Welcome to Haeretico
Exploring the Forgotten, the Forbidden, and the Sacred.
Haeretico is an independent magazine of mythology, folklore, religious history, and occult traditions, edited by David Caldwell.
Whether you're drawn to sacred geometry, seasonal festivals, obscure saints, or the secret meanings behind ancient symbols, this site invites you to look beyond the surface, to think heretically, and see the world anew.
Latest Article
7 March 2026
The Wandering Fire - A History of Ball Lightning
From a French tailor stalked by a glowing sphere to thousands of iridescent globes hovering over a Dorset clifftop, discover the strange and fascinating history of ball lightning as recorded in British and Irish newspapers between 1792 and 1938 — and why science, for over a century, could only stand mute before it.
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View All TopicsBrowse Haeretico by subject, from folklore and sacred symbols to saints, lost kingdoms, and the ritual year.
British Folklore, Superstition and the Uncanny
Ghosts, omens, witch-lore, monsters, charms, strange weather, and the persistent afterlife of folk belief.
Christian Origins, Heresy and the Making of Doctrine
Early Christianity, theology, sects, church power, heresy, angels, demons, and the long making of orthodoxy.
Festival Lore and the Ritual Year
Seasonal customs, feast days, holy tides, weather lore, and the old calendar that still haunts the modern year.
Celtic Britain, Sacred Landscapes and Lost Kingdoms
Sacred places, old kingdoms, borderlands, Atlantic routes, and the landscapes where memory, myth, and history overlap.
Pagan Mythology, Gods and Sacred Symbols
Ancient gods, sacred animals, ritual plants, symbols, charms, and the shifting meanings of mythic imagery.
Saints, Relics and Holy Figures
Saints, relic cults, biblical personalities, holy kings, and the legends that grew around sacred lives.
Roman Date Converter
Martius (March 2026)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
K 1 | a.d. 5 2 | a.d. 4 3 | a.d. 3 4 | a.d. 2 5 | a.d. 1 6 | N 7 |
a.d. 7 8 | a.d. 6 9 | a.d. 5 10 | a.d. 4 11 | a.d. 3 12 | a.d. 2 13 | a.d. 1 14 |
I 15 | a.d. 16 16 | a.d. 15 17 | a.d. 14 18 | a.d. 13 19 | a.d. 12 20 | a.d. 11 21 |
a.d. 10 22 | a.d. 9 23 | a.d. 8 24 | a.d. 7 25 | a.d. 6 26 | a.d. 5 27 | a.d. 4 28 |
a.d. 3 29 | a.d. 2 30 | a.d. 1 31 |
a.d. = ante diem (the day before).
Abbreviations
- K = Kalends - the 1st day of the month.
- N = Nones - usually the 5th day (or 7th in March, May, July, October).
- I = Ides - usually the 13th day (or 15th in March, May, July, October).
How it works
The Roman calendar counted backwards from the next key point
(Kalends, Nones, or Ides).
So a.d. 2 means ante diem 2 - “the 2nd day before” the next event.
Latest Posts
5 March 2026
The Goat in Mythology: From Cave Art to the Devil's HornsFrom the sacred ram of ancient Egypt to the Devil's horns of medieval Christendom, the goat has carried humanity's deepest fears and strangest hopes for millennia. Drawing on newspaper archives spanning 1816 to 1996, this cultural history traces the animal's journey through Jewish scripture, Greek tragedy, Norse myth, Victorian occultism, and modern Satanic panic — and asks what we were really projecting all along.
21 February 2026
Before the Shamrock: Ireland, Egypt, and the Hidden Origins of Celtic ChristianityDid Irish Christianity begin before St Patrick? Follow the Atlantic sea-roads from tin and gold to desert monasticism, the “seven Egyptian monks” of Disert Uilaig, Dícuil’s traveller Fidelis, Ogham stones in Wales, and Palladius in 431.
14 February 2026
The Cornish Pellar: Conjurors, Charms, and the Last Custodians of Brittonic MagicExplore the Cornish Pellar tradition: conjurors, charms, curse-breaking, and William Bottrell’s folklore record of Cornwall’s surviving Brittonic magic
12 February 2026
The Sator Square: Roman Charm, Church Code, Folk SpellTrace the Sator Square from Roman Britain and Pompeii to Cornish pellar charms, church stones, cattle blessings, and Christian cryptogram readings across seventeen centuries.
7 February 2026
The Poppy: From Forgetfulness to RemembranceDiscover how the poppy evolved from a symbol of sleep, oblivion, opium and wartime poetry into Britain’s remembrance emblem, with primary newspaper evidence from 1773 to 1939.
1 February 2026
Sacred Wells of the British Isles: Holy Wells, Wishing Wells, Folklore & Healing WatersExplore the sacred wells of the British Isles, from St Winifred’s Well and Madron Well to wishing wells and “eye water” cures. A definitive guide to archaeology, antiquarians, rituals, offerings, and folklore across Britain and Ireland.
25 January 2026
The Folklore of Britain’s Last Wolves: Where the Stories End, and Why They Never Quite DoWolves vanished from Britain and Ireland, yet the “last wolf” keeps turning up in new places, new dates, and new heroes. From Romulus and Remus to wolf pits, hillforts, outlaw “wolf-heads”, and the cave at Dionard, this is a grounded tour of the legends, the hunters, and the uneasy question: did wolves survive longer than people think?
17 January 2026
Pontius Pilate: history, myth, and the long afterlife of Rome’s most famous governorA long-form, source-rich study of Pontius Pilate: what is historically known, what later writers invented, how “Acts of Pilate” and other forgeries shaped the story, and why folklore placed his death, tomb, and ghost from Vienne and the Rhône to Mount Pilatus and even Scotland.