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The Solstice tells us to be still, to slow down, to notice things and to dream of things to come. The Winter Solstice, this year on 21st December, marks the shortest day. It’s the day of least daylight and to many (including astronomically) is considered the first day of winter. But to us it marks a day of hope as we light a bonfire & candles and call to our Sun to shine once again. This day is followed by a few days where the daylight and dark hours remain almost static, sti

We have recently returned from a folklore collecting ‘holiday’ in the northern isles of Orkney & Shetland. These very wild and wonderful places leached the stories, superstitions and traditions in landscapes that had been inhabited by Picts, Nordic and Scottish peoples resulting in an often unique and wonderful folklore. As we are approaching Hallowe’en we noticed how much more emphasis was placed on this tradition than in our home county of Shropshire in England. We all kno

August 1st is known as Lammas Day or as the Gaelic festival period of Lughnasadh. Lammas origins lie in the Christian liturgical calendar, it’s name deriving from the Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas meaning loaf-mass. It marked a time when the agricultural year and the Christian calendar came together. From Mediaeval times it marked the end of the hay harvest and the beginning of the grain. We have certainly seen that here at Talking Trees ‘headquarters’ as the hot spell in July result

Imbolc is celebrated on February 1st and has Gaelic/Celtic origins. In the Wheel of the Year it marks the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox. In Ireland on Imbolc Eve, Brighid (who is known as a goddess and saint) was said to visit virtuous households and bless the inhabitants as they slept. She brings the light half of the year and is associated with the hearth and fire. Bridghid and Imbolc are both synonymous with the promise that spring is returni

Samhain marked the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of a new year and as such can be seen equivalent of our New Year's Eve. It was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter) and the division between this world and the otherworld which was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. The remnants of these Celtic celebrations from about 2,000 years ago, have become the celebration of Halloween. The practice of divinati

Once again we reach the great turning point as our Sun has reached its full power and will begin to dwindle soon. But for a few days we stay in a limbo of solstice which is derived from the Latin sol ("sun") and sistere ("to stand still"). It seems synonymous with how we have all been living these last few months. However we know that things will change both in the daylight hours we have and in our lives. These changes may come slowly but gradually the accumulative affect is

Today is Mayday or Beltane - a day that has been celebrated for so long. Beltane’s origins lie in Gaelic/Celtic cultures and in Ireland,Scotland , Isle of Man and Cornwall it has been a long held tradition to mark the day with bonfires, gatherings, blessings and fairs. Today marks the latter part of springtime and the coming of summer. The Greenman has once more walked amongst us and brought with him the greening of our earth. Here at Talking Trees we have honoured our ‘green

As the light lengthens, so the cold strengthens- traditional saying Welcome the time of the year when we experience a 'quickening’. Imbolc owes its origins to Celtic cultures, with the earliest mentions of Imbolc in Irish literature dating back to the 10th century. It centred on lighting of fires at a time when winter is still yet to find its footing. It is also the day of Bridgid, a Celtic goddess of fire, healing & fertility who crossed the boundary of the pagan world to b

‘And know the best season to laugh and sing, Is summer, is winter, is autumn, is spring’ We would like to wish you all a very happy New Year and hope you enjoy the 2020 Country Wisdom & Folklore Diary and thank you for helping us keep alive the old ways and celebrating the year together. May your diary be a good companion to you throughout the coming year. And remember .... no doing laundry on New Years Day lest you wash your good fortune away ! #diary #newyear #2020 #folkl

The Autumn Equinox marks balance followed by change which can often feel a little disruptive. However; as we gather the fruit harvest filling our basket with berries, apples and hips for delicious jams, crumbles and remedies, collect hops to bring calm and restfulness as we drape them over bedsteads and collect the wonderful seed heads to adorn our window ledges whilst preserving their precious contents for sowing next year, it can also feel rather satisfying. We put things

It's the Summer Solstice, the longest day, the sun will stand still for a short time and then its light time will begin to diminish. Now I know us in the UK are now saying . 'What Sun?' There has certainly been an absence here in Shropshire as stormy, rainy skies have been our weather pattern for weeks now. But regardless of our weather the Sun has reached its zenith today so if you get a peep of it go out and enjoy ! It doesn't mean summer is over, far from it, more that the

‘Come listen awhile unto what we shall say, concerning the season, the month of May; For the flowers they are springing ,and the birds they do sing, And the baziers are sweet in the morning of May’. Maypoles having been banned by Cromwell were joyfully restored in 1660 when Charles ll was restored to the throne and once again became a centre of MayDay celebrations . Equally the crowning of May-queens accompanied by a May-King (often a Jack - in- the - Green ) set the scene a

Ostara is one of the names associated with today , the vernal equinox. Ostara or Eostre was a Saxon/Germanic goddess of springtime and the Dawn who was sometimes portrayed as having the head of a Hare. The Venerable Bede wrote that during 'Eostremonath' the pagan Anglo-Saxons held festivals in her honour. Although there is no evidence that our ancestors celebrated this time of the year I think that they would have responded as we do to the increased light, warmth and the n

We all know that the light is returning, but on wintry days it can seem a long way off. As I look out of my upstairs window I can see the shining light of our recently erected lamppost that brought light where there was once dark. Like a beacon it shines out on a day that is struggling to find daylight. Many struggle during these winter months and I think that is why celebrating/marking Imbolc is so important. It brings a promise of things to come and makes us look forward n

Today we were at a wonderful celebration of a very old mid- winter tradition found in Wales and the borders. The Mari (mare) is a horse skull that was carried from door to door with a Mary Llwyd group who went into houses singing and challenging families to rhyming insults in Welsh. It was a battle of wits. Followed by good spirits and refreshment. After more banter the Mari would bless the house and then move on to the next. At Chepstow they have created a lovely festival th

We loved the sentiment carved into this standing stone that is part of the recently situated sculpture at Corgarff in the Cairngorms sitting 637m above sea level and on the 'snow route'. An indicator of how 2019 should be spent- we could think of no finer New years Resolution. The rest of the sculptural scene was 'The Watchers' by John Kennedy, four sculptural iron seats that look out over the Cairngorms and give shelter from the whipping winds as you sit in awe of the stunni

And relax ...... On this the longest night we light fires, candles and switch on the fairy- lights as we remind the sun to return once more as we truly enter the season of winter. We have to wait a further three days before the sun begins to make progress and we gain an extra minute of sunlight day by day until it reaches it's zenith at summer solstice. But for now we are in the dark days of winter and long nights and so perhaps its time to reflect, snuggle up and keep a slow

Stir- Up Sunday is the Sunday before Advent and so named because Christmas Puddings would traditionally be made then, with all the family involved in the stirring process. But it's name derived from the church’s collect for that day which began, ’Stir up, we beseech thee oh lord.’ This migrated to sayings such as, ’Stir-Up the pud we beseech thee, the pudding is in the pot.’ The tradition of families gathering together in the kitchen to mix and steam Christmas pudding on Stir

As we arrive at the Autumn Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, in a year that feels as if it has been running at fast speed, the Southern Hemisphere celebrates the counter opposite, the arrival of spring. What a difference in feelings these two points evoke – one looking forward to the returning light and warmth and witnessing life’s beginnings and the other a sense of closing down as darkness will soon be dominant over light and a chill is in the air as much of nature b

We are delighted that our 2019 Country Wisdom & Folklore Diary has arrived from our wonderful local printers WPG bang on time for Lammas which could not be more fitting. We have spent the year gathering folklore snippets from around the British Isles, creating images, researching, writing and publishing the diary in our endeavour to keep alive the old ways and celebrate the year which has culminated in the 2019 diary which is now ripe and ready for picking and available to bu