New moon in Pisces Lunar Report | Entering the Seed Moon Cycle

New moons mark the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, and this new moon in Pisces is ushering in the Seed Moon Cycle! During this cycle we will also be experiencing a shift in seasons.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are shifting into the warmer months of Spring. The ground is thawing and we are now able to prepare our literal and metaphorical seeds for the new season ahead.

This new moon in Pisces will turn up your intuition and awareness. You might find your dreams are more vivid, or that your gut instincts are correct. Use your heightened intuition to ask yourself what kind of seeds you should plant for the cycle ahead.

Read full article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ New Moon in Pisces Moonthly Report | Entering the Seed Moon Cycle

Gather Ye Redbuds While Ye May – A Colorful Harbinger of Spring…and Edible, Too!

The Herb Society of America Blog

by Karen Cottingham

Eastern_Redbud_by Dan Keck via wikimedia Here in Texas, there’s a saying: “We have two seasons – summer and winter.” That’s not quite true; but if you’re not paying attention, spring can slip right past. And the last thing I want is to miss a single day of our glorious, but ephemeral, spring.

The nights here are still cold – sometimes approaching freezing – but the robins have arrived, so I know springtime is near. It’s time to listen for a hushed prelude to seasonal change, time to look for intimations of life beginning to stir. Every few days, this calls for a visit to the two redbud trees in my Houston neighborhood to check the trunks and bare branches for any evidence of tiny pink flowers. Nothing to see for weeks on end; then suddenly, here they are – scattered crimson buds emerging straight from the furrowed bark, swelling with life, and…

View original post 1,842 more words

Show Me How to Live

Bringing back the Hearth: Ancestral Fires for Protection, Connection, and Comfort

The Druid's Garden

Sacred tea over the fire

Fire is one of the most ancient tools that humans have and one of the things that separates our species from others on this beautiful planet. Humans have an incredible ancestral connection to fire. Think about how a fire draws you in–when you see a campfire or fire in a hearth, you want to get close and stay warm. That is probably because we humans have been working with fire for somewhere between 1 million and 1.5 million years. 1.5 million years ago, our ancient ancestors would have been Homo Erectus; and so, as we evolved into Homo Sapiens, it is very likely that fire was already with us. For more information on fire and ancestral fires, I suggest checking out this post!

Because of this deep connection, if we move forward quite a bit in time, we can understand why as people built…

View original post 2,549 more words

Hawthorn Berry Brownie Cake w/ Hawthorn Berry Buttercream Frosting — Gather Victoria

What more appropriate treat could there be for an occasion of the heart like Valentines Day? After all, many herbalists consider hawthorn berries the ultimate heart tonic and every kitchen witch knows that bewitching hawthorn opens the heart to love. Heart-warming.& heart-strengthening, hawthorn heals, protects and uplifts heavy hearts, supporting us physically, emotionally and spiritually. …
Hawthorn Berry Brownie Cake w/ Hawthorn Berry Buttercream Frosting — Gather Victoria

Nature Connection, Wildcrafting, and the Wheel of the Year

The Druid's Garden

One interpretation of the wheel in terms of our own activity

The Wheel of the Year is obviously a powerful symbol, both in nature spiritual practices like druidry as well as more general neopagan practices. It resonates with something that is ancestral and connected–living by the cycles and honoring the seasons. A host of different traditions use some form of a yearly wheel, and when you join many traditions, the wheel of the year is a critical part of the practice. But what do these holidays mean? How do they actually connect to our lives? How do they connect to our local ecosystems, and how do the wheel holidays help us connect with nature? I consider these questions and argue for a wildcrafted wheel of the year rooted in your own observation, connection, and daily life in connection with nature.

As a druid for the last 16 years, I feel…

View original post 1,422 more words

Vulcan Salute

Entering The Sage Moon | New Moon Lunar Report

This New Moon on February 1st could be considered the most powerful new moon of the year!

This new moon takes place on both Imbolc and the Lunar New Year in the sign of Aquarius. This helps us begin the month with what feels like a clean slate ready for powerful new beginnings.

This new moon is also right in the middle of Venus direct an Mercury direct which further helps set the stage for brand new beginnings in our relationships and the ways we might connect with others.

With this new moon we are entering the Sage Moon Cycle. This represents the time of year to clear away any stagnant or stuck energy so that you can plant new seeds for the year ahead.

Each month using our planners, decks and the current astrology, we create the New Moon Lunar Report.

Read complete article at: Spirit de Lune ~ Entering the Sage Moon | New Moon Lunar Report

A 21st Century Wheel of the Year: Reskilling at Imbolc

The Druid's Garden

Imbolc–the first signs of spring (artwork by myself and my father, Mark Driscoll)

In a traditional neopagan Wheel of the Year, Imbolc is the holiday that offers the first signs of spring. Most traditionally, this is when the ewes began to lactate, and the snowdrops appeared on the landscape in the British Isles. In the age of climate instability, traditional seasonal interpretations become challenged for many reasons–not the least of which are climate disruptions. So how might we bring the holiday of Imbolc into the 21st century and think about what this holiday means to us today?

As I’ve discussed in earlier posts in this series, the 21st Century, the Age of the Anthropocene, offers us a set of unprecedented challenges and yet opportunities. As a permaculture designer, I think it’s important to recognize that while the problems we already face are unavoidable, these problems give us a…

View original post 2,833 more words