In preparing for the season of Yule, I follow the age old traditions of all the women who have gone before me.
Preparation is everything.
This begins in the home and involves casting an eye over all that will be of importance during this sacred time of gathering.
I am driven with the desire to instil a sense of order upon Bealtaine Cottage as the Midwinter festivities approach.
There is a history to this festival that precedes the usual image we hold as the collective ideal…that of a more recent celebration, Christmas.
The Winter Solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years.
It was celebrated by my Great Grandmother who lived in the cottage above.
Indeed, Newgrange here in Ireland, was constructed five thousand years ago, as a homage to the Midwinter Solstice, so this festival of Yule was immensely important to our ancestors.
This was because communities were not certain of living through the winter, and had to be prepared during the previous nine months.
Food and wine was ready to eat and drink ,as fruit fermented and animals were slaughtered as feed stocks dwindled.
Even during the morning, parts of the interior of this Irish cottage can be dim during the months of Midwinter.
Light is what our seasons are measured in.
Light was and remains the important aspect of winter and our ancestors realised the connection this had to all life.
That connection, that sense of knowing the elemental forces that governed their lives, was so important to them, that many monuments were erected to this end.
Here in Ireland, Newgrange is the most important, monumental reminder we have of this elemental connection.
So today has been a day of tidying and ordering…cleaning the area around the cottage, sorting wool, and listening to gentle music as I go.
For lovers of Bealtaine Cottage and all aspects of ancient Celtic life and Goddess Permaculture found therein, there is a second website, growing daily and now with over 90 new blogs and several thousands of unseen photographs, as well as podcasts and stories… Visit:
And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know. 
It is often in the early morn or at dusk that I find myself in a strange little corner of the gardens, which stretch to three acres and I attempt to capture the moment through the lens. 
For my part, I believe in the Sidhe and have often felt their presence. 
You may make of them what you will. 
Bealtaine Cottage is quite alive at all times and especially today, Midsummer, 20th day of June 2016. 
The veil is thin… 
This is of very special meaning to me and heralds the presence of my Mother, for this is her Angel sitting by a plant which was dedicated to her. 
The Realm of the Sidhe is a shadow land, carved out by the Tuatha de Danann following the defeat of the tribe in their last great battle. 
The Tuatha de Danann, the people of the Goddess Danu, were one of the great ancient tribes of Ireland. 
