a common history and in ancient tales Sekhmet is believed to have turned herself into a cat so that she would always be remembered. Are they the same? Find out next time!

Our Magical Solar System: Venus

 Our Magical Solar System

The Enchanted Veil of Venus: A Mystical Odyssey Through Love, Beauty, and the Cosmos

In the velvet expanse of the night sky, Venus gleams as the Morning and Evening Star, a celestial beacon that has captivated humanity for millennia. Known as the brightest planet after the Sun and Moon, she embodies the divine feminine principle, weaving threads of desire, harmony, and transformation across cultures and epochs.  

As both a astronomical wanderer and a mythological goddess, Venus transcends the mundane, inviting us into realms of mysticism where love is a cosmic force, beauty a sacred art, and folklore a tapestry of eternal truths. Her essence pulses through astrology, magic, and ancient tales, reminding us of the delicate balance between passion and peace, creation and rebirth.

Mythology and Folklore: The Goddess’s Timeless Tales

Venus’s folklore is a rich mosaic, drawing from ancient civilizations where she was revered not merely as a deity of romance but as a multifaceted force of life and renewal. In Roman mythology, Venus emerges from the sea foam created by the castration of Uranus, her father, by his son Cronus (Saturn in Roman lore). 

This violent yet generative act sees her born fully formed, floating ashore on a scallop shell, symbolizing purity, fertility, and the alchemical transformation of chaos into beauty.   The iconic depiction of this birth, immortalised in Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (below) captures her ethereal arrival, windswept and attended by zephyrs and nymphs, evoking the mystical union of sea and sky.

Her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, shares this origin but expands into stories of love’s triumphs and tribulations. Aphrodite’s affairs with gods like Ares (Mars) highlight themes of passionate desire intertwined with conflict, while her role in the Judgment of Paris—where she promises Helen’s love to secure the golden apple—sparks the Trojan War, illustrating love’s potential for both ecstasy and destruction.   

Yet, Venus’s roots delve deeper into Mesopotamian lore as Inanna (or Ishtar), the Sumerian goddess of love, war, and the underworld. 

In the epic Descent of Inanna, she ventures into the netherworld to confront her sister Ereshkigal, shedding her garments and powers at seven gates, symbolising a profound initiation into death and rebirth. This journey mirrors Venus’s retrograde cycles, where she “descends” below the horizon, vanishing for days before reemerging transformed—a celestial metaphor for introspection, shadow work, and renewal.   

An ancient relief of Inanna, holding symbols of power like the rod and ring, underscores her as a warrior-queen, blending sensuality with sovereignty.

Across Norse mythology, echoes of Venus appear in Freyja, goddess of love, fertility, and seidhr (a form of shamanic magic), who rides a chariot pulled by cats and weeps golden tears for her lost husband.  

In Egyptian traditions, she aligns with Hathor, the cow-headed deity of joy, music, and motherhood, while in Yoruba lore, Oshun (below) embodies rivers, love, and sensuality. These global folklores paint Venus as a rebel against patriarchal structures, born from rebellion (as in her mythic origins) and overthrowing old powers to foster new life.   Her stories whisper of the mystical: love as a portal to the divine, where desire awakens the soul’s hidden depths.

Symbolism: The Radiant Heart of the Divine Feminine

Symbolically, Venus represents the quintessence of attraction, pleasure, and aesthetic harmony, often seen as the heart’s perceptive lens through which we behold the world’s sentience and beauty.  As the Morning Star, she heralds dawn’s hope and intuition; as the Evening Star, she guides twilight’s reflection and balance.  

In astrology, Venus governs love, relationships, and values, embodying grace, charm, and the pursuit of what delights the senses.   Her glyph—a circle atop a cross—signifies spirit elevated above matter, the eternal soul’s triumph over earthly duality. 

Mystically, Venus symbolises the divine feminine’s complexity: not just tender love, but fierce creation, darkness, and rebirth.  

She is associated with the number seven (linked to Inanna’s gates), intuition, fertility, and the cosmos itself.  In esoteric traditions, Venus evokes the nourishing mother, the seductive lover, and the harmonious artist, fostering emotional desires and magnetic pull.   Her symbolism extends to prosperity and victory, as in Roman lore where she was the ancestress of the Julian line, blending personal passion with societal flourishing. 

Correspondences: Magical Alignments and Enchanted Elements

In magical and astrological correspondences, Venus rules Taurus (earthly sensuality) and Libra (harmonious partnerships), exalting in Pisces for transcendent love.  Her day is Friday (from Norse Freyja or Roman dies Veneris), ideal for rituals of affection and beauty.  Colours  vibrate with her essence: emerald green for growth, bright rose for passion, sky blue for serenity, and pink for tenderness.  

Stones like emerald and turquoise channel her energy, enhancing love spells and emotional balance.  Plants are lush and alluring: roses for eternal love, myrtle for fidelity, jasmine for seduction, and apple for temptation—perfect for philtres or altars.  Animals include the dove (peace), swan (grace), and sparrow (playfulness), while scents like rose, jasmine, and vanilla invoke her voluptuous aura.  Bodily, she governs the genitals, kidneys, and senses, aiding in healing grief or fostering harmony. 

Magically, Venus correspondences fuel love magick, garden rituals, and immortality workings, countering Mars’s aggression with soothing talismans like the heptagram or girdle.  In Vedic astrology, as Shukra, she links to Lakshmi for luxury and romance, her pink hues amplifying abundance. 

Venus, the luminous enchantress, continues to weave her magic in our modern world, a reminder that love is the universe’s most potent spell. Through her folklore of rebirth, symbolism of balanced desire, and correspondences of sensual harmony, she invites us to embrace the mystical dance of the heart. In gazing upon her starry form, we glimpse the divine within, where beauty eternal reigns.

Number: 6

Sign: Taurus and Libra

Color: Green

Day of the Week: Friday

Plants & herbs:  Roses, pink peonies, cherry blossom, orange blossom, damiana, all types of flowers

Incense & scents: Any fancy perfume, rose, sweetgrass, vanilla, violet, sandalwood, ylang-ylang

Crystals & Minerals: lodestone, rose quartz, jade, emerald, copper

Food & drink: Red wine, kava-kava tea, hot chocolate, damiana tea, chocolate, nuts, oysters, clams, lavish sweets (like these chocolates)

Other correspondence:

Copper

The Empress

Dalet (Door)

Deities of love, female sexuality, motherhood, fertility Akka Aphrodite Erzulie Estsamatlehi
Freya Frigg
Ilmatecuhtli Ishtar
Isis Lalita Medb Qetesh Renpet Sukra
Selket Tauret Yolkai Estan

Carrie’s Cabinet of Curiosities: The Cup of Destiny

 Carrie’s Cabinet of Curiosities 

The Cup of Destiny by Jane Lyle 

This is a popular kit focused on tasseography (also known as tasseomancy), the traditional art of fortune-telling by interpreting patterns formed by tea leaves or coffee grounds left in a cup after drinking.

The box set in our collection is from the original 2000 release by Connections Book Publishing Limited in the UK. 

It’s not just a standalone book—it’s typically sold as a set that includes:

•  A specially designed porcelain teacup and saucer (a modern reproduction/facsimile inspired by early 20th-century Edwardian fortune-telling cups, often featuring symbolic motifs or zones to aid interpretation).

•  An accompanying illustrated book (around 96 pages) written by Jane Lyle herself.

All in a nice square box with red satin lining to keep the delicate porcelain clean and safe.

In the book, Lyle teaches the basics of reading tea leaves (or coffee grounds), drawing from traditional Western methods she learned from her grandmother.

 It covers:

•  How to prepare and sip the beverage to leave meaningful residue.

•  Techniques for swirling and inverting the cup.

•  Interpreting the positions of symbols (e.g., near the handle for personal matters, near the rim for the near future, base for distant events or subconscious).

•  Meanings of common shapes and symbols (animals, objects, letters, numbers, etc.), including some Western and Chinese astrological or symbolic associations.

•  Step-by-step instructions tailored to using “The Cup of Destiny” design.

The kit makes it accessible for beginners interested in divination, kitchen witchcraft, or folk traditions. Reviews often describe it as straightforward, charming, and a good entry point (though some note it’s introductory rather than deeply advanced).

If you’re interested in trying it, the set is still available through retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or specialty shops (often in a nice boxed presentation).

About the creator 

Jane Lyle is a British author and expert in divination, tarot, and related occult topics. 

She learned the traditional art of reading tea leaves from her grandmother, a family tradition that sparked her lifelong interest in folk divination and symbolic interpretation. This personal background often comes through in her approachable, practical style—she focuses on making ancient practices accessible for modern readers.

Her expertise spans:

•  Tarot: She’s designed and authored several tarot decks and companion books, including popular ones like The Lovers’ Tarot (focused on relationships and affairs of the heart), The Renaissance Tarot, The Secret Tarot, and The Fortune Teller’s Deck. These often feature her original artwork or interpretations, blending historical symbolism with contemporary insights.

•  Tasseography (tea leaf/coffee ground reading)

•  Other topics: She’s written on broader subjects like psychology, sexuality, sociology, astrology, body language, and esoteric wisdom such as Sacred Sexuality

Jane started exploring divination early—she mentions beginning with playing cards at age ten—and has built a career writing about these subjects in an engaging, non-dogmatic way. She’s described as intrigued by the tarot since childhood and draws from both Western traditions and personal/family lore.

Her books are widely available (Amazon, Goodreads lists around 45 titles associated with her name, though some may be editions/variations), and they’re popular among beginners in divination, kitchen witches, and those interested in symbolic reading. Reviews often praise her clear instructions and charming, straightforward approach.