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  • Finding Strength

    December 5, 2023 by

    “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”  Martin Luther King Jr. So there I was yesterday, cycling into the wind, the hail in my face making it very hard to see where I was… Read more

  • Herb of Remembrance: Rosemary

    November 22, 2023 by

    “Down with the rosemary, and so, Down with the bays and mistletoe, Down with the holly, ivy, all, Wherewith ye dressed the Christmas hall, That so the superstitious find, No one least branch there left behind, For look, how many leaves there be, Neglected there (maids, trust to me), So many goblins you shall see.”… Read more

  • Into the Darkness

    November 12, 2023 by

    “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” Carl Jung I thought I was aware of the cycle of the seasons. I thought I knew about the changing levels of light we enjoy in the UK. I am learning that I had no idea. Until this winter,… Read more

  • Samhain and the Cailleach

    October 26, 2023 by

    Cover art by Jurga Creations “I feel the nights stretching away, thousands long behind the days, till they reach the darkness where all of me is ancestor.” Annie Finch Although Halloween was celebrated on the 31st of October, another anciently acknowledged ‘thinning of the veil’ and, for many, the changing of the year, will not… Read more

  • The Fruit of the Otherworld: The Apple Tree

    October 18, 2023 by

    “Seven deer by Slieve Bloom was Finn’s first chase,—a brave and stout exertion— at the end of seven years crowned with honour, at the famous Apple-tree of the fiana. A vessel full of gold, of glorious silver, the woman out of Slieve Slánga gave to him; we know for certain that this was the first… Read more

  • The Truth About Wicker Men

    October 7, 2023 by

    “Don’t you see that killing me is not going to bring back your apples?” Sergeant Neil Howie, The Wicker Man, 1973 One of the historical accusations made against the Celts and Druids was that they burned sacrificial victims in giant wicker men. Victims would be live, and both human and animal. The imagery is powerful,… Read more

  • The Sacred Center in Ritual Continued

    October 4, 2023 by

    “If you have been in the vicinity of the sacred – ever brushed against the holy – you retain it more in your bones than in your head; and if you haven’t, no description of the experience will ever be satisfactory.” Daniel Taylor

  • Autumn Arrival: Customs and Folklore of the Equinox

    September 22, 2023 by

    “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” John Donne We are fast approaching the equinox and the moment of astronomical autumn which takes place on the 23rd of September here in Western Europe. In the meteorological definition, though, autumn began on September 1st. So, for those… Read more

  • Watermint: Mint of the Druids

    September 20, 2023 by

    “When Summer strews its cloak of hues, Then the dells, Yield earth nuts, mint and marjoram And fragrant smells.” George Sigerson, Bards of Gaeilge, 1925

  • Dreaming with Mugwort

    September 18, 2023 by

    “On this eve, too, was gathered the Bollan-Feaill-Eoin “John’s Feast-day wort ” (mugwort), which was made into wreaths to be worn on the heads of man and beast to protect them from witchcraft.” A.W. Moore, The Folklore of the Isle of Man 1891 Mugwort is an ancient plant ally which has been held sacred in… Read more

  • Ravens in My Garden

    September 14, 2023 by

    “On the road to wisdom, behave like a raven and observe everything carefully!” Mehmet Murat Ildan There are two glossy black Ravens in my front garden. I’m fascinated. They are picking tufts of recently mown grass into their beaks, and it surprises me how much they can gather altogether. They must be nesting near. I… Read more

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