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The Body of a River, The Body of a Human
The magical Esknamucky Waterfall. Photograph by Nigel Wheal A river is never still, even in its seeming quiet. Beneath its skin lies a...


The Arc of Fire, and 'Emotional Kintsugi'
In Ireland, we say that story is medicine. Our indigenous oral traditions do not treat story as unburdening, but as offering – something...


Beauty and the Shapeshifter
What does it mean to live in a world where beauty is everywhere and yet nowhere? Where our eyes are flooded with polished images, but our...


Reclaiming Enchantment After Exhaustion
There are times when the marrow of life feels spent. We arrive at the edge of our own strength and find only hollowness echoing back....


Lúnasa: Where Joy And Grief Share The Same Table
Joy and grief are not strangers at Lúnasa – they sit together at the same table, share the same bread, drink from the same cup. This...


SoulFOOD Tutorial: How To Make Water Kefir At Home
This guide shows you how to brew your own water kefir using our dehydrated water kefir grains . Why drink water kefir – the benefits Water kefir is one of the simplest and most effective ways to support digestive and overall health. It is a naturally fermented, probiotic-rich drink that everyone can make at home – no special equipment, no elaborate process, just sugar water and time. Here’s why it’s worth including in your daily rhythm: – Excellent source of natural probiotic


The Path of Life and the Changing Year
One of the more interesting observations I have noticed when I write about the changing seasons and the turning of the year is how many...


The Strange Wonder of Fairy Light
We often find that accounts of people encountering fairies at night begin with a strange and unusual light near a rath, stone circle or...


When We Are No Place at All
"The middle-despite the common use of that word-is not halfway between here and there, beginning and end, birth and death, right and...


The Owl Woman
As we enter the darkness of the falling year and the coming of the Cailleach, it is interesting to note the various roles the owl plays...


How to Recapture Your Imagination
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom under the grip of a spyglass. If you had the spyglass, you could see anything in the world. If you...


The Women Who Walk Between Worlds
I was chatting to somebody about hypnosis recently, a subject I know very little about, to be honest. I do know that it is used in...


Samhain and the Cailleach
Samhain, the astronomical moment of liminality, is drawing closer. Although Halloween will be celebrated on the 31st of October, the...


Customs and Folklore of the Autumn Equinox
This year, the Autumn Equinox takes place on the 22nd of September here in Western Europe. This is the moment in the year when the hours...


The ancient roots of 'Valentine's Day'
Although the heart is probably the symbol most associate with Valentines Day, it might surprise people that the wolf can also lay claim...


Spring, the Air Element, and the Silent Extinction of Words
Imbolc marks the first day of spring in Ireland and within the Celtic Wheel of the Year. The principal element of spring is Air, which relates to filaments of all kinds – not least our vocal cords, through which communication, music, song, poetry, and spoken word arise. These are all expressions of air. In recent years, emojis, gifs, social media slang, and careless abbreviations have increasingly entered everyday language, thinning meaning and flattening expression. There se


Seasonal Poetry & Prose: 'A Morning Offering', by John O'Donoghue
I bless the night that nourished my heart To set the ghosts of longing free Into the flow and figure of dream That went to harvest from...


St Brigid, Lá Fhéile Bríde, and Imbolc – Clarifying the Distinction and the Thread Between Them
If you are Irish, as I am, you will know that today, February 1st, is the feast day of St Brigid – Lá Fhéile Bhríde – a fixed-date catholic holy day honouring Ireland’s female patron saint. Imbolc, one of the eight indigenous festivals of the Celtic Wheel of the Year, takes place on February 4th in 2024 when observed astronomically. This article aims to clarify the distinction between these two dates, as well as the deep relationship between them. I also recommend reading th















