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Fabulous Folklore with Icy

Fabulous Folklore with Icy

By: Icy Sedgwick
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Fabulous Folklore will give you your weekly fix of fabulous folklore in fifteen minutes (or less)!

Hosted by fantasy and Gothic horror writer, Icy Sedgwick, the podcast explores folklore, legends, superstitions, mythology, and all things weird, occult and unusual.

Icy Sedgwick
Art Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Poplar Trees: Folk Belief, Remedies, and the Arbor Tree
    Mar 21 2026

    Poplar trees are perhaps one of the lesser-known trees that I've featured on this blog. Many people can recognise an oak tree on sight, but how many could recognise the poplar?

    Indeed, how many would realise John Constable added a black poplar to the background of his famous painting, 'The Hay Wain'?

    We find these trees in the willow family, and for a tree that's less common now, they have a surprising amount of folklore. The trees even gave their name to the London borough, Poplar, due to the number of black poplars in the area.

    There are also different types of poplar, though this article will focus on the black and white varieties. So how did people use the tree in their remedies, and what superstitions surround the poplar? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

    Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/poplar-trees/

    Check out the Woodland Trust: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

    Donate to Secure The Rothbury Estate: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/rothbury-estate-nature-and-nation

    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

    Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

    Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

    Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

    Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

    Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

    Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

    Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

    'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

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    20 mins
  • Polish Folk Magic with Joanna Tarnawska
    Mar 20 2026

    Joanna Tarnawska is an animist, folkloric witch, and psychologist residing in the mountains of Lower Silesia, Poland. Her practice intertwines animism, bioregional traditions, and lore, drawing inspiration from the early modern period of Polish witch trials and Slavic folklore. With a strong foundation in anthropology and ethnography, Joanna's work explores the deep connections between pre- and post-Christian folklore and witchcraft traditions. She contributes articles to Femme Occulte magazine and runs "Polish Folk Witch," a platform where she shares her knowledge through courses and group studies on Polish folk magic, animism, and traditional witchcraft.

    In this chat, we talk about folk magic compared to witchcraft, the presence of Christian elements within Polish folk magic, spring rituals within Polish practice, and just how accessible and practical folk magic can be.

    Buy Polish Folk Magic: Ancestral Lore & Traditions of the West Slavs: https://amzn.to/4bmoxdJ

    Find Joanna online: https://polishfolkwitch.pl/

    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

    Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

    Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

    Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

    Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

    Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

    Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

    Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

    'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Yew Trees: Death, Churchyards, and Helpful Tools
    Mar 14 2026

    Back in November 2020, I explored the folklore of the yew tree; specifically, the common yew, or English yew (Taxus baccata).

    Yes, it's a poisonous tree. Yes, it's linked with death. And yes, people like to say they pre-date the churchyards in which we find them.

    But in the intervening six years, my library of sources has grown, so I wanted to see if there was anything more I could learn about them. They're my favourite tree, and I always love spotting them in parks and cemeteries. There's something deeply restful and reassuring about a yew tree.

    My fascination with trees within ecosystems has also grown, so I wanted to explore the yew outside of folklore. How and why are these trees so cool and so different from other trees?

    So let's explore their dendrology, their uses to humans, and yes, their links with death, before we meet some more famous yews in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

    Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/yew-trees/

    Listen to the earlier yew episode: https://www.icysedgwick.com/yew/

    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

    Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

    Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

    Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

    Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

    Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

    Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

    Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

    'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

    Show more Show less
    20 mins
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