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Ten Love Letters to the Earth, by Thich Nhat Hanh
In honor of the passing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, we are sharing his Ten Love Letters to the Earth. These meditations are an...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'The Message of the Rain', by Norman H. Russell
When i was a child i was a squirrel a bluejay a fox and spoke with them in their tongues climbed their trees dug their dens and knew the...


A February Goddess: Remembering The Little Things
February the 8th, is the Festival of Broken Needles in Shinto and Buddhist traditions. On this day, women will gather up all of the...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'Feed The Birds', by Sylvia Spencer
Birds of Britain, I watch them fly high beautiful birds as they wing to the sky. They are a star studded spangle of gracious charm. A...


Fairies in the grass: A Priest's view of (and method of thwarting) the Faerie
Imbolc marked the transition between the Winter (earth element season) and Spring (air element season). So, as we journey deeper into the...


St Brigid: Dove Among Birds, Vine Among Trees, Sun Among Stars
Starting next year, we’ve been given a new National Holiday! February 1 is celebrated as St Brigid’s Day in Ireland and to honour our...


Brigid: The Pagan Goddess(es) of Ireland?
Imbolc is a celebration of the returning light and Brigid herself is believed to be an incarnation of a Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess,...


Brigid of Kildare
February 1st is celebrated as Lá Féile Bríde (Saint Brigid's Day) in Ireland. St Brigid is the female patron saint of Ireland (together...


Ancient and Holy Wells of Ireland
The bullán (english: bullaun) you see above is situated in wild commonage on the Trafask townland on the Beara Peninsula. It comes with a...


Tale of a Scottish Brownie
There was a Brownie who lived and worked in the house of Maxwell, Laird of Dalswinton. This Brownie was particularly close to the...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'The Lamplighter', by Robert Louis Stevenson
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky; It’s time to take the window to see Leerie going by; For every night at teatime and...


Wintering, and how Trees illuminate the Art of Self-Renewal in difficult times
“Wintering… is the courage to stare down the worst parts of our experience and to commit to healing them the best we can. Wintering is a...


The Complex Root Systems of Plants
Winter is the season of the earth element and earth, and it's hard to speak about earth without speaking about physical roots, our...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'A Wintry Sonnet', by Christina Rossetti
A Robin said: The Spring will never come, And I shall never care to build again. A Rosebush said: These frosts are wearisome, My sap will...


On Smoke, Mirrors, and Shadow Play
One of the interesting qualities of being human is, by the look of it, we’re the only part of creation that can actually refuse to be...


Observation about the nature of Piskies (Pixies)
I always understood the Piskies to be little people. A great deal was said about ghosts in this place. Whether or not Piskies are the...


The Goddesses of January
As we approach Women's Little Christmas on January 6th, or 'Nollaig na mBan' as it is known here in Ireland, it is worth noting that...


The Miracle that is the Earthly Vessel
The earth element/winter season relates with, amongst other themes, the physical body and your relationship with it. So as a little...


Irish Folklore and Traditions of the New Year
Wandering fairies, returning ancestor spirits, and talking animals comprise some of the folklore and old superstitions associated with...


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'Spellbound', by Emily Brontë
The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees...