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Beltane: The Celtic Fire Festival "Wear a tall hat like a druid in the old days  Wear a tall hat and a tattooed gown  Ride a white swan like the people of the Beltane  Wear your hair long, babe you can't go wrong"  - Marc Bolan The first time I heard the word “Beltane” was in the second verse of the fabulous T. Rex song, “Ride a White Swan”. I knew it was mystical and otherworldly but didn’t know much else. Fast forward a few decades and here I am learning all I can about this fascinating Gaelic seasonal festival...

As inhabitants of this Earth, we are at the mercy of the seasons.  From harvesting foods to tending to livestock, the weather and hours of sunlight determine how and when we conduct ourselves to survive.  And while modern practices such as greenhouses, factory farming and hydroponics create conditions less dependent on temperatures, the need to agriculturally align ourselves with the divisions of our calendar year remains necessary. Think back to a time when there were no indoor options for gardening and animal husbandry. The cycles of the seasons were observed, obeyed and - most importantly - celebrated. The four major...

"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems." – Rainer Maria Rilke When we think of Spring, we are flooded with images of blooming crocus, warming temperatures and nurturing rains. The emergence of green life is encouraging and rewards us for tolerating another winter of long nights and chilled days. The power of the Spring equinox itself takes on many forms beyond the basic longing for more sunlight and the welcoming of new life. This geological and astronomical event is celebrated by individuals and cultures throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In each observance, the focus revolves around...

March is Irish-American Heritage Month here in the States and right in the middle of it all is the wonderful celebration of St. Patrick's Day.  I have enjoyed this holiday for as long as I can remember but I recently asked myself….just how much do I know about St. Patrick?? After a long day (or two) of reading and research, I discovered that there was a whole lot I didn’t know. And while this blog isn’t intended to tell you everything about St. Patrick, (his Wikipedia page alone is over 7,000 words), I want to share with you what I...

Summer Solstice. One out of 365 days yet so many universal connections.  Summer solstice, midsummer, St. John’s Day, Litha.... No matter what you call it, the Earth’s tilted axis brings us together in solar celebration. The Imortance of the Summer Solstice As humans, we understandably venerate that big ball of plasma in the sky. It provides us with the warmth and energy needed to sustain life on this planet. We rely on it to tell us when to plant, when to rest, when to harvest and when to shed layers.  We schedule our civil and social methodologies by how long...