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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...


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...


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
The Autumn Equinox takes place on the 22nd of September here in Western Europe. This is the moment in the year when the hours of daylight...


The Feast Day of Brigid (Lá Fhéile Bhríde) and the ancient Irish festival of Imbolc
If you're Irish like me, you will know that today (February 1st) is the feast day of St. Brigid (Lá Fhéile Bhríde), a fixed date holiday...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 05: The Threshold Of Plenty - Harvest Customs In Irish Tradition
The arrival of the harvest was for our forebears a time of great celebration, for it marked the point at which the lean months of June...


Sage Advice on how to see the Fae Folk
"The condition favourable to the belief that Fairies are being seen would seem to be that the right type of person should be in an...


Dark Bealtaine Folklore and The Fairy Queen
Depending on where you live on this beautiful planet, astronomical Bealtaine will take place on either May 5th or 6th this year. The dark...


Bealtaine, Fairies, and the Pleiades
In a previous post I wrote about the connection between our concepts of the similar patterns which appear throughout the universe,...


Spring Equinox & The Fairy Hunt
"And beyond them, almost hidden by the moon shadows, were the Lords of the Ever-Living Ones: the antlered helmets of the Wild Hunt, 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...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 18 - Brigid In Folk Tradition
St. Brigid’s Day falls on the first of February, and is traditionally understood as marking the beginning of spring in Irish custom....


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,...


The Winter Solstice and the Birth of Sol
We have almost arrived at the winter solstice, the moment when the most northern point of the earth is tilted furthest away from the...


Mothers Night: The Ancient Pagan Origins of Santa?
An ancient winter festival which stems from at least the Iron Age is Mothers Night or Modraniht. This celebration took place on what is...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 09 - Christmas Customs & Traditions
For this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon set out to take a critical look at traditional...


Traditional Plants of the Winter Solstice
History shows that the seasonal botanicals gathered were those thriving in the landscape around us. For us here in Europe, symbolic...


On the Path of Wholeness
I've been working alot with Hawthorn lately, the Celtic tree of Bealtaine. This old photo is of a West Cork Hawthorn, recorded just...


Wreaths, Cycles, and the Winter Solstice
Wreaths: (From the Middle English wrethe, a twisted garland or ring of leaves and flowers) have been used ceremonially for centuries to...


The Ancient Midwinter Deer Mother Goddess
Female reindeer are unique with regard to other deer species in that they grow and shed antlers. This attribute is part of the mythology...