Talking Trees Books

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

Here we are once again at the Winter Solstice - where everything feels cold and dark. We have yet to really get started with the worst winter has to throw at us and yet today we celebrate hope of what is to come. The solstice sun (if we even get to see it) seems frozen, distant and weak. Today is the day we remind it to return once more to it’s full power and to bring us light, warmth, spring and summer. Bonfires can be lit to remind the sun of its returning strength as this

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

The summer solstice is always a significant event in Talking Trees household as we celebrate that we have reached the zenith of the year of the longest day but begin to look towards the daylight shortening after midsummer’s day on 24th June. Solstice means to ‘stand still’ and for 4 days that is what happens in terms of our daylight hours. We like to use these four days as productively as possible, making’ hay while the sun shines’, so to speak. We began by witnessing day br

It's hard to believe that May is nearly upon us. At first light carry on the age old tradition of bathing in May morning's first dew to keep your complexion, gather may blossom (if you can find it ! we are still with blackthorn in bloom and only first leaves on our Hawthorn) adorn your gateposts, your doorway and make garlands, be the first to drink water from the well to guarantee a healthy and prosperous year or perhaps light two Beltane fires and drive your livestock betwe