There was always understood to be a contract between the people and the land.
This reminder formed the words as I walked the woodland sanctuary, on this last day of November.
The leaf-covered earth I walked upon reminded me of that sacred contract, one long since forgotten by humankind.
From the sacred well flows the life-giving force of the Otherworld.
All the ancient races of the Earth understood this.
The contract was broken by those who nurtured a greed for more and more wealth.
This continues today and is the reason why Mother Earth has been brought to the edge of destruction all across Her land and seas.
The native pre-Christian mythology of Celtic Ireland is highly Goddess-centered.
This is in recognition of the understanding that the Earth is female and the force is that of the Creatrix.
Irish mythology, in particular, is filled with stories of powerful women.
These women, often revered and greatly honoured, were seen as incarnations of the ‘Sovereignty’ goddess.
On these mornings near Midwinter, the moon continues to move across the sky as the sun rises.
The land speaks.
The Goddess is imbued in the chalice and has become the sacred quest of folklore, that of the Holy Grail.
Here at Bealtaine Cottage she is the land Herself.
It is a most blessed time of the day, when the energy is rising.
My morning ritual is the same…I walk the land and listen, not just with my ears but with my whole being.
The energy of the Goddess flows out from the spring well and across the woodland…I listen.
I walk always in awareness of the Otherworld which influences my own.
I walk in service to the land.
This Goddess-centred land feels a part of me and I a part of Her.
The Otherworld is inextricably linked to the land I walk.
The Otherworld is not about the dead.
The Otherworld is referred to as the ‘land of the living’ in ancient lore.
The Goddess has a great propensity for shape-shifting…so as I walk the land it is oftentimes I am followed by birds.
Tomorrow marks the first day of December and the descent towards the Midwinter Solstice.
This will herald the return of the rise of the light, as we move towards Imbolc.
Yule begins on the Midwinter Solstice and continues until the first day of January.
The sacred walks of Winter continue…
As the days grow shorter and the evenings longer there is a quietness in the gardens and around the cottage that is rather haunting. 
Much of what I do now is centred around preparing for the Midwinter Feast and the continuing festivities of Yule.
Family and friends will be arriving from as far away as Canada.
A house has been rented for the days that are in it, for Bealtaine Cottage is small!
Baking is underway in the kitchen, making full use of the hot oven in the even hotter Stanley stove that is burning constant to keep the cottage warm. 
Cakes and bread are then being moved to the freezer in the barn and will be ready to assuage the hunger of visitors and guests alike. 
The cake stand has been dusted off for the festivities.
I am transforming the Lodge into a big dining room, moving beds and other furniture out and a huge extending dining table in. 
This was brought over from the tunnel where it had been in use for years as a potting table, but a good clean down and polish, followed by the adornment of a starched table cloth, has lent the old table an air of noble gentility. 
Candlelight will soften the decrepitness of the piece and even add a touch of shabby chic! 
In the event it isn’t really about grandeur or showing off, but about coming together to celebrate…something we have almost forgotten how to do. 
The remembering that less is more…that a pot of well made soup and home baked bread is unique to that day and all who partake of the feast. 
It is not about shop bought, ready-made food, or flashy decorations that will still be intact in the landfill when you are long gone from this sacred Earth. 
My little bathroom has had a coat of paint applied and a polish-up!
Remembering the importance of gathering and celebrating…this is real civilisation!
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. 
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:
