Category: Seasonal Celebration
Why I Believe
Since time immemorial this season has asked us to believe. As the days whittle down to their shortest points in the Northern hemisphere, belief is the fuel that burns the brightest, keeping the heart alight while we wait for the return of the light. The Winter Solstice was the most important yearly earth event…
Your Christmas Tree Is Medicine
When I was a kid, every year my family and I would go to a local farm to cut down our Christmas tree. It was always one of the most exciting days of the year. Living in Eastern Pennsylvania, by December it was truly cold in our neck of the woods. Bundled in woolens…
Returning To Life
The bright copper of October has finally faded into the brown of November. There are more leaves on the ground then the trees now. When I walk my dog we kick them up in great fluffy piles. Like autumn butterflies, each leaf shows me what transformation can look like. Every season tells an invisible,…
Ten Ways To Celebrate Samhain
Samhain (pronounced sow-en) is the traditional Celtic holiday of death, endings, beginnings and visionary magic. Straddling the transition from fall into winter, Samhain marks the start of the Celtic calendar year. Considered to be a time when the boundaries between the worlds dissolve, during Samhain the unseen energies of the earth are more apparent…
What Happens When The Veil Thins?
Growing up, I always felt the power of fall. I loved Halloween and its lantern-lit festivities, the amber hue of the canopy and gold leaves falling from the trees. I adored the apple crisps and cozy blankets but the thing I loved most of all was the feeling of fall. It wasn’t until I was older…
The Secret to a Beautiful Garden
I love gardening, but that doesn’t mean it’s always been easy for me. Historically, I’ve been ever-so-enthusiastic about planting, and not nearly as attentive to that whole pruning and weeding bit. In the past it’s been hard for me to cull the herd, to make decisions about who stays and who goes, and to…
Gift Yourself A Rainy Day
Normally, summertime in the mountains is marked by generous rainfall. With so much greenery, the earth here grows used to the daily drinks of thunderstorms. But recently we didn’t see a drop of rain for weeks on end. Every day was sunny, hot, and almost unbearably chipper. Each day of blue skies seemed to…
Lightning Storms In Late Winter
A few weeks ago, we had a lightning storm here in the mountains. It was still February, but an eerie warm front had swept through, melting the hillsides and changing the texture of the sky. I was sitting on the couch drinking a cup of tea when suddenly the clouds began flickering. I looked…