I’m including this time period as its own unique season. In Chinese medicine, Indian Summer is regarded as a distinct fifth season, which relates to the earth element, digestion and the stomach, spleen, and pancreas. In parts of old Europe, it was called ‘Gypsy Summer or St. Martin’s Summer.’ Here in Southern Calif., we […]

Summer heat is at its peak during Lammas, the ancient Midsummer Celtic festival of sun god Lugh. Rituals and the usual bonfires honored the power of the sun and the harvest bounty of Mother Earth. Cattle were taken to upper meadow pastures to graze on lush grasses. This was a time of feasting, marriages and […]

For the Celts, the Summer Solstice was a time of feasting, rejoicing and the lighting of bonfires which were believed to chase away evil demons, protect the cattle and bring luck to the couples who jumped over them. The promise of fertile abundance of this ripening time was celebrated and gatherings at Stonehenge, the ancient […]

  On May 1st, the ancient Celts celebrated the high point of spring with the festival of Beltane, which is Gaelic for ‘bright fire.’ Beltane honors the fertile and flowery abundance of the earth goddess, the sun god Bel and the fiery, sustaining power of sexual union. For the pagan Celts, May 1st was the […]

A sense of possibility, hope and abundance arises in spring as shoots of green emerge from the recharged roots of winter sleep and buds appear on barren trees. If we attune ourselves to this resurgence of renewed growth, we may feel a quickening of our own energy and an urge to launch creative projects. To […]

In moderate winter climates, February is the month when signs of spring begin to appear; snowdrops, crocuses and groundhogs arise from their wintery hibernations. Celtic Imbolc on Feb 1st and Valentines Day on Feb 14th are pre-spring holidays with pagan roots that honor fertility. This is the time when lambs are born and some birds […]

From Christmas on Dec 25 until the dawn of January 6th when Epiphany is celebrated, exists a sacred circle of time. These 12 nights arise from the gap between the lunar and solar calendars and are therefore considered holy and beyond time. This is often the ‘dead of winter’ phase when there is a strange, quiet lull. […]

The gifts of Winter may be difficult to embrace since this season can also include illness, severe cold, hardship and a descent into darkness, not only with longer nights and shorter daylight, but also with a descent into the hidden shadowy places of the psyche. The superficial glitz of the holidays that drives people into […]

Deep Autumn and Samhain. The Celtic year ends; a sharp night chill sets in and ancestral spirits arise as the green world retreats into underground roots to rest. Life moves inward at this time of year in the northern hemisphere, so let’s follow Nature’s lead and go within for some rest and self-reflection, allowing any […]