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, music and drink, gathering of family and friends are all important aspects of the Winter Solstice.
The youngest member of my little tribe was here, forming a focal point for us all as we gathered to celebrate.
She is displaying a love for the natural world in her wish to be carried around outside and shown the many aspects of the woodland sanctuary, engaging with me as I show her the trees and birds.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the gathering disappears off to their own homes and further adventures of Yule and I am, once more, alone with Jack, birdsong and the increasing energy of the Otherworld all in and around the cottage.
I venture out to collect a few necessities from town and on my way home am enchanted to pull over the car and embrace the quickening evening.
Dragon’s Breath as is known, moves silently over the fields.
The evening before Christmas Eve is preparing for a quiet slumber in the way in which only happens at this time of year.
Mist is rolling in across the lough.
In the rush that is corporate Christmas, most people have not the time to stop and take in this ethereal beauty…I find myself alone in the blue twilight of an Irish evening in late December.
The days that follow a gathering are eerily silent.
The sheer contrast of it all!
I am reminded of my solitude.
This is a physical solitude, I remind myself, for I am immersed in many lives at Bealtaine Cottage.
Like the time of year, a reminder that days of quickening light lie ahead, when the light and sounds of Spring will make the quiet evenings something to look forward to.
And so I make my way home, immersed in the silence of the land itself, at one with this ancient land, my home.
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Calendar and Map
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Calendar and Midwinter Book
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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.
The land speaks.
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…
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. 
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.
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In Ireland, because of its close association with the goddess Brigit, it became Saint Brigid’s Day.
Yuletide continues to be marked at Bealtaine Cottage through to it’s end on the first day of January. A time of great hope and lifting of one’s head towards the ascending sun.
Equinox is all about balance…the balance of equal day and night, of dark and light. 
I await the first light of morning with great anticipation, aware that the light grows more and more precious, to be cherished. 
We are creatures of the light!
We are poised at the turning time and the descent towards Samhain. 
The Celts only recognised two parts of the year in terms of life, and that was Summer and Winter, for Samhain, despite falling on the 31st of October, meant “Summer’s End.”
The sun is casting long shadows…we grow evermore closer to the turning. 
In the night sky, Fomalhaut – the Autumn Star – is making its way across the heavens each night. 
The equinoxes and solstices formed an important part of ancient rituals here in Ireland. 
This Autumn Equinox is also referred to as Mabon.
Mabon is a good time to look at the ancient Greek legend of Persephone and Demeter.
“The breezes taste
Departing summer hath assumed
Stone monuments were built here in Ireland and aligned to witness the light on these days.
One can still view the illumination of these chambers in ancient cairns, at sunrise, on important celestial days. 
It just remains for me to wish you all a Happy Equinox on this beautiful evening at Bealtaine Cottage.
