The Month of The Rose

It's June, the month of the rose. I have been working magically with roses and their scent a lot over the last couple of years. I find their fragrance soothes, heals, nurtures. My work with rose has been to do with self-love and self-care, both of which can be a challenge for me! Taking time to sit with rose, meditate while inhaling her fragrance, drink rose-petal or rose-hip tea, cleanse and anoint myself with rosewater, light a rose-scented candle whilst enjoying some quiet me-time... all these things help to calm and centre me, whilst reminding me to take care of myself. 

Rose is heart-healing medicine in the emotional sense. I work with her to refill myself when I've been pouring from an empty cup for too long, and restore my emotional equilibrium. Roses have soft, gentle petals, generous blossoms and nourishing rosehips but they also have strong stems and defensive thorns. Rose is sweet and generous, but no pushover. She reminds that self-care is not only about softness but also about boundaries.

I wish you could smell the gorgeous fragrance of this particular rose, it's absolutely wonderful. Perhaps you can go and find a fabulous rose of your own to sweeten your day. 

Embracing Autumn: A Harvest Dolly

Harvest Dolly made from my favourite herbs, August 2021

A traditional harvest custom I've always liked is that of weaving corn dollies from the last sheaf of grain to be cut. The idea came from the notion that the spirit of the crop needed a place to reside over the winter months, as it had effectively been made homeless when the fields of grain were cut and harvested. The last sheaf of wheat would be  gathered with great ceremony and plaited or woven into a shape known as a 'corn dolly', which was then kept through the winter in a safe place indoors and treated as an honoured guest. In spring when it was time to sow the next year's crop, the corn dolly was usually ploughed back into the soil, releasing the spirit of the crop back into the land.

Making such corn dollies is a skilled job. There are many, many different shapes and designs which have been created over the years, some of which are specific to particular areas of the UK (or further afield).

The idea of offering honour and shelter to the spirit of the green is appealing, yet not only do I lack the skill to weave any of these intricate designs, but as I am not a grain farmer I lack the wheat too! Of course, it's possible to buy wheat straw to make yourself a corn dolly - you can find just about anything online! - but somehow to me, that lacks the emotional/spiritual connection that you would have with a crop that you'd grown yourself. Then I had an idea - if the purpose of the corn dolly is to offer honour and protection to the spirits of a plant you are in relationship with, why not make a 'Harvest Dolly' instead, composed of the plants in your garden or neighbourhood that you feel have a connection to yourself. These plants could be the ornamental plants that you love (your favourite rosebush or clematis), vegetable plants that have fed you and your family through the summer, wild plants, trees and weeds that you adore, or plant allies that you work with spiritually.

This year, I decided to make a Harvest Dolly from my favourite herbs. If you'd like to make your own Harvest Dolly, there are detailed instructions below. 

Embracing Autumn: Create Your Own Harvest Dolly

• Decide which plant(s) you'd like to use. Harvest them with respect and only after asking permission from the plant itself. Don't take more than you need, and cut the plant cleanly. This is all about honouring the spirit of the plant, and maintaining a good, mutually respectful relationship with it.        

Cutting spearmint from the herb garden with my boline.

Close-up of a peppermint flower

My bunch of herbs included spearmint, peppermint, eau-de-cologne mint, lemon verbena, camomile, oregano, sage, rosemary, St John's wort, thyme, fennel, mugwort and lemon balm

• To make your Harvest Dolly, gather your plant material into a bunch. About halfway up the bunch, tightly tie some ribbon and finish it with a bow. This is your Harvest Dolly's 'waist'. I like to use red ribbon for this - partly because red thread is often used in protective folk magic charms, partly because red can symbolically stand for 'life', and partly because aesthetically the red makes a good contrast to all that green! Obviously, you can use which ever colour you like.
• Turn the bunch upside down. The full, leafy, flowery half of your bunch forms the 'skirt' of your Harvest Dolly. The stem half will form her torso and head.
• Find something straight and fairly rigid to make 'arms' (for this I cut a small bundle of dried grass stems from the hedgerow - I felt they would be a good representative of the wild plants of the locale). Push them through and at right angles to the stems of the plants you have gathered. The stems should be gathered tightly enough to hold the arms in place, but if you want to you can use some thread to tie them more securely.
• Use some thread to tightly tie the bunch again, this time above the arms. This is your Harvest Dolly's 'neck'. You should have an inch or two of stems above this which form her head.
• If you'd like to add a head/face you could use a seedpod, nutshell, round leaf etc, or make one out of paper/card or even air-drying clay. I used the seedpod from an honesty plant (Lunaria annua). There was enough of a stem on the seedpod to push down under the neck thread, which was sufficient to hold it in place. You could use thread, a cocktail stick or glue to hold your Dolly's face in place if necessary. If you like, you could draw features onto the face (I decided to leave mine plain).
• Voila! You are finished, although if you like you could 'dress' your dolly by wrapping her in fabric or making her a tiny necklace or crown...
• Put her somewhere dry and well-ventilated, where she will be able to gradually dry out. Her bright colours will fade as she dries, but she will still be beautiful.
• Next spring, dig her into your garden soil, or leave her as an offering in your favourite green space. 
• I've added a rough diagram below which I hope will make clear anything my words have failed to describe adequately.   

My finished Harvest Dolly

A rough diagram which may help clarify my written instructions!

 

Slowly Re-awakening

I intended to take a little break from posting once I finished my 'Winter Blessings and Beauties' experiment of posting every day throughout Winter, but I didn't mean to let quite so much time pass between posts! Nevertheless, even if I haven't been writing here about it, I have been diligently looking for signs of spring every day. Of course, the weather Gods decided to throw a sizeable spanner in the works by sending us snow, ice, gales and floods during the last month. But though spring may not manifest as quickly as I might hope, the Wheel of the Year is moving inexorably on, and Spring is undoubtedly underway. 

Here, snowdrops, primroses and daffodils are suddenly everywhere. On bright days, previously unnoticed celandines open their golden petals in wide, joyous reflection of the sun.    

Yesterday, sitting on my bench overlooking the valley and listening to the drumming of a woodpecker somewhere in the trees, I suddenly spotted the first new leaves of the season, glowing translucent gold in the sun. They were on an elder tree in a sheltered spot, and of course I had to immediately make my way down the hill to admire them up close.

 

From there I spotted gorse in full, brilliant bloom, which was attracting early insects to feast on its delicately fragranced flowers.

At the edge of the veggie patch there are crocuses glowing like jewels where I planted them many years ago. I'm so glad I did! Every glimpse of them gladdens my heart.

In a sheltered spot in the village there are pussy willow catkins in abundance. Here, further up the hill where we are more exposed to the elements there are only hazel catkins so far, dancing like lambs' tails in the breeze.

They are the male flowers of the hazel of course. Much harder to spot are the female hazel flowers which look like tiny crimson sea-anemones. In autumn, if they are fertilised by the pollen from the catkins each one will become a hazel nut. 

Yes, already I am looking forward to the year ahead, even though I have only just begun sowing seeds and my potatoes are still chitting on the windowsill. That is one of the wonderful things about following the changing seasons, the rhythms and cycles of the Earth. Always changing, always the same they give a pattern to our lives that is both dynamic and reassuring. That is a great gift in these strange times. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 92: From Falling Leaves to Buds and Shoots

 

The 'Winter Blessings and Beauties' project began at the beginning of November and will conclude on 2nd February, covering a period of 3 months/just over 13 weeks.

The changes in the Winter landscape aren't as eye-catching as those of Spring, Summer or even Autumn. The Winter palette is more muted, vegetation growth  slowed by low temperatures and short, dark days. And yet changes are happening all the same. When we look back to the beginning of this period when everything in the landscape seemed to be dying back or hibernating, it's a striking contrast to where we are now - though as I pointed out right back at the beginning of Winter, the buds of Spring were already formed. Gradually, as the weeks passed they've been slowly growing, fattening in preparation to burst into leaf when the conditions are right. The very first buds to open won't be leaf buds, though - they will be those containing the soft grey fur of pussy willow catkins. At the same time the tightly held hazel catkins will lengthen into golden tassels, shaking out their pollen in the wind. 

Meanwhile the first bulbs are rising out of the earth. Already there are snowdrops to be seen, and the sturdy green snouts of daffodils are pushing up through last year's leaf litter. I even spotted a solitary yellow daffodil flowering in a sheltered spot the other day. Only thirteen weeks since the world was dying back, it is again surging back into life and growth. The only constant in the Wheel of the Year is change - and I find that curiously comforting.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 92

From Falling Leaves to Buds and Shoots

In only a few more weeks, the world will be greening again as Spring gets into her stride. Before then, bring in a few twigs from deciduous trees and shrubs in the garden and put them in a vase half-filled with water in a warm spot. Once they have been in the warmth of your home for a week or so their leaves will begin to open. Most deciduous species are suitable, but you are most likely to get good results from those which have well-developed, plump buds. I usually use a mixture of willows, hazels, forsythia and fruit tree twigs.

The vase of green leaves is a visual reminder of the change in seasons and can be seen as a kind of sympathetic magic to welcome back the Spirit of the Green.   

   

 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 83: Moss and Lichen

Although the trees are bare in Winter, they have their own beauty at this time of year. The absence of leaves makes it easy to see the graceful arch of branches silhouetted  against the sky, and it also reveals the amazing textures and colours of the lichens and mosses growing on them. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 83

Moss and Lichen

Mosses and Lichens are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. Different species can grow in some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Some have been or still are used in horticulture and floristry, or as foodstuffs, insulation, medicine, dyes and perfumes. 

Take note of the mosses and lichens in your area. Notice the colours, shapes, textures. Where are they most prolific? If they are absent, what is the likely reason? Is the environment too dry, too exposed to sunlight or too shaded? A complete lack of lichens could be due to air pollution, although there may be other environmental factors at work, or merely a lack of suitable surfaces for them to inhabit. 

Mosses and lichens are the kind of everyday miracles that surround us, often quite unseen in our everyday lives. Take a little time to notice and appreciate their beauty and variety. 

 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 76: January in the Garden

Although January is often the coldest month, the lengthening hours of daylight post-Solstice mean that the garden is beginning to stir - just a little. As mentioned yesterday, snowdrops begin to appear, but they are not alone. Hellebores, winter pansies, winter aconite and bergenia may also be in bloom, along with winter-flowering shrubs like witchhazel, wintersweet and winter jasmine.

As yet there is not too much to be done in the garden, but there are a few things you can begin to sow in preparation for spring - it's most satisfying to feel you're getting a head start on the growing year.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 76

January in the Garden

Here are some of the things you can sow or begin growing in January:

• Sow sweet peas
• Begin chitting first early potatoes
• Begin forcing rhubarb
• Plant bare root roses
• Sow winter salads under glass
• Sow hardy annual flowers like cornflowers and antirrhinum

If you only have indoor growing space, you can still sow winter salads in containers on a sunny windowsill, or plant amaryllis bulbs in pots on a warm windowsill for beautiful flowers in spring.

 

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Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 38: Welcome the Spirit of the Green Into Your Home

The Christmas Tree as we currently know it seems to have originated as a custom in Germany before it spread more widely throughout the world. It was popularised in Britain in the 19th Century by Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert. Yet bringing Winter greenery into the home around the time of the Winter Solstice has been a custom among many, many different cultures through the centuries - for example, the Romans are known to have decorated their homes with evergreen wreaths during Saturnalia.

It's easy to imagine that in the depths of Winter, the plants and trees that remained miraculously green in the dying days of the year were seen as holding the life force that seemed so lacking in the rest of the natural world. No wonder people wanted to bring them in to decorate their homes during the festivities. I also like the idea that perhaps people wanted to invite the Gods and spirits of the green world indoors to partake in their Winter celebrations. If humanity was believed to be in relationship with a conscious, living world inhabited and animated by spirits, then it would be only natural to include these spirits in your family's and community's celebrations and rituals.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 38

Welcome the Spirit of the Green Into Your Home

Bring in some winter greenery to decorate your home - be it in the form of a real Christmas Tree, a wreath of foliage, sprigs of holly and mistletoe or a vase of  assorted evergreen leaves. Know that the greenery you have brought in contains the Spirit of the Greenworld, and symbolises the vital, resilient life-force that perseveres through every obstacle and hindrance. Treat the Spirit of the Green as an honoured guest in your home and celebrate that bold, beautiful, determination and tenacity. Let it inspire you in times of hardship and darkness. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 34: St Barbara's Twigs

Today, 4th December, is St Barbara's Day. It's uncertain whether she ever existed as a real person, but legend tells us that she was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. While she was in prison awaiting her execution, she found a dried up cherry twig. She sprinkled it with a little water each day, and miraculously it blossomed, comforting her with its pretty flowers (some versions of the story say it blossomed on the day of her death). 

The story has led to a charming German and Austrian custom where people cut cherry twigs on St Barbara's Day and bring them into their homes - and the warmth causes the tight winter buds to gradually unfold and flower. They are called 'Barbarazweig', which means (St) Barbara's twig(s). If all goes well they are supposed to flower at Christmas - some sources say at Yule. I think this is a lovely idea, and I intend to try it this year.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 34

St Barbara's Twigs

Usually cherry twigs are used for St Barbara's Twigs, but other flowering tree and shrub twigs are suitable, including apples, pears, plums, Japanese quince (chaenomeles), forsythia, witch hazel or lilac.

They should be cut on 4th December (if you want them to flower in time for Christmas) and they need to have been exposed to frost in order for the flowering mechanism to be triggered, so if it's still mild in your area apparently you can put them in the freezer for a couple of days. It sounds drastic, but I suppose they'd have to put up with such cold for longer than a couple of days if they were left out on the tree!

When you bring them in, keep them in a cool room overnight. The next day, soak them in tepid water for an hour or two. Then cut a couple of centimetres off the bottom of the stems, slanting the cut edge and arrange them in a vase. Place the vase in a warm, bright spot and wait... hopefully you will be rewarded with flowers. It is considered especially lucky if they bloom on Christmas Day as it means you have a good year ahead of you..     

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 13: Bringing the Winter Garden Indoors

Wandering in the garden today, I noticed the beauty of the crocosmia seedpods. When they first form they are green, gradually turning to a bright orange which then fades to brown as the weather grows colder. At this stage of the winter some still glow orange, while others are ageing to russet and bronze. I decided to pick some for a winter bouquet, then - my curiosity piqued - I decided to see what else remained in the garden for me to add. Amazingly, even at this time of the year I had quite a lot to choose from!

First I added some sprays of ivy, complete with their winter berries (I made sure to leave plenty for the birds). Then I added a lot of oregano seedheads, which although a dark brown colour worked well as a 'filler' much as gypsophila might in a summer bouquet. There were a few bunches of tansy flowers which hadn't quite gone over yet and their cheerful yellow buttons added a splash of colour. I put in a few of the skeletal dried seedheads of umbellifers including ground elder and fennel. The final finishing touches were the crimson twigs of a dogwood shrub which added more colour. The final result is a rather unruly and cheerful tangle of a floral arrangement, but I love its warm, rich colours and think it looks rather special and very seasonal accompanied by a few apples and squashes. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 13

Bringing the Winter Garden Indoors

Take a walk in your garden, the countryside or a park. See what you can find to make a winter posy or natural display for your home. Look for:

• Colourful seedpods and berries 
• Unusual coloured or shaped twigs
• Pretty leaves
• Winter flowers
• Sculpturally skeletal seedheads 

Bring your treasures home and arrange them in a container or on a flat surface, somewhere you can see and enjoy their beauty.  

Rosepetals, Radishes, Rain and Repose

June in lockdown. Life here at Halfway Up A Hill is slow-paced, quietly satisfying as we work in the garden and enjoy the unaccustomed luxury of plenty of time together. Just us, the cats, the chickens, the earth and sky. As you can see from the picture above, Mandrake has been fully embracing the tranquility. 

The garden is gloriously full of flowers, the air deliciously sweetened by roses and elderflowers, honeysuckle and meadowsweet. Everything is growing abundantly, nurtured by sun and rain.

Ah yes, the rain... it has been very enthusiastic at times. But we have had plenty of warm sunshine too, so our crops in the vegetable patch are coming along beautifully. I'm pretty sure I can see them growing by the minute.

Last night we ate this delicious salad of lettuce and mixed salad leaves, spring onions, radishes, snap peas and mangetouts. All home grown.

Mandrake reckons we're pretty lucky. I'd have to agree.

Celebrating the Summer Solstice in Lockdown

The Summer Solstice, or Litha, this year falls on Saturday 20th June, (astronomically it varies between 20th and 22nd June). Although some restrictions are being relaxed, by and large we will still not be able to gather to celebrate, a fact I am happy to accept in order to keep people safe. But it does mean we'll need to be creative and adaptable in how we mark the occasion, just as we were at Beltane. Many of the suggestions I made in that post can be adapted for the Summer Solstice, but here are a few additional ideas too. As before I've grouped them depending on a variety of lockdown/isolation situations.

If you are able to get out to the countryside/beach/park

• One of the simplest and most memorable ways of celebrating the Summer Solstice is to go and watch the sunrise from an east-facing hill or a beach near your home. You can check sunrise times in the UK here, and there are other online resources that give the times for other parts of the world. There is something really magical about experiencing the world awake to a new day as the sky gradually lightens, the dawn chorus begins and the sun appears over the horizon. Take a small picnic breakfast to celebrate this special day, and don't forget to leave a small offering of food and pour out a little of your drink for the spirits of the place.
• If you are confident of your plant-identification skills you could take a walk and forage some wild plants for a Summer Solstice feast. Plants to look out for at this time of year include wild strawberries, chickweed, elderflowers, sea kale, fat hen, linden blossoms and honeysuckle flowers.
• If you can't travel to sacred sites such as Avebury or Stonehenge for the Solstice, do a little research to find sacred sites in your local area that you may be able to visit instead. Many of these smaller, less well-known sites have an amazing atmosphere and are all the more special for not being crowded with visitors.

If you have access to a garden or small green space

• It's a great time of year for roses, and if you have some in your garden take this opportunity to really appreciate their beauty and fragrance with a small ritual. Gather some petals - the more perfumed the better - and make yourself some rose petal tea. Remove the thicker white base of the petals (where they attach to the rest of the flower) as this can be bitter. Steep the petals in boiling water for a few minutes, then sweeten with a little honey if liked. Sit in the sun to drink your brew, inhaling the fragrant steam and feeling the warm sun on your skin. Let the warmth and fragrance spread through your body. Take a moment to imagine your heart as a rose in your chest, gradually unfurling its petals and opening to the sun. Raise the cup in your hands as a toast to the sun, the source of all light and energy. Feel yourself blessed. 
• If you have children, throw a special 'Sun Day' party for the family. Decorate the house and garden with sunny colours, get the children to make sun-themed art and get everyone to dress in sun-themed clothes (yellow, orange or gold coloured, sparkly, or their favourite summer clothes). Have a sunny foods feast - make yellow cupcakes, drink orange juice or home made lemonade, have a barbecue, eat ice cream, enjoy slices of watermelon... and later on as the sun sinks in the sky, share toasted marshmallows round a fire. 
• Make a small sun altar, if possible in the South corner of your garden. Here you can put sun-themed garden decorations, solar-powered lanterns and grow plants ruled by the sun - like sunflowers, marigolds, St John's wort, chamomile and rosemary.   

If you are confined to your home/can't get outside

• As has been widely reported, English Heritage have cancelled the sunrise celebrations at Stonehenge this year, but they will be livestreaming the sunrise at the stones on social media.
• Make a sun-catcher to hang in your window to honour the sun and send rainbows dancing across your walls. There's the story of one I made here to get you started. All you really need is some sparkly things - crystals, beads, sequins - and some wire and/or thread to hang them from. Just be careful not to use any convex glass pieces/balls/marbles etc which could focus the rays of the sun and potentially start a fire.
• Honey is already a very 'solar' substance, as it is concentrated nectar from flowers. Charge a jar with the power of the sun by placing it on a sunny windowsill for a day. Then use your sun-powered honey to give yourself a boost of sunshine by adding to recipes or in your tea on those days when you need a little extra lift.   

Happy Summer Solstice everyone! Stay safe and have a wonderful summer. 

Further Adventures in Edibles

I have to admit it, I'm not the biggest fan of radishes. As a homegrown crop they do have their advantages though - mostly that they are about the quickest thing from which you can get a harvest (usually about 4 weeks from sowing to eating). For this reason they are great for introducing newcomers (and children) to the thrill of harvesting your own veggies, and I personally find them useful sown as a 'catch crop' between rows of slower growing plants to make the most use of the available space. 

Luckily for me, IB is a big radish fan who is happy to eat as many radishes as we can grow, so it all works out. He's so keen he even asked me whether we could add the leaves to a salad as well as the roots, but the coarseness and hairiness of the leaves is frankly pretty off-putting from a 'mouthfeel' perspective. As with nettles, cooking will take care of the prickly hairs, so you could eat them as a cooked vegetable or in soup. But the solution I found is so tasty that so far we haven't cooked a single radish leaf. Instead we have been eating Radish Leaf Pesto - absolutely delicious with a slice of IB's home made bread, still warm from the oven.

If you Google Radish Leaf Pesto, you will find many recipes. But here is my extremely adaptable 'whatever you have in the store cupboard' version.

Moonroot's Radish Leaf Pesto

Ingredients:

1-2 handfuls of radish leaves*

1 garlic clove

A handful of toasted nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios etc) or seeds (pumpkin, sunflower etc) 

30g grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese**

Olive oil (or vegetable oil of your choice - it might be interesting to try a nutty-flavoured oil like sesame)

Generous squeeze of lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Method

Place radish leaves, garlic, nuts/seeds and cheese in bowl of food processor and whizz them together. Trickle in some olive oil and whizz the machine again. You'll probably need to keep stopping to scrape the mixture down towards the blades from the sides of the bowl. Add more oil if necessary to get the right consistency - but remember it's easy to add more if you need it but impossible to take it out if you add too much, so add a little at a time. When it's nearly there, squeeze in some lemon juice, and add salt to taste. Give it a final whizz and there you are. 

Enjoy with fresh bread, on toast or crackers, with vegetable crudites, on pasta...

According to all the Radish Leaf Pesto recipes online, it freezes really well. But I wouldn't know, it never lasts long enough round here to get frozen!

* If I don't have enough leaves from that day's radish harvest I keep them with their cut ends in a jar of water until I have harvested some more a couple of days later. And at times I have supplemented the radish leaves with any salad leaves that are starting to bolt - rocket, mizuna etc (in fact if you don't have any radish leaves you could use just salad leaves, as in Jack Monroe's excellent 'Salad Bag Pesto' recipe). Or you can adjust the quantities of the other ingredients too and just end up with a smaller amount of pesto!

** As IB is strictly vegetarian, Parmesan or Grana Padano are off the menu for us (both contain animal rennet). We use a vegetarian version of Parmesan when we have it (usually labelled something like 'vegetarian hard cheese' in supermarkets). During lockdown, as we didn't have any vegetarian Parmesan available I experimented by using a strong mature Cheddar instead. This is no doubt absolute heresy in foodie circles, but... it tasted fine. Different but fine. 

The Colours of Summer

I love the colours in my garden at this time of year. The dark purple-blue irises and aquilegia are the perfect backdrop for a bright splash of sunny yellow Welsh poppies. Add the delicate lilac-pink of chive flowers and a sprinkle of blue and pink hardy geraniums for the most gorgeous early summer palette.

Celebrating Beltane in Lockdown

Beltane is traditionally celebrated with maypoles and bonfires, feasts and festivities. As the festival which marks the beginning of summer, it's natural to want to spend it outdoors in company with friends and family - yet this year that won't be possible for many of us. The current Coronavirus lockdown means that gathering with coven mates, friends and family just isn't possible right now, so we're going to have to adapt the way we mark the festivals - at least for a little while. But with a little ingenuity we can come up with novel - and safe - ways of celebrating.

First, have a little brainstorming session with those you'd celebrate Beltane with normally - you can do this by phone, text, email, Skype, Zoom etc if you do not live in the same household - and see what amazing ideas you can come up with together. If you are a solitary Pagan, you can Google for ideas as well as taking inspiration from this post. 

Secondly, skim through the ideas I have come up with and see if any of them appeal - or you can use them to kick-start creativity and come up with your own plan. I have grouped them according to your situation - so there are ideas for those of you who can get out into nature, ideas for those who are in a town but have a garden or accessible green space, and finally ideas for those who are confined to their living space.

If you can get out to the countryside/park for a walk:

• One traditional Beltane activity was to gather mayflowers (hawthorn blossom). While on your walk, see if you can spot some mayflowers and pick a small bunch (careful of those thorns!) to bring home with you. It's considered bad luck to bring mayflowers indoors, but the exception is at Beltane. Or you can do like I do and hedge your bets by tying the bunch of flowers to the front door of your house as a Beltane blessing. You'll probably need secateurs or scissors to cut the woody stems, so take some with you.
• If you take an early morning walk, wash your face in the Beltane dew - traditionally believed to be a foolproof beauty treatment! 
• If you have bluebell woods near you, this is the perfect time to take a walk and soak in all that beauty. I can't imagine a more sacred activity!
• If you're confident of your plant identification skills, this is a great time of year to forage for wild garlic, nettles, sorrel, jack-by-the-hedge etc. Keep your eyes peeled for hedgerow delicacies on your walk and cook up a seasonal gourmet feast to celebrate Beltane when you get home. 

If you are in a town, but have access to a garden or other green space:
Depending on what is in your garden or green space you may be able to gather mayflowers, forage some wild delicacies or wash your face in the morning dew, as above! But here are some other ideas you could try too.

• Draw a labyrinth on the lawn/patio/decking big enough to walk (for a classic 7-walled Cretan labyrinth - my preferred version - you will need a space which is a minimum of 9'x9'; if you have more space, so much the better). You can mark out a temporary labyrinth using flour, sand or masking tape. If you like it you could make it a permanent feature by using rocks, bricks etc, or mow it into the lawn. There is a clear tutorial on how to draw and use labyrinths on the blog of my friend and mentor Donald Engstrom-Reese here, and there is a wealth of information on Sig Lonegren's website here.
• If you have enough room to pitch a tent in the garden, why not camp out overnight on Beltane eve. Toast marshmallows over a campfire, stargaze, then get up to greet the first light on Beltane morning, revelling in the dawn chorus of birdsong.
• Beltane is one of the times of year most strongly associated with faeries. You could celebrate Beltane by leaving offerings for them in your garden - it is said they are fond of bread, cake, honey, beer, wine and cream. Or you could plant up an area of the garden as a faery garden with flowers they are said to be particularly fond of such as foxgloves, violets, thyme and clover, and pretty sparkly decorations like sun-catchers and wind-chimes (bear in mind they strongly dislike iron).

If you cannot get outside to celebrate Beltane:

• Use Skype, Zoom etc to connect with Pagan friends and share Beltane blessings. You may be able to organise an online Beltane ritual together, or plan a visualisation or spell you can each do separately at a co-ordinated time and then check back in with each other later to check how it went for everyone. 
• Many well-known Pagans are offering on-line meditations and rituals you can join, so check out the websites and Facebook pages of your favourite Pagan leaders/writers/etc to see what is on offer. 
• Beltane is all about pleasure, beauty and love, so show yourself a bit of self-love and devise a pampering ritual as a way to celebrate. Cleanse in preparation by using your favourite toiletries - have a home-made facial - soak in scented bathwater - use a salt body scrub and moisturise afterwards with your most luxurious body lotion. Dress in your favourite clothes. Clean and tidy your altar. Put fresh flowers on it (if you can). Burn your favourite incense. Prepare your favourite food, and pour a glass of your favourite beverage (springwater? mead? freshly squeezed juice?). Light a candle and sit in front of your altar giving thanks for everything for which you're grateful. Home, health, relationship with deities, loved ones, pets, food on your table, hobbies, favourite books/songs/films, anything which brings you joy... Toast yourself, celebrate yourself with your homemade feast. Remember 'All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals'.
• If you are creative by nature, you could make your own mini-maypole as an altar decoration. Check out Pinterest for more inspiration.

In conclusion, with a little ingenuity and adaptation we can still celebrate the Wheel of the Year, even if we aren't able to do so in the way we would in more normal times. After all, even in those 'normal times' things don't always go to plan!

Above all, remember: Beltane is a celebration of life. Honour and protect your life and the lives of those around you by observing social distancing and staying home if you can. Blessed Be!

Living in Interesting Times

It has probably never been easier to understand why the saying 'May you live in interesting times' is considered a curse and not a blessing. The novel Coronavirus pandemic finds us - all of us - navigating completely uncharted waters. No wonder there is so much confusion and so many conflicting opinions and attitudes.

Life has taken on a surreal quality for many people, myself included. As one of the self-employed, my work has completely dried up. With the country going into lock-down I find myself at home in a serene little bubble. The coinciding spell of warm, dry sunny spring days has been wonderful, and I am loving the opportunity to get my hands into the soil and coax the neglected garden back into shape. I often complain that my usual work schedule gives me either enough money to pay my way or enough time to do the things I want, but not both. Suddenly I have ample time - and I'm trying not to fret about the money. I am lucky enough to have put some savings aside for a rainy day (and if the current situation doesn't count as a rainy day I don't know what does!). 

So the days pass in quiet and calm. I tend the animals, work in the garden, make soup, watch the sun set, listen to the blackbird singing in the cherry tree. And at intervals through the day sudden spikes of anxiety leave me breathless and afraid as news from the outside world bursts in - sickness, death, shortages, panic and uncertainty about this strange new world we now inhabit. I am terrified for my loved ones, furious with the hopelessly inadequate response of the Government, fearful of the long-term consequences of this turmoil.

How to stay afloat then, within this strange sea of serenity and anxiety?

For all of us, this is a work in progress. This is a completely unprecedented situation, which means a steep learning curve.

Here then is some of the useful advice I'm following, having pieced it together from various sources.  

1. Keep to a routine of sorts - it's up to you what that is, but try to keep a regular sleep pattern and schedule in a balance of work (if you are working from home)/chores/relaxation/fun/contact with people (via phone, social media or whatever if you live alone). I've been setting the alarm to make sure I get up at a reasonable time (admittedly slightly later than when I'm working!) showering, dressing, eating breakfast, tending the animals, doing the chores, gardening, cooking proper meals, checking in with family and friends.
2. Be kind to yourself. Now may seem like the perfect time to finally teach yourself to play the trombone or write your magnum opus - but don't beat yourself up if what you actually need to do is lie on the couch binge-watching your favourite show... 
3. ...But at the same time find some balance between self-comfort and self-discipline!
4. Keep informed, but use trustworthy mainstream news sources and limit your use of social media to avoid making yourself overly fearful. This is a useful fact-checking site specifically addressing some of the myths and rumours that are circulating about Covid-19: https://infotagion.com/?fbclid=IwAR2n4TjeCP1B0xGSUFokZCe9rOw6QKebxqwTZ2TuWluGdYHIAZjTJq-7y8s
5. I found this article on grief and anticipatory grief very helpful: https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief?fbclid=IwAR2206owif6oEUiX3iGgRiWx4QR-d4kz_mcDinGRdys8zu_cvWB58aQq7v0
6. This is a useful practice to help you cope with difficult feelings around the epidemic: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/chargedbythegoddess/2020/03/step-into-the-circle-and-be-held-restoring-connection-and-community/?fbclid=IwAR0IR6WsW0jyjLcredf-DOfbnTrWBz0zDUJxjBRUmbZqUjGPesyjcX9wyLc
7. Find inventive ways to help you to feel connected to others. For example our local Moot was unable to meet as planned due to the restrictions, but we came up with a simple Coronavirus candle healing spell that we could all do at the same time, although we were unable to physically be together. Later we checked in on social media to share our experiences with each other.

What have you found to be helpful during these difficult times?