As spring starts to unfurl now is the perfect time to get out into your garden (before summer really hits and you risk exchanging that deathly pallor for a sun kissed shade of orange). And we all know goths secretly love being outdoors even the less witchy types will skulk around in mother nature’s bounty, just check out “Goths up trees” if you have any doubt! While I’m partial to the juxtaposition pretty pink and white flowers can make against beautiful black velvets – there are a number of ways you can bring a bit of darkness into your alfresco living space. The queen of goth gardening is undoubtedly Kat von D whose black garden is awash with… well, black. From black sunflowers to black heart vines, her Hollywood garden shrieks goth. But what of our slightly less clement climes? Dark plants were in vogue in Victorian and Edwardian times with plant breeders eager to pursue a rarity and bring out the black. Below is a list of some of my favourite black and dark purple plants. Continue reading →

When you feel like you’ve reached the pinnacle of your gothdom, there’s still an avenue to eke out those extra goth points – goth food and drink! Dark hues of substance to make sure you’re also black on the inside! Continue reading →

Photo by Marija Buljeta
Clothing from The Gothic Shop

While black is the obvious staple of any discerning Goth’s wardrobe – it’s best viewed as the starting point. The canvas on which to adorn with striking flashes of different hues to bring in your unique meaning and personality to the fore. While every colour on this great earth can be woven in to your dark attire, there are a collection of essentials that are quintessentially Goth. Have a read below what each colour represents and choose to weave these meanings into your outward attire. Continue reading →

A few weeks have now passed since we were sat in a field beneath a beautiful full moon, chatting and drinking with good friends in a field of a thousand more friends still unmet… Continue reading →

I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was. A ball, with masqued creatures swirling to a concoction of dark sounds, drunk with music and wine. Yes there was much wine and food for the soul – three courses bursting forth beneath candelabra on white linen which highlighted the sea of black and glittering attire that consumed. Continue reading →

Apart from our rather adventurous route getting in and out of Brussels and the inability to say nor spell Coalescaremonium – it’s an event I thoroughly enjoyed and now plan to try and make it an annual pilgrimage. Continue reading →

Tired of fluffy hearts and saccharine sentiments drowning you in sickening sweetness on the 14^th February? Perhaps we should hark back to some of the origins and recapture a little of the original meaning of Valentine’s Day. Continue reading →

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I have long been a fan of Alchemy Gothic. From the time I saved for months to buy my first piece (which was the Gothic Ankh incidentally, and is still one of my favourite pieces to wear and one of their bestselling items) to now be honoured and welcomed as part of the family. Continue reading →

Although I have been to many German festivals before, this was the first time I sampled M’era Luna. Just a half hour from Hannover, this festival has been going since 2000 in its current incarnation (FKP Scorpio, the organsing body, previously ran this festival in conjunction with Zillo magazine, and decided to keep it on under the flag “M’era Luna” after the cooperation ended in 1999 – you can read my interview with the organisers here). Based at what appears to be a disused airport in Hildesheim, just a half hour from Hannover, it’s a relatively easy journey from the UK – although does
involve a train and bus from the Hannover airport. Another, slightly more fun option, would be to join the annual “Goths on a Bus” tour! Picking up from various spots around England and ferrying the black clad masses across the channel, ensures you’ll arrive ready for the party with your fellow goth horde. (see the facebook group to find out about next year’s trip)
Continue reading →

We were transported via a tunnel deep below the sea to another land, one where magical beasts appeared as visions for one night only. Transported back in time amidst the grand chambers and ballroom of Concert Noble in Brussels (a palace of a place commissioned by Leopold II in 1873 and decorated in Louis XVI style), to an age that didn’t exist – the world of The Swan Princess. Continue reading →

February is the month of love – or so the Hallmark-hijacked Christian festival would have you believe Continue reading →

Gothic animals

Humans and animals share a microcosm in this grand universe of ours, it’s understandable therefore that we’d form bonds and alliances with our earthly cell-mates. From the dawn of time man and beast have co-existed and relied on each other for survival. But more than this, an elevation to friendship and spiritual bonds make our animal counterparts a glittering facet to our transcendental selves.

Continue reading →

We have evidence of jewellery used as decorative adornment dating back as far as between 90,000 and 100,000 years ago. But as mankind progressed and our understanding grew, jewellery changed from merely decorations to representations and reflections; jewellery started to serve as a symbol of wealth and/or status, as well as to protect against harm, ward off evil, and heal ailments. And through the years and across continents from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, Asia and India to the Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian eras an indeed to modern day, shining examples of such adornment have opened a window to the soul of humanity and shed light on our thoughts, dreams, beliefs and desires.
Continue reading →