Recipe

Ah the majestic and humble Rowan Tree. I have to say this is one of my favourite trees, its flowers in May, and the way its leaves turn fantastic colours of red in autumn. Rowan is best known for its use in Rowan Tree and Red Thread Charms or the berries strung up as decoration and used for protection, but also for its very direct Celtic connotations to the Ogham and other deeper folklore uses. It’s an enticing tree with much mythology behind it and its  Berry with a little five-pointed star at its end leads us to ponder other questions …

With the Blood Harvest Moon tonight it got me thinking about autumn and Valerian hot chocolate. The leaves start to turn their beautiful shades of red and golden yellows and the mornings start to become crisp, my head and heart starts to wonder to  thoughts of scarfs, gloves, bonfires, mulled cider and hot chocolate. Nows a great time to harvest and use Valerian Root as you may also be drying it off for personal use (hopefully away from your cats). This hot chocolate recipe has Valerian added but also is helped by the soothing effect of other relaxing herbs allies mingled …

Our bones that we have on display need as much care as the bones in your body but in a different way. For this is I have created what I’m terming a Bone Balm, and this blog looks at how it is made, the ingredients that are part of it and how to apply the balm for best care.

Traditionally a Bealltainn/Beltane/Beltuinn bannock (a ‘bannock’ is a whole oatcake, whilst a ‘farl’ is a quarter) is made and eaten on Beltane morning, to ensure the health of your crops and your herds. This involved a simple ritual of sorts where the bannock is separated into nine ‘knobs’, each one dedicated to something they felt preserved their livestock or perhaps the agent of their destruction (usually a wild animal). Facing a fire…