Gwithti An Pystri

The street sign

Walking up old high street

Gwithti An Pystri

One Saturday I was walking about in the Falmouth old shopping street next to the waterfront and I came across this shop with a weird name, Gwithi An Pystri, after reading the many notes in the window and on the door I came to learn it was a museum of folklore and magic and also a space for some tarot readings and library for the occult. They had their resident ghost and also allowed piskies and familiars for free. I entered for the sake of the museum and paid some 4.50 pounds for entry. The space was cluttered of all manner of paraphernalia for different kind of magic.

The museum serves as an interactive community hub rather than a traditional, static exhibition. Its history, layout, and contents seemingly reflect deep roots in the Cornish esoteric community.

The founder, Stephen "Steve" Patterson, has been immersed in museum work since the 1980s. He spent over 20 years at the renowned Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle before leaving in 2018 to build his own project. The exhibition is in an old 18th-century building that is reputed to have its own resident ghost.

Cryptids and Curiosities, beyond Cornish items, the collection includes highly unusual global occult pieces, such as Thai, Coptic and other items from different cultures. The space blends history with contemporary fine art and copies of same from across the world.

For maritime magic & Piskies, they have a dedicated section that covers the "Art of the Sea Witch," alongside a "Cabinet of Pisky Lore" featuring traditional Cornish hag stone charms, four-leaf clovers, and protective brass images of the regional fairy entities Joan the Wad and Jack o' Lantern.

Morgawr and sea beans

Morgawr seems to the the Cornish variant to the Loch Ness monster. While stories date back to the 19th century, modern interest exploded in 1976 when "Mary F" sent photos to the Falmouth Packet. Sightings often describe a creature 15–20 feet long with dark, seal-like skin, sometimes seen near Pendennis Point. Many researchers believe the creature began as a hoax created by Irish artist and magician Tony "Doc" Shiels in the 1970s to promote interest in sea monsters. Read more over here.

Apart from a short spit of land on the north coast, Cornwall is surrounded on all sides by water, consequently the Cornish have always had a close relationship with the sea. The sea is not only a source of riches and a gateway to the wider world; it is also a place of mystery and a porthole to a far stranger other-world. Thus the fishermen, sailors and workers upon the sea live lives rich in superstition and beliefs ...even to this day! It is the haunt of mermaids, sea monsters, phantom ships and spirits of the drowned. To the west of Cornwall also lays our own Celtic Atlantis ...the lost land of Lyonesse.

Not so long ago the sea witches haunted every harbour. Rather thar the posh crystal balls used by up country witches, glass fishing float were a favoured tool of scrying' by the west country sea witches This one came from a sea witch from Appledore, Devon in the 1980's. 

Sea beans - tropical seeds carried across the Atlantic and deposited on our western shores from the Hebrides to Cornwall. Famed for their talismanic powers; some say they bring prosperity, some that they aid child birth and others that they protect you from drowning. These came from the Hebrides.

The maritime magic corner

As I got around I saw the different setup and the multiple posters of information I took some pictures of the exhibits than can be seen below. The small space had a lot to offer for the curious mind but I soon had my fill and ventured upstairs to exit. 

Ethiopian shrine with Coptic paraphernalia

There the lady who was minding the fort asked me from where I was and it turned out she was also from Finland and had been living in Falmouth nearly 30 years already. The library and reading corner was closed as there was someone probably getting their curse cast off. With that I thanked the lady at the till and stepped out in the fresh air.

Coptic symbols

The Sorcerer's den

Here we see the cowled figure of the sorcerer before his altar. Is it a man or a woman? Is it a witch or a

wizard? Are they inflamed with the passions of desire as they casts their spells or are they consumed with spiritual rapture ...who knows. for in the shadowy world of the sorcerer "fair is foul and foul is fair". This sorcerer may not even be a creature of this world at all! Around them is a selection of genuine magical objects use by genuine practitioners of the magical artes ...what can you see?

Lord Pengersic was an infamous Comish sorcerer who once lived at Pengersic castle in west Cornwall ... and of him many tales were told. It was said that he learned his magical arts whilst in the holy land and on his return he bought with him a beautiful eastern princess who was also an "Ophidian" serpent priestess It was said that she played her harp from the battlements and called to the spirits on the wind. Maybe she was a priestess of Tanit!

Tanat

The mysterious cult of the Goddess Tanat

The Goddess Tanat (or Tanit) emerged from the ancient near east amongst the Phoenicians, a seagoing trading people from the area of present day Lebanon In ancient times they spread throughout the Mediterranean, north Africa, Spain, France and some say ever old Cornwall, where they came in search of tin. As was he case with many great empires, they left little behind but the shadows of their old Gods.

Tanat was a complex goddess; at one moment a shining queen of heaven, at another a bringer of love to our hearts and fertility to the land and at another moment a vengeful warrior wading in blood! For many years she brooded in many forms amongst the Celtic peoples until she emerged once again in a rather surprising manner in mid Twentieth century England.

In the late 1950s a display depicting a contemporary temple devoted to the goddess Tanat appeared in Cecil Williamson's Museum of witchcraft situated in Bourton-on-the-water in the Cotswolds. The infamous tableau appeared again in his Boscastle Museum of witchcraft in the 1960s and was even featured in the souvenir postcards from the museum.

Mr Williamson would say little about the Coven of Tanat, to whom the temple belonged, save that they convened in an old "Blockhouse" in the Falmouth area. They remain an enigma to this day.

The Thai magic display

Ghosthunting Thai royals in Cornwall

In the uncertainty that came as old Siam morphed in to modern Thailand, Prince Chula Chakrabongse (1908-1964), the heir to The Siamese throne and grandson of King Mongkut (of the Thailand  Hollywood film "The King and I") found himself living at Tredethy house on the edge of Bodmin moor in Cornwall in the 1940s. He was later joined by his younger Cousin prince Birabongse Bhanubandh, often known as Prince Bira (1914- 1985) ..and there they lived for many years.

The princes had a passion for flying, sailing and motor racing. This was shared by the bard, folklorist and collector of Witch traditions William Paynter who became a family friend and often visited Tredethy house. He and prince Bira also shared an interest in Ghost hunting and the Occult. Prince Bira  accompanied Paynter on many a ghost hunting expedition. One well documented account tells of their investigation of Madford house in Launceston in 1947

Local tradition says that prince Bira's Wife Princess Elisabeth is said to haunt the bridge at Hellandbridge near to Tredethy.

Thai mythology, how to arrange your yantra plate

Thai magic runes

Witches horn

Legend tells that Jack-the-giant-killer lured the giant of St Michaels mount to his death with this horn. This is a witch's horn from Mounts Bay - used to call the spirits in... on much friendlier terms.

Alex Sanders (1926-1988) Flamboyant and media savvy "King of the witches", bought witchcraft from the underground in to the bright lights of the swinging 1960's and 70's. Many of the Modern wiccans today are descended from his line of initiation. Pair of brass altar candlesticks - said to have belonged to Alex Sanders. Gifted to an Alexandran high priestess in the Ghastonbury aria in the 1990's. Brass

pestle and mortar - Once owned by Alex Sanders. He told that it belonged before him to a family of  hereditary witches fore preparing their compounds and potions. It was gifted to author Andrew Collins in 1976 and then procured by Gemma Gary. (On loan from Gemma Gary.)

Witches cradle

This is not a torture device; this was something used and developed by the witches themselves. The witch would strap themselves to the frame and there remain bathed in the smoke of burning herbs from the cauldron beneath until the veil between the worlds would fall away and the witch would enter in to their beloved spirit world. For like the mermaid, the witch is a creature of two worlds, and it is from the spirit world that they draw their magic, wisdom and spiritual blessings.

This was originally a display in Cecil Williamson's museum of witchcraft in the 1960's. It is not known where he got it from Muldoon and Carrington in their work on astral projection refer to it in 1929 and in 1940 William Seabrook describes its use amongst the witches. In 1971 Witch and astrologer Sibyl Leek warns of its dangers!

Parts of the original Witches cradle were found in the 1990's and its present form. In the display are elements from another one of with the the help of local blacksmith Lisa wisdom it was restored to Cecil Williamsons long disappeared displays ...can you spot them?

Symbols behind the cradle

Witch’s Cradle: This standout item in the collection is an actual ritual device historically used for sensory deprivation to induce altered states of consciousness, originally owned by Boscastle Museum founder Cecil Williamson.

Black Dog

Tales of the phantom black dog who stalks the land by night are a mainstay of the folklore of these lands. He is known by many names; in the north he is Barguest, in the midlands Padfoot, in the east Black Shuck and here in the west, amongst other names the Dandy hound.

We first hear of the phantom hounds in the mediaeval Welsh legends of the ghostly "Hounds of Anwyn", and in the earlier Anglo Saxon chronicles they are described as riding the wings of the storm with the spectral Wild hunt ... "Black and big eyed and loathsome'

Little of this strange beast is known; some say he appears as an omen of ill fortune, some he is a protective spirit or a guardian of hidden treasure. Some say he is a ghost of an unquiet departed soul or a conjuration of the spirit of the landscape ... and some even say that it is a solid creature of flesh, fur and blood.

Often they stalk the old trackways and the wild haunted places, though sometimes they can even appear in our streets and even our houses, though its native habitat is always the misty half-world of the night, the twilight and the shadows.

Small fairy beings

From the left to right: Bucca Dhu, Spriggan, Pisky, Toothfairy, Bucca Widn, Knocker

In Cornish mythology, the Bucca is a dual-natured spirit of the sea and mines. It is split into the Bucca Widn (White Bucca, shown second from the right), who was considered good-natured and brought luck to fishermen, and the Bucca Dhu (Black Bucca), a malevolent entity associated with storms and bad luck.

Spriggan, once giants. Spriggan are guards to the fae realm. Found as protectors to ancient burial sites in penwith. Malevolent creatures, to be avoided at all cost.

Pisky, the traditional Cornish fairy. Commonly believed responsible for missing items around the home. Mischievous in nature.

Tooth fairy, modern fairy of Western lore. The tooth fairy began in America. Connections to medieval tooth magic from Europe established the power childrens teeth have, likely a foundation to their origins.

Bucca Widn, benevolent coastal fairy. Like the Knocker they can be found in old mines. It was believed offerings to these fairies would provide bountiful fishing to communities in Cornwall.

Knocker, found in mines across Cornwall. These fairies can be both malevolent or helpful to miners.  Leading them to riches or causing accidents if not appeased.

Faeries in the 20th century

From the late C19 the fearsome Faery began to morph from being the capricious creatures of the twilight in to the infantilised gossamer winged fairies of the modern imagination. One must not forget that in some Celtic and Northern European countries, the scary faery is still very much a force! 

A whimsical Edwardian 'album' of piano music entitled "Titania" by Montague Ewing is clearly inspired by Shakespeare midsummer night's dream.

1945 Cicely M Barkers "Fairies of the trees". Her "Flower furies" epitomise in so many ways the modern fairy

1917 These fairy photographs - known as 'The Cottingley fairies" appeared in the "Strand" magazine in 1920 and in this Theosophical publication in 1945. They still to this day remain an enigma. 

1970s "Fuzzv felt"

Faeries?

Pictures of faeries?

"I would rather expect such entities (Faeries) to manifest themselves in some abstract geometric shape suggesting jewellery, simple or complex according to their nature; or perhaps in forms resembling crystals or the basic cellular structures of organic life." Ithell Colquhoun (1975)- Surrealist artist and occultist who lived in Lamorna in west Cornwall for many years.

This image is a woodcut print titled "Gruppe dreier wildbewegter Hexen" (Group of Three Wild Witches) by Hans Baldung Grien, created around 1514.

This image of three witches in the throes of an ecstatic dance is full of esoteric symbols. Note the light they hold above their heads. On accusation that was commonly levelled against the witches was the raising of storms. In fact James 1st took this so seriously it drove him to write the infamous "daemonology" (1597) heralding the death sentence for the practice of witchcraft. Maybe the witches, the storms and the seas do have a close relationship... but not in the way their accusers thought!

Hans Baldung Grien was a student of Albrecht Dürer and is renowned for his dramatic and often macabre depictions of witches and supernatural scenes. The woodcut depicts three nude female figures, often interpreted as witches, involved in a chaotic, ecstatic scene, typically associated with Walpurgis Night (a witches' sabbath). These figures are portrayed as mysterious and powerful, breaking from the traditional passive depictions of women in art from that era.

Hekate

Painting of 'Hekate', she is an ancient Greek goddess associated with crossroads, magic, witchcraft, night, the moon, and ghosts. Often depicted holding torches or keys, she represents a powerful, triple-formed deity presiding over Earth, Sea, and Sky. Originally a Titan-associated divinity, she remains a prominent figure in modern witchcraft and neo-pagan tradition.

From the enigmatic works of the Dutch magician J.H.W. Eldermans - mid C20.

Witches magical knives

Whereas the wand directs the spirit force that flows about us, the ritual knife directs the spirit force that

flows within us ... in this way the witch and sorcerer may carve their will upon the world about them!

Left of the cabinet

Wooden Knives - For magical purposes the magical knife does not have to be made of metal, in the spirit world wood can sometimes be even more powerful!

1. The long Rowan knife is shod with an iron nail and was used for the removal of unwanted psychic influences.

2. This twisted Hazel knife was made by a pagan woodcarver in the 1980's. When I acquired it the maker informed me that he had just completed the rather dubious commission of carving penises on the ends of the truncations for the Dorset Constabulary who were on their way up to the Miners' strike!

Top of cabinet 

3. These Bone handled and Blackthorn handled copper knives were used for the cutting of magical herbs. They contained no Iron, which is said to be damaging to faery magic: copper, wood and bone are all conducive to the flow of spirit force. The red ribbon is said to have come from the Padstow Obby Oss many years ago

Right of cabinet 

4. The Iron Knife was forged from a very old Iron nail ... that's double magic for the witch!

Middle of cabinet 

5. This blade was used by a practitioner of The Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn as part of their temple paraphernalia: It was used primarily to summon the elemental forces of Air from the east.

Ouija board and tarot cards

Witches mirror and more tarot cards

Anvil shrine

The anvil is the altar from the branch of traditional witchcraft  from the Leicestershire area known as "The court of Gullin-Kambi". It was a family tradition which seemed to be a mix of Norse paganism, Tantra and traditional witchcraft. As far as I know the last member, the coven "Farrier" passed away in Cornwall some 20 years ago and this was his personal shrine.

Sabbatic shrine

In the 1990's a new current of traditional witchcraft known as "Sabbatic craft" began to emerge. The term was coined by Andrew Chumbley the then magister of the Essex based "Cultus Sabbati". Whilst being firmly based in English cunning and magical traditions it also looked to Luciferianism, Tantra and Gnosticism for its inspiration. The shrine incorporates objects of the 'Arte' from the final hidden years of the Cultus Sabbattii, pieces of from the Williamson collection, a reliquary of dust from mount Hermon where the dark angels were said to have fallen, symbols of Cain and the Peacock angel and Mr Chumbley's 'hag stone'.

Wiccan shrine

From a coven known as the 'Oxford coven" in the 1980's; left in a box for 40 years then found like a magical time capsule! Corresponding to the elements of earth, air, fire and water it has a pentacle, athame (knife), wand and chalice with an altar cloth and two lamen (ritual pendants) for the priest and High Priestess. (Donated by Jack Daw)

Wiccan stone

Vampire slaying kit

The cabinet of curiosities

This genuine Victorian vampire slaying kit turned up in a junkshop in a small northern town. Often incorporating much older pieces, these were produced in the late 19th century in response to the craze for all things gothic and ghoulish. To some they were a novelty item and to others they were the real deal! Bram Stoker, who started the whole Victorian vampire craze spent much time north Cornwall, one wonders if a few of these kits would have been knocking around in these parts.

Satanic shrine

The would-be Satanists shrine

Some years ago the north Devon Pellar and Cunning man Jack Daw was performing a ritual in a wood  near Oxford. As the ritual required, clad in his ceremonial robe, wearing a sack mask and bearing a ritually prepared knife he kindled his ritual fire. At the appointed hour Mr Dow walked in to the darkness of the wood, knife in band to cut the required magical herb for the rie. Unfortunately due to the limited vision of the ceremonial mask and the fact that the hitherto bright moon seemed to have disappeared behind the clouds Jack Daw got quite lost! Eventually he spied a light through the trees which he took to be his own ritual bonfire. On approaching it however, through the darkness he began to make the form of a young lad hunched over a candle. Creeping up closer to get a better look, Mr Daw trod on a stick which cracked with a loud report. The young Satanist looked up to see the bemused Mr Daw standing there, still in his robe, sack mask and bearing his ritual knife ... screamed and ran off in to the night leaving his satanic altar behind.  And here it is .. the ceremonial box and knife used in Mr Daw and the knife, pentacle and Satanic bible left by the young would-be Satanist.

God in a bottle as opposed to a ship

This curious piece of folk art is often known as "God in a bottle". They were must commonly made by Irish labourers working in the North east of England in the mid part of the 19th century. Like the "ships in a bottle" made by their nautical cousins, these were made to sell and the while away the hours, but also they were considered to confer blessing and magical protection. One is reminded of the mediaeval church paintings which depict Christ surrounded by tools. (There is one nearby in Breage church).

Stamps of the occult, published in 2025

The Horse-shoe

"To shew you how to prevent and cure all mischiefs wrought by those charms and witchcraft ... one principle way is to nail a horse-shoe to the inside of the outmost threshold of your house." Reginald Scot (1584).

The horse-shoe nailed to the door or gate is probably the most common magical folk practice in these isles, in fact it is so common we barely even notice it! ... but it is an old magic - as old as we have been shoeing horses. They hold three magics: magic in finding one on the path, magic in nailing one up and magic in having one on your door.

The big question is - Which way up? Some say horns up and some say horns down and some say you have horns upwards for a while and then you tum it around to empty out the magic. The second question is - what gives it its magic? Some say it draws on the magical powers of the horse, John Aubrey in the C17 said its power to banish evil comes from the iron ... "Mars is enemy to Saturn", but some say that its virtue comes from its likeness to the moon. When going down a mine, to guard against over-looking, touch a horse-shoe four times before starting work. For this purpose, shoes were often nailed in the mine engine-house or else underground.

Spell from a book

19th Century West Country Charms

"Coamer, Synady, Heupide."

And then I say:

"I conjure thee apple, by these three names written on thee, that whosoever shall eat thee shall burn in my love."

Charm for Beauty of Skin & Firm Flesh & Breasts: At midnight, when the September moon is full, strip naked and go to an apple tree and climb up in to it. Take the topmost apple you can reach, then, face the moon placing your feet wide apart, one on a limb to the left of the main trunk and one to the right of

same. In this position raise your face to the moon, and with outstretched arms holding the apple, intone your wish and give praise to the moon. Then eat the apple, every bit of it. Climb down and run round the tree nine times from left to right. Go home and go to bed naked without washing your hands or feet.

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