We have just passed through the Spring Equinox. Now it seems certain that Spring has arrived and that the new life, which emerged from the darkness of winter at Imbolc (Feb 1st), will continue to grow unfold and blossom into full potential as the year unfolds...
Yesterday on Dec 22nd I made my annual pilgrimage to Newgrange (Bru an Boinne) to witness and celebrate the Winter Solstice 2016 with those gathered there. This year’s pilgrimage was very special for me because it was the 30th anniversary of my first...
Samhain came swiftly in Ireland this year. It followed a few weeks of warm sunny autumnal weather which created a stunning array of burnt orange and golden yellow foliage and that sense of mellow fruitfulness and completion. Then suddenly it was...
Breathing in the May blossom penetrates my soul Breathing out my breath is fragrant with sunshine and hope. Leonie Baldwin It is almost the end of May and the Hawthorn trees (also known in Ireland as the May) are finally coming into blossom. A sure...
In the Celtic Christian tradition, Easter and Bealtaine celebrations were often similar. The festivals were closely linked in both linear time and spiritual and agricultural significance. As a child growing up in Ireland, Lent and Easter were very significant events....
It is a beautiful bright frosty morning in early March. I have just returned from a walk up the mountain road beside my home in Ravensdale near Dundalk. Over the past year, I had avoided walking this road because I thought it was too steep for my fitness...
In the Celtic Christian tradition, Easter and Bealtaine celebrations were often similar. The festivals were closely linked in both linear time and spiritual and agricultural significance. As a child growing up in Ireland, Lent and Easter were very significant events....
The period from Samhain (Nov 1st) until the Winter Solstice (Dec 21st ) is probably the most challenging time of the year for many people living in the Northern hemisphere. Yet within the Celtic yearly calendar this time is hugely significant, in...
Harvest Goddess, Mary McCabe angel.light.paintings@googlemail.com Autumn and harvest time is a joyful time where we can celebrate the fruits of our labour and our journey in time with the passing of the seasons of the earth as the earth yields its bounty. This...
Easter is a time of re-emergence, a time of joy and hope for what may emerge as the year unfolds. Easter is closely connected with the Spring Equinox, which in the northern hemisphere is around 21st March. It is Spring time and the earth is re-awakening after the...
Welcome to the season of Samhain – the beginning of and the first season of the Celtic year. This year the actual New Year begins November 13th on the new moon. In Ireland most people celebrate Samhain, especially its association with the ancestors,...
In Ireland summer ends officially around August 15th and yields to the season of Lughnasadh. The festival of Lughnasadh, which in ancient times lasted for two weeks, marks the beginning of this season. In earlier times in Ireland, Lughnasadh was a gathering time...