ogham

Samhain 2023

~ Ashley ~ 32 Comments

samhain 23

Here on these islands we have just turned the clocks back by one hour, leaving summer time behind and moving into the months of shorter days and longer nights.

Who reading this, hasn’t heard of Halloween?  It is also Samhain, the end and the beginning of the Celtic New Year.  In Japanese culture, it is the season of Frost Falls (October 23-November 6).  An important time, no matter where humans are in the northern hemisphere.  A magical time!

Darkness grows -
An ending, a beginning,
And renewal.

5 elder samain

I have added another piece to my set of Ogham sticks: elder, Sambucus nigra.  It is the 15th tree in the Celtic Tree Ogham and is known as a tree of regeneration and wisdom.  It is also known as a tree of endings and beginnings.  I’ve almost completed my set of Ogham sticks and am looking into different ways to continue my tree journey.

November to March is an ideal time to plant trees.  I collected and planted some beech seeds last November and already they are several inches high.  This year I’ve planted some conkers from a horse chestnut tree.  These trees will be too big when fully grown to plant into my own garden but I’m sure others would be glad to have them, once they are a few years old.  A few years ago I grew some oaks from acorns: two of them I planted with permission on a small island in Lough Neagh so I must return there and see how they are doing.  If you would like to plant trees from seed, here is a link you might like to follow (Plantober):

https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/

Again, I need to thank Glennie Kindred for her book Sacred Earth Celebrations.  It now has a permanent place on my desk.  Here is a link to her website:

https://www.glenniekindred.co.uk/

Ashley

 

Beltain 2023

~ Ashley ~ 44 Comments

1 hawthorn

2 hawthorn

3 hawthorn (2)

New greenery everywhere,
White buds ready to burst into flower --
Hawthorn on May Day.

It’s May Day or if you follow an older ancient tradition, Beltain.  The Hawthorn is just beginning to show a few flowers and my heart rejoices to know the Earth’s energies are stirring.  I’m happy to celebrate this quickening of fertility and growth in my verse!  Today is warmer and with many damp weeks behind us the flowers and trees are sending us a message: the summer is here!

In my attempts to write these 3 line verses I follow the ancient agricultural calendar which is also the Hokku calendar.* 

In the Celtic Tree Ogham, Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is the sixth tree: Huath, H. and it brings the spirit of wild places, even when growing in a town.  As the seasons change I hope to include more references to the Tree Ogham.**

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Happy Beltain, a time when Earth’s energies are at their most active.  The Earth is alive, not just at the surface but in its depths.

Ashley

[So much of what I am learning about traditional Earth celebrations is down to the writings of Glennie Kindred and I give thanks to her for her love and blessings which I am returning to her through my verse]

https://www.glenniekindred.co.uk

 

* Through David Coomler’s wonderful writings on WordPress I continue to learn about Hokku. https://hokku.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/the-traditional-hokku-calendar-west-and-east/

** https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ogham