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
27 March 2026
Hot Cross Buns: History, Origins & Folklore
Discover the fascinating history of hot cross buns - from pagan offerings and Greek sacred bread to Chelsea bun houses and Good Friday folklore. Explore 2,000 years of spiced bread tradition.
Read MoreExplore by Topic
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.
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.
Christian Origins, Heresy and the Making of Doctrine
Early Christianity, theology, sects, church power, heresy, angels, demons, and the long making of orthodoxy.
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
Aprilis (April 2026)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
K 1 | a.d. 3 2 | a.d. 2 3 | a.d. 1 4 | |||
N 5 | a.d. 7 6 | a.d. 6 7 | a.d. 5 8 | a.d. 4 9 | a.d. 3 10 | a.d. 2 11 |
a.d. 1 12 | I 13 | a.d. 17 14 | a.d. 16 15 | a.d. 15 16 | a.d. 14 17 | a.d. 13 18 |
a.d. 12 19 | a.d. 11 20 | a.d. 10 21 | a.d. 9 22 | a.d. 8 23 | a.d. 7 24 | a.d. 6 25 |
a.d. 5 26 | a.d. 4 27 | a.d. 3 28 | a.d. 2 29 | a.d. 1 30 |
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
22 March 2026
What Does "Ne'er Cast a Clout Till May Be Out" Actually Mean?Is it about the month of May or the hawthorn flower? And what on earth is a clout? We dig into 170 years of British newspapers to finally answer one of folklore's most argued questions.
20 March 2026
The White Hart: The Ancient Legend Behind Britain's Most Common Pub SignFrom Greek mythology to medieval forest law, the white deer haunted the British imagination for centuries. Discover the real history behind the legend of the White Hart — royal badge, supernatural omen, and elusive quarry of the soul.
13 March 2026
Why Is a Horseshoe Lucky? The Surprising History Behind the World's Most Universal CharmThe horseshoe has been nailed above cottage doors, cathedral gates, and battleship masts for centuries. Discover the ancient beliefs in iron, the crescent moon, and the sacred horse that made it the world's most enduring good luck symbol.
12 March 2026
Saint Piran of CornwallPiran - patron saint of Cornwall, tin miners and the Cornish flag — from Irish origins to the buried oratory's remarkable 2014 excavation.
10 March 2026
Clare Island - Isle of Storms, Pirates and Naturalists: A History in Newspaper Voicesiscover the fascinating history of Clare Island, off the coast of Mayo - from the piratical legend of Grace O'Malley and bitter land disputes to a landmark natural history survey, told through contemporary newspaper voices spanning 1863 to 1986.
7 March 2026
The Wandering Fire - A History of Ball LightningFrom 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.
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.