ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What if your local pharmacist, therapist, astrologer and relationship counsellor were all the same person? In Elizabethan London, people dealing with illness, money worries, problems in love or uncertainty about their future could turn to a cunning folk practitioner for answers.
These early modern magical practitioners offered a strange mixture of astrology, geomancy, herbal remedies, divination and experimental medicine — all designed to treat the body, mind and soul as one interconnected problem.
In this episode of Macabre London, Nikki Druce explores the fascinating world of Simon Forman, one of Elizabethan London's most notorious and intriguing magical practitioners. Forman kept meticulous records of the people who came to him for help, giving us an extraordinary glimpse into how ordinary Londoners used magic in their everyday lives.
From geomancy and astrology to herbal potions, purges and magical cures, we look at what people actually paid these practitioners to do — and whether their treatments were genuine attempts at healing, dangerous pseudoscience, or something in between.
Nikki is joined by Dr Alexander Cummins an expert in the history of magic and geomancy, to explore how these practices worked and why magic was such an important part of everyday life in early modern England.
🖤 Subscribe to Macabre London for more dark history, strange stories and the occult history of London.
This series is sponsored by Snag - Clothing for Every Body! Make sure you check them out www.snagtights.com
-------------------------
Be sure to check out my other podcast, Killers, Cults & Queens https://podfollow.com/queens ---------------------------
SUPPORT
————————
Paypal - paypal.me/macabrelondon
KO-FI: ko-fi.com/macabrelondon
PATREON: www.patreon.com/macabrelondon
——————————-
Thank you to our executive producer patrons - Sam, Sarah, Veronica, Mary, Christina, Sally, Christophe, Ravelle, Jemma, Terri and Matilda. And to all of our wonderful upper tier patrons... Andrew, Denise, Bethan, Ashley, David, Kathryn, Andrea, Claire, Amy, Wendy, Inge, Liz, Kelly, Boudicca, Jana, Laura, Christina, And thanks to all other patrons too!
————————
SOCIAL MEDIA
---------------------------------------------
Insta: @nikkimacabrelondon TikTok: @macabrelondon Facebook: @macabrelondon Email: macabrelondon@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------
witchcraft history, witches, witch trials, witch hunts, English witch trials, early modern England, medieval history, Tudor history, Stuart history, history of witchcraft, history of religion and belief, demonology, folk magic, occult history, esotericism, dark history, spooky history, supernatural history, history documentary, historical documentary, Macabre London, true crime history, historical true crime, women in history, women accused of witchcraft, religious history, early modern period, British history, London history, English history, crime and punishment history, belief systems history, paranormal history, folklore history, creepy history, mysterious history, forbidden history, grim history, horror history, strange history, pagan history, Henry VIII witchcraft, James VI and I witchcraft, Daemonologie, Malleus Maleficarum, Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General, witch marks, apotropaic marks, witch accusations, devil worship history, witch panic, witchcraft law, 16th century witchcraft, 17th century witch trials, English folklore, occult beliefs, superstition history, witchcraft and religion, early modern beliefs, haunted history, the reformation, queen elizabeth the first, Queen Elizabeth 1, exorcisms, history of exorcisms, jesuits in england, catholic reformation, protestant reformation, astrology, Esoterica, #MacabreLondon #ElizabethanLondon #SimonForman #OccultHistory #HistoryOfMagic
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
