Scott

“A shower of rain in July, when the Corn begins to fill, is worth a plough of Oxen, and all belongs there till.” Am Mios crochadh nan con – The month of hanging dogs, also known as Am mios buidhe –  the yellow month. Where the first term comes from, I’m unsure. It may have related to rabies back in the day. The yellow month is because it can be so full of sunshine and late. July is a changeable month weather wise and is at once hot humid and wet and summer sunshine and wind. Basically we never trust …

Those following along on  social media will know I have been discussing divination for a while and researching the below bit of Audio exploring authentic Scottish Prayers or charms to use as part of my divination practices. I happened across the below recording from 1950’s of a spoken charm from Uist for the Frith (I think). The Frith was undertaken on quarter days and this charm refers to that process at least I think it might do. There are many forms of divination used in Scotland and the Hag of the hills website has some great information about the different forms …

Midsummer, the summer solstice, St Johns mass (the birth of St. John the Baptist), An Fheill Sheathan – all these names recall a festival that is at counterpoint to Yul or Jul. Like the Winter solstice feast the summer solstice, though not ignored by the Gaels and other Celtic people were of much less importance to them than other Europeans. It’s suggested that the Celts didn’t divide their calendar by solstices. The largest traces we have of the solstice celebrations are, unsurprisingly, in Orkney and Shetland where the Scandinavian influences were strongest. Masons and Masonic lodges in later years also …

I get asked “what is a Folk Practitioner or what is folk magic?” on many occasions. I also get asked “what is the difference between what you do and what a witch does?”, “Is it witchcraft?”, “Are you religious?”, “Do you worship a lord and lady or speak to the de’il?”, “Do you follow the immanent and emanant mysteries of your gods?” and finally “Do you worship nature? Do you bang your drums and dance around?” This is no fault of anyone. Folk practices have been adopted in a lot of modern magico-religious approaches. This has caused a lot of confusion …

“May, May the merry month of May“. I’m no Julie Andrews but this is the time of year when we begin to feel that summer, Samhradh, has truly begun. Bealtaine proper also fell into May for us this year, with both the full moon and the blooms of Hawthorn coinciding with one another. The night of Bealltainn the sky turned the most magnificent pink, mist rose from the damp soil and fog rolled in from the Firth. This pink light reflected off the white blooms of our apple orchard and the hawthorn blooms. It was a beautiful night. Made even better with …

Its the first of May, Happy Bealltainn! One of the best days of the year in my humble opinion…its coming indicates its time to go out searching for wildcrafted herbs and fresh young shoots of plants. So what are your plans for today? Why not start it off by listening to this amazing traditional song by The Gloaming calling in the Summer (Samhradh means summer in Irish gaelic). I have provided a the lyrics and a translation after the video.