Scott

Là Bealltainn, the summer hinge the swinging open of the door to Samhradh, summer. The liminal time, the otherworld now just a heart beat away. Yet in true Scottish irony it comes in with the “Gab of May“.  These first days of “Summer” , the “Gab”, are traditionally cold and wet. There are four major festivals for us. With a nod towards the Winter and summer solstice providing the structure of our year. Imbolc, La Fheil Bride, is the Mid winter festival and Lughnassadh or Lunastal  the mid summer festival. Leaving  Là Bealltainn the celebration of the end of winter. Samhuinn the …

When April weeps, then May will chirp and sing, for April showers make May flowers to spring. Ah April, an Giblean, also known as May of the silly one, Céitein na h-òinsich. òinsich could mean silly one and cuckoo. It’s traditionally been a month of the strangest weather and odd beginnings from April fools day and this month is no exception.  We have travelled around the country, exploring different parts from sea-shore to ancient woods. I have also been visited from friends from the United States both old and new, so we’ve been really busy. Sadly with not much time to write. But …

When the light of the sun of this day shines into the inner chamber of Sliabh na Calli (The Cailleach’s mound). By solar reckoning, the year is exactly half. Half day, half night. At one exact moment, the world balanced on a pin head. Everything in equal measure, fifty-fifty, resting in perfect balance, a pause. A breath. Exhale. The cry of the cuckoo calls out. Release. We move on to the lighter times. The spring equinox La na Cailleach is here. In neopagan and Wiccan circles the spring equinox has become related to Easter. Termed either Ostara or Eostre. It …

The cuckoo comes in the middle of March and sings in the middle of April and passes away at Lunasa tide when the corn begins to fill March, Màrt, is upon us, the time of earrach geamhraidh, or winter-spring continues until we have the nine days of Gearran, the Cailleach and the Squabag, each different weather fronts.  True to form March has been a very changeable month weather wise and hard to get out and about to look at what’s happening on the ground. The gearran came early this March with days of calm weather, then we had the Cailleach, …

February, Faoilleach,  the wolf ravage. Imbolc and La Fheill Bride. The month of two halves. The beginning, a full on winter experience. By the end becoming a little easier going with clear signs of summer on its way. The weather though has been all over the place. The coldest it has been for some time, then usually sunny and warm, we will see what this year brings. Regardless, the snow has fallen. Coating the countryside on Valentines day, old plough break day, the date of old Candlemas, thick and heavy. The sky is a scene from an apocalypse movie. Dark grey rising …

Spring cleaning the house cleaning is always a chore, I’m not sure that anyone enjoys it. One thing we need to do though is to keep the house clean especially after it has been closed up all winter. The point is to  remove things that might cause illness, reduce the likelihood of moulds growing and circulate air through the house. The first thing we do on a good enough day is to crack open the windows a little bit. Get the air circulating and clean the house as much as we are able to. We don’t use household cleaners that you …