Hwaet!
Hwæt is a term most famous for being the opening word of the legendary Old English poem, Beowulf. In various translations of the millenia-spanning epic it has been interpreted as "What ho!" , "Hear me!" , "Attend!" , "Indeed!" , "So," and even "Bro." in Maria Dahvana Headley's 2020 translation. To this day there is much debate over its original meaning, including whether it should even be read as an interjection at all. Hwæt, then, is a term that suggests something archaic but also something contemporary. Its meaning is not only debated to this day but routinely reimagined. It represents ancient ideas consistently brought forward with time, and the extents to which even the oldest stories can still speak to us on a deep level. Our focus with this zine is to harness that spirit – to examine the ways that ancient ideas, some still present and popular, some buried and half forgotten, nevertheless survive in the modern day.
Website - https://www.hwaetzine.co.uk/
Issue 1
Each issue of Hwæt! will have its own scope of focus, and this first instalment highlights the nebulous realm of folklore, harking back to the origins of historic traditions and stories and threading their influence through to contemporary society, culture and entertainment.
FEATURING:
- AN INTERVIEW WITH GREEN LUNG
- VAMPIRES AND LGBTQ+
- DETECTORISTS
- AN INTERVIEW WITH LINDY-FAY HELLA OF WARDRUNA
- FOLK HORROR GAMING
- RITUALS AND CONTROL
- BURNING THE WICKER MAN
- RE-IMAGINING THE THREE HARES MOTIF
...AND MORE
A5 zine, 68 pages, perfect bound, printed on natural recycled paper.
Each zine comes presented in a wax sealed black presentation envelope and sent out in a biodegradable mailer.
£8
Issue 2
Even the oldest of stories can tell us something about who we are today. Throughout the last two thousand years, it has often been the case that humans have sought to understand the present by filtering it through the lens of myths and legends. They have been the basis for paintings and sculptures during vital artistic movements, the starting point of songs by some of the most influential musicians, and even symbols of hope during times of protest. By looking back through our past and analysing what these ancient stories meant to us at different times in history, and comparing it with what they mean to us now, we might gain a better picture of who we are and what we hold most dear. Featuring dense mythologies populated by capricious deities and monstrous adversaries, as well as legendary tales interrogating the meaning of honour and virtue, Myths & Legends is our second and biggest issue yet. We’ve left no stone unturned in our exploration of this most mercurial realm, taking in Arthurian adaptations, reimagining board games, analysing heavy metal lyrics, and even interviewing award-winning dancers.
FEATURING:
LORE BY JAMES WILTON DANCE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
IN CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL HART
PAGES FROM THE PAST: MYTHOLOGICAL SOURCES
REEVALUATING THE MONSTROUS WOMEN OF MYTH
KIRA MCSPICE ON NIAMH THE GOLDEN-HEADED
THE NORSE NINE REALMS BOARD GAME
SISYPHEAN GAMING
MAZES AND LABYRINTHS
ANALYSING BARAEL’S BLADE
FLOOD MYTHS IN AN AGE OF CLIMATE BREAKDOWN
AFRICAN PRAISE POETRY
GILGAMESH: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
…AND MORE!
A5 zine, 92 pages, perfect bound, printed on natural recycled paper.
Each zine comes presented in a wax sealed black presentation envelope and sent out in a biodegradable mailer.
£9
Issue 3
Stone monuments can be found all across the planet in all manner of forms, some stretching back deep into eras long since forgotten. Appreciating stone is about connection – to our own past, to nature, to the universe. And thus, in an era in which these ties feel severed, it is about reconnection.
Many of these stones have stories and folklore attatched to them, tales that have survived throughout the ages. Our long anticipated third installment is centered around our connection to the ancient stones that surround us, both in the UK and all around the world. This is our biggest zine yet at over 100 pages and features interviews, think pieces, maps and more. This issue delves deep into history and spans across the globe putting these sacred sites at the fore.
FEATURING:
- AN INTERVIEW WITH NEUROSIS' STEVE VON TILL ON MEGALITHS
- STONE CLUB FIELD NOTES
- LIGHT AND SHADOW IN MEDIEVAL STONE CARVINGS
- NATURAL ROCK FORMATIONS AND THEIR LEGENDS
- AN INTERVIEW WITH MARK JENKIN ON HIS FILM ENYS MEN
- BRONZE AGE CARVINGS ON ROMBALD'S MOOR
- EXPLORING THE IDEA OF SENTIENT STANDING STONES
- A MAP OF THE MEGALITHIC BRITISH ISLES
- JUSTIN HOPPER ON AN AMERICAN MEGALITH
- NAME THAT STONE
- POST INDUSTRIAL REGENERATION AND MODERN STONE CIRCLES
A5 zine, 106 pages, perfect bound, printed on natural recycled paper.
Each zine comes presented in a wax sealed black presentation envelope and sent out in a biodegradable mailer.
£9
Issue 4
The concept of magic has existed for as far back as human records stretch, but where once it was a power innate not only in gods and goddesses but in healers and religious leaders, it came to be understood as something sinister and malevolent – the work of evil spirits, of malicious people, of the devil himself. At one time magic was an intrinsic part of everyday life, but later it was divided into those looking to heal and those looking to harm. Witchcraft has been used as an excuse to vilify those who do not fit into the status quo, to harass personal enemies, and to further oppress the already marginalised. In many ways, this injustice continues to this day. Yet witchcraft has also become a source of power for those who recognise that injustice. Where "witch" was once a moniker thrust upon you, an excuse to exercise judgement and punishment over you, it is now a mantle you might choose to take up, a seizing of power both personal and collective. This zine thus aims in part to be a rumination on needless violence both contemporary and historical, and a reminder that we should never think ourselves above the injustices of the past. But it is also a celebration of everything the witch might represent. As the concept of the witch morphs and adapts with each new era, it remains perhaps the enduring archetype - a constant muse, ever the subject of art and storytelling. In the face of tyranny, violence, misogyny, and repression, the witch emerges anew, not only surviving but thriving, a triumph of personal power and unbreakable camaraderie.
FEATURING:
- AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST, WRITER & MUSICIAN JOHANNA HEDVA
- THE HEDGE WITCH REIMAGINED THROUGH MORRIS DANCING
- A MOOR-TOP CURSE OF MURDERED WITCHES
- THE RADICAL POTENTIAL OF WITCHCRAFT
- DIRECTOR EMMA SWINTON ON THE WITCH'S DAUGHTER SHORT FILM
- THE MAGGIE WALL MEMORIAL AT WITCHING HOUR
- A MSS ON WITCHCRAFT UNEARTHED IN YORKSHIRE
- THE HISTORY OF WOMEN BEER BREWERS AND WITCHCRAFT
- A MAP OF CUNNING FOLK ACROSS ENGLAND AND WALES
- THE IMAGE OF THE OLD CRONE
- HERBAL BREWS TO TRY AT HOME
- THE ARCHAELOGY OF CUNNING WOMEN
A5 zine, perfect bound, printed on natural recycled paper.
Each zine comes presented in a wax sealed black presentation envelope and sent out in a biodegradable mailer.
£9