Colette O'Neill… Author, Publisher, photographer. Creator of Goddess Permaculture.
There was a full moon on the Winter Solstice, an unusual event and not occurring in my lifetime again, so, very special to me. As my ancestors before me, I celebrate the Solstice, marking the longest night of the year and with the promise of all that lies ahead… The ritual of fire and feast, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Origins of Yule The great Festival of Yule, beginning at the time of the Winter Solstice and lasting for a full twelve days, summed up the cycle of the Celtic year. The word Yule, according to the Venerable Bede, came from the Norse word Iul meaning ‘wheel’ and suggested that this was the time when […]
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Autumn is a time of early shadows as the season of summer passes over. And cobwebs everywhere! And here, in the Northern Hemisphere, one can easily notice the later dawns and earlier sunsets,as Spring is ushered in south of the Equator. Equinox is all about balance…the balance of equal day and night, of dark and light. […]
Read MoreThe signs are everywhere… Nights drawing in… Unexpected sunshine on frosted mornings. The bare beauty of trees silhouetted against clear winter skies. As Orion strides across the evening sky, we draw closer to the Winter Solstice and the darkest, stillest, nights of the year. Winter Solstice celebrations begin on the 21st of December, a time […]
Read MoreSunday afternoon…picking flowers in the gardens. This feels like the full, quiet days before giving birth… The force of the full moon can still be felt in the stillness of the late afternoon air. There is an otherworldly feel to it all… Time appears to stand very still. Bees continue in a frenzy of work […]
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Farewell Bealtaine! Rising on the last morning of Bealtaine and looking out the window of the lodge to be greeted by mist and sunshine. The heat of yesterday rose in a mist over the valley and mountains beyond. Rising towards Midsummer is a most magical time in the west of Ireland. Between the rain and […]
Read MoreHappy Solstice everyone… In this special year of the return of the Divine Feminine… There will be a full moon on Sunday, June 23… And it’s a rather special one… The biggest moon at Midsummer It will not only be the largest full moon of the year… It will also be the moon’s closest encounter […]
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