Embracing Autumn: A Harvest Dolly

Harvest Dolly made from my favourite herbs, August 2021

A traditional harvest custom I've always liked is that of weaving corn dollies from the last sheaf of grain to be cut. The idea came from the notion that the spirit of the crop needed a place to reside over the winter months, as it had effectively been made homeless when the fields of grain were cut and harvested. The last sheaf of wheat would be  gathered with great ceremony and plaited or woven into a shape known as a 'corn dolly', which was then kept through the winter in a safe place indoors and treated as an honoured guest. In spring when it was time to sow the next year's crop, the corn dolly was usually ploughed back into the soil, releasing the spirit of the crop back into the land.

Making such corn dollies is a skilled job. There are many, many different shapes and designs which have been created over the years, some of which are specific to particular areas of the UK (or further afield).

The idea of offering honour and shelter to the spirit of the green is appealing, yet not only do I lack the skill to weave any of these intricate designs, but as I am not a grain farmer I lack the wheat too! Of course, it's possible to buy wheat straw to make yourself a corn dolly - you can find just about anything online! - but somehow to me, that lacks the emotional/spiritual connection that you would have with a crop that you'd grown yourself. Then I had an idea - if the purpose of the corn dolly is to offer honour and protection to the spirits of a plant you are in relationship with, why not make a 'Harvest Dolly' instead, composed of the plants in your garden or neighbourhood that you feel have a connection to yourself. These plants could be the ornamental plants that you love (your favourite rosebush or clematis), vegetable plants that have fed you and your family through the summer, wild plants, trees and weeds that you adore, or plant allies that you work with spiritually.

This year, I decided to make a Harvest Dolly from my favourite herbs. If you'd like to make your own Harvest Dolly, there are detailed instructions below. 

Embracing Autumn: Create Your Own Harvest Dolly

• Decide which plant(s) you'd like to use. Harvest them with respect and only after asking permission from the plant itself. Don't take more than you need, and cut the plant cleanly. This is all about honouring the spirit of the plant, and maintaining a good, mutually respectful relationship with it.        

Cutting spearmint from the herb garden with my boline.

Close-up of a peppermint flower

My bunch of herbs included spearmint, peppermint, eau-de-cologne mint, lemon verbena, camomile, oregano, sage, rosemary, St John's wort, thyme, fennel, mugwort and lemon balm

• To make your Harvest Dolly, gather your plant material into a bunch. About halfway up the bunch, tightly tie some ribbon and finish it with a bow. This is your Harvest Dolly's 'waist'. I like to use red ribbon for this - partly because red thread is often used in protective folk magic charms, partly because red can symbolically stand for 'life', and partly because aesthetically the red makes a good contrast to all that green! Obviously, you can use which ever colour you like.
• Turn the bunch upside down. The full, leafy, flowery half of your bunch forms the 'skirt' of your Harvest Dolly. The stem half will form her torso and head.
• Find something straight and fairly rigid to make 'arms' (for this I cut a small bundle of dried grass stems from the hedgerow - I felt they would be a good representative of the wild plants of the locale). Push them through and at right angles to the stems of the plants you have gathered. The stems should be gathered tightly enough to hold the arms in place, but if you want to you can use some thread to tie them more securely.
• Use some thread to tightly tie the bunch again, this time above the arms. This is your Harvest Dolly's 'neck'. You should have an inch or two of stems above this which form her head.
• If you'd like to add a head/face you could use a seedpod, nutshell, round leaf etc, or make one out of paper/card or even air-drying clay. I used the seedpod from an honesty plant (Lunaria annua). There was enough of a stem on the seedpod to push down under the neck thread, which was sufficient to hold it in place. You could use thread, a cocktail stick or glue to hold your Dolly's face in place if necessary. If you like, you could draw features onto the face (I decided to leave mine plain).
• Voila! You are finished, although if you like you could 'dress' your dolly by wrapping her in fabric or making her a tiny necklace or crown...
• Put her somewhere dry and well-ventilated, where she will be able to gradually dry out. Her bright colours will fade as she dries, but she will still be beautiful.
• Next spring, dig her into your garden soil, or leave her as an offering in your favourite green space. 
• I've added a rough diagram below which I hope will make clear anything my words have failed to describe adequately.   

My finished Harvest Dolly

A rough diagram which may help clarify my written instructions!

 

Embracing Autumn: Blackberry Time

 

August is the time of the grain harvest, but of course it's also the month that the blackberry harvest begins. I've been eagerly anticipating the first juicy black berries of the season, but I was still happily surprised when I realised the first few had appeared.

Most of the earlier season berries we enjoy in this country are cultivated - strawberries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, loganberries, tayberries and blueberries; while most of the other 'wild' berries - rowan berries, elderberries, haws, rosehips and sloes - are best processed in some way before eating. Blackberries, however are wild, free, bountiful and perfectly delicious plucked straight from the vine. No wonder they've been eaten by humans for at least 8,000 years (according to the archaeological evidence)! It's not just humans who benefit from this fantastic resource - the berries are also eagerly consumed by birds, foxes, badgers, mice and other small mammals. The flowers provide nectar for bees and other pollinating insects, and the leaves are grazed by deer and are an important food source for caterpillars. Thorny bramble thickets also provide shelter, nesting sites and a safe haven from predators for birds, small mammals and even grass snakes.

Have you ever noticed that not all blackberries taste the same? It's not your imagination. There are actually more than 330 subspecies of blackberries in the UK alone - so I suggest doing a 'taste test' of the blackberries in your area and taking careful note of where the best are to be found! 

Herbalists use blackberry (the roots, leaves and berries) to treat a variety of conditions including diarrhoea, burns, dysentery, inflammation and sore throats. I find it interesting that a plant capable of inflicting such nasty scratches is used as a soothing remedy.

Such a well-known plant inevitably has a lot of folklore attached to it. On the Isle of Man it was said to be unlucky to eat the first ripe blackberries as they belonged to the faeries, yet in other parts of the country the first fruits contained healing powers (as I don't live on the Isle of Man I decided it would be fine for me to eat the first blackberries I found - and they were delicious!). The plant was also used to magically heal those suffering from a variety of ailments (including ruptures, pimples and boils) by passing the afflicted person under the archway formed by a bramble branch. In Christian lore it's said the berries are black because brambles were used to make Christ's crown of thorns. It was also said that Lucifer landed painfully in a blackberry  bush when he was thrown out of Heaven and in anger he spits (or in some tellings, urinates!) on the berries each Michaelmas Day (29th September) after which the berries are unpalatable and should not be picked. It seems more likely to me that it's actually the colder weather and frosts at the end of September that are to blame for overly soft, tasteless blackberries! Despite all these negative associations, blackberry bushes were thought to protect against evil spirits and were often planted near homes for this reason (I'm sure the berries were an added bonus!).

There are some wonderful folk names for the plant including bramble, bumblekites, black leg, bounty thorn, skaldberry, blackbutters, blackbides, scaldhead and gatterberry. 

Embracing Autumn: Go Blackberrying!

Take the family, take a basket, and go blackberrying. The bushes are easily found in hedgerows and on wasteground. Do watch out for the sharp thorns which will catch and scratch you, and the berries will stain your fingers - but the reward of a basket full of juicy fruit will be well worth it. Eat them fresh, or bake them into cakes, pies, crumbles, muffins. Blackberry ice cream, blackberry sorbet, blackberry fool. Make blackberry jam or jelly, blackberry syrup, blackberry wine, or steep them in gin or vodka with a little added sugar to produce blackberry liqueur

Embracing Autumn: The Rowan

It's August, and Rowan berries are ripening to brilliant scarlet, gloriously bright against the blue-grey skies.

The Rowan is one of my favourite trees. I love the slender grace of her smooth grey trunk, her dainty sprays of leaves, the froth of her creamy blossom in spring and the sass of her bold, bright berries heralding the onset of Autumn. I love the way her beauty belies her tenacity and strength - Rowan is able to grow at high altitudes (hence one of her other names, 'Mountain Ash') and in poor soils and inaccessible places which are often inhospitable to other species.

The Rowan has long been considered a magical, protective tree and had the reputation of protecting travellers from getting lost and warding off evil. People planted Rowans by their houses, hung Rowan branches over their doors and tied crossed Rowan twigs together with red thread as charms. It's also considered a 'threshold tree' and as such was not only planted at boundaries, but also believed to watch over gateways between this world and the otherworld. Perhaps for this reason it was traditionally planted in Welsh graveyards.

Other names for Rowan include Quickbeam, Berry Ash, Traveller's Tree, Wicken Tree, Wiggy and Thor's Helper (because of a tale in the Prose Edda in which Thor saves himself from drowning in a raging river by grabbing hold of a Rowan). 

Rowans can grow up to 15m in height and live for up to 200 years. The leaves, bark,  flowers and fruit of the tree are useful for wildlife, providing food for moths, butterflies, bees, foxes, badgers, squirrels, dormice and birds. Humans can eat the berries too, they are best made into jellies, jams, wines, cordials or liqueurs. Heating or freezing them during processing helps break down the compounds within them which could otherwise potentially cause indigestion or kidney problems.

Embracing Autumn: Make a Rowan Charm for Yourself or Your Home

Try to find a Rowan tree in your area* and gather fallen twigs and/or berries to make a protective charm for your home, car or to carry with you. The simplest method is to use two crossed twigs and some yarn (red is the traditional colour to use, but you can choose colours that are meaningful to you) to make a 'God's Eye'/'Ojo de Dios'. You could thread rowan berries onto the yarn for added protection, or add a 'tail' of threaded berries to hang down from your charm. Instructions on how to make a God's Eye can be found here (or look on Youtube for a tutorial). 

Alternatively you could simply thread Rowan berries together onto a length of cotton (using a needle and thread) or a piece of wire. Hang them over your front door to invoke the protection of the 'threshold tree' for your home.

* Rowans are often planted in parks, so even if you live in a city you should be able to find one. If all else fails, rowan berries can easily be purchased from herbal suppliers online. To ensure you are buying the right kind, check the Latin name which should be Sorbus aucuparia.       

 

 

   

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 86: Saint Dwynwen's Day

January 25th is St Dwynwen's Day (Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen) in Wales, 'the Welsh Valentine's Day'. 

St Dwynwen (pronounced doin-WEN) lived in the 5th century and was the daughter of a King and was reknowned for her piety and purity. She fell in love with a young man named Maelon, but her father refused to let them marry. In despair, Dwynwen prayed to be rid of her feelings for Maelon. God sent an angel to her in a dream, who brought her a potion to help her forget Maelon but which turns him into ice. God also grants her three wishes, and she uses these to request that Maelon be released from the ice, that God will act favourably towards all true lovers and finally that she herself will remain unmarried. As thanks for God's help, she became a nun, settling on the Isle of Anglesey, where she founded a church at Llanddwyn. 

A well near the church supposedly contained magical fish (some sources say eels). The movements of these fish could supposedly be read to to predict the future for young lovers.

St Dwynwen became the patron saint of young lovers (and also sick animals), and is celebrated in Wales much as St Valentine's Day is celebrated in other parts of the world, with cards and gifts of flowers and chocolates. In fact many people in Wales celebrate both dates, so we get two special dates devoted to lovers!

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 86

St Dwynwen's Day

On St Dwynwen's Day let's be thankful for love. Love for your partner, spouse or significant other, but also love of all kinds, not just romantic love. Love for your friends. Love for your family. Love for your co-workers. Love for your pets. Love for places. Love for the planet. Love for your heroes and heras. Love for your passions in life.

Who or what do you love? Today, give thanks for all those people, things and places you love. The more you love, the more love you have to give. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 75: Snowdrops

Today I spotted the first snowdrop flowers that I've seen this year. It was only a small patch and the bells hadn't yet opened properly, but soon there will be swathes of their white flowers everywhere. Each year the snowdrops are one of the first sights signalling the change from Winter to Spring. The white drifts at the base of the hedgerows that once were snow transform imperceivably into flowers - it's a kind of magic. And when the pioneering snowdrops have bravely blazed a trail, other flowers - pussy willows and primroses, daffodils and celandines - will follow.

As Snowdrops herald the very beginning of spring, they have become a symbol of hope for better times ahead. As they usually bloom towards the end of January/beginning of February they're associated with Imbolc - and also its Christian counterpart Candlemas, which earned them the alternative name of Candlemas Bells. Other lovely old names for them include Dewdrops, Eve's Tear, February Fair-maids, Snowpiercer, White Bells and Mary's Tapers.

In the Language of Flowers Snowdrops symbolise chastity, consolation, hope and purity. A German legend tells that God asked the flowers of Earth to give colours to the snow. The flowers all refused, but the Snowdrop gladly offered the snow its colour. In return, the snowdrop got to bloom before the other flowers.    

Snowdrops aren't native to the British Isles. They were introduced from the Caucasus mountains by Italian monks in the 15^th or 16^th Century, later escaping into the wild where they have become naturalised. Growing to about 7-15cm tall, the bell-shaped flowers hang down to protect the pollen from harsh winter rains. As they flower so early, snowdrops don't rely on pollinators to reproduce, spreading instead via bulb division. However, they're visited by bees and other insects on particularly warm days, so in favourable conditions they can produce seed.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 75

Snowdrops

Have you spotted any snowdrops flowering yet? Or are there other signs of spring where you live? Here daffodil leaves are pushing up from the soil and tiny catkins can be seen on the twigs of the hazel. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 68: St Distaff's Day

The day after Twelfth Night is 'St Distaff's Day'. There never was a St Distaff though, the name is a sort of joke. The relevance of the day is that it marked a return to work for women following the Christmas period (men returned to work on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany - sometimes this was the same day as St Distaff's Day, but at others the men got a few more days of leisure). Spinning thread was a huge part of 'women's work' in the pre-industrial era, and one of the tools used for this was a 'distaff', a stick or spindle used to hold a bundle of unspun fibres in preparation for spinning them into thread. The tool became a symbol of women and their work, and to this day the word 'distaff' is used as an adjective denoting something relating to women.

These days, most fibre is produced by machine and women no longer have to spend their time spinning - unless they want to! Yet many people - of both sexes - still enjoy fibre and textile crafts such as knitting, sewing, weaving, crochet, quilting, felting, macramé, embroidery, cross-stitch, appliqué, lace-making... 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 68

St Distaff's Day 

I'm very grateful to live in a time when work - and creativity - is no longer considered gender-specific and when technological advances free us up to enjoy these activities - or others - as hobbies rather than chores! I love knitting, but I'm sure it would be much less enjoyable if it was a compulsory duty rather than a leisure pursuit.

What are your hobbies? When were you last able to spend some time enjoying them? If you haven't had much time for your favourite creative pastimes recently, make sure you set aside some time and space to savour and celebrate them soon. 

Happy St Distaff's Day!     

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 67: Wassail!

 Photo: Wassail Cup my brother had made for me by Barrington Pottery

"Here's to thee, old apple tree,
That blooms well, bears well.
Hats full, caps full,
Three bushel bags full,
An' all under one tree.
Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Another traditional Twelfth Night activity was Wassailing, a folk-custom in which orchards were visited and the trees sung to and blessed to ensure a good harvest in the coming year. The word 'Wassail' comes from the Anglo Saxon 'Wæs Þu hæl' which literally means 'Be thou hale (healthy)'.

The details of Wassailing ceremonies differ from community to community, but generally the trees are honoured and sung to, sometimes toast soaked in mulled, spiced cider is placed in their branches and/or a libation of the mulled cider is poured around the trees, and often the assembled group shout, sing and bang drums, pots and pans to make a huge din which will frighten any lurking malignant spirits away from the trees. Sometimes a shotgun is fired through the branches to make sure! 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 67

Wassail

If you have any fruit trees in your garden or locality, Wassail them by singing to them and toasting their health with mulled cider or hot spiced apple juice. Here's to a good harvest! Wassail!

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 66: Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas - although there's some disagreement as to whether it falls on 5th or 6th January as some Traditions count Christmas Day itself as the first Day while others begin the count from Boxing Day. Either way, the Christmas interlude is officially coming to its close. Interestingly, this is a relatively modern development which was brought in by the Victorians - in Tudor times, the festivities continued until Candlemas/Imbolc at the beginning of February! Then again those fun-loving Tudors didn't have an Industrial Revolution to run...

For Christians. Twelfth Night primarily marks the visit of the Three Kings to the infant Christ, and the coming of the Epiphany. For non-Christians, nowadays it's merely the day you are supposed to take your Christmas decorations down but in former times it was a special occasion marked with merrymaking, singing of carols, house-blessings etc. One Twelfth Night custom found in many different countries is the eating of a special cake called a 'King Cake' which takes a variety of forms but which crucially often contains a special token hidden within it. Getting the piece of cake containing the token confers luck, blessings or special (temporary) privileges. In times past in the UK, the cake contained a hidden bean, and the finder was declared 'King of Misrule' for the duration of the festivities. Sometimes there was a hidden pea too for the 'Queen of Misrule' to find. The idea of a King and Queen of Misrule, drawn by lot, seems to hark back to the Roman practice of electing a 'King of the Saturnalia'.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 66

Twelfth Night

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to take down the Christmas tree, decorations and cards. Christmas is over with until next December - it's time to reclaim your living space and look forward as the New Year begins to unfold. 

It's also time to notice that the days are already beginning to grow longer since the passing of the Winter Solstice over a fortnight ago. The Wheel of the Year is turning. Why not celebrate with cake! 

  

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 56: The Twelve Days of Christmas

Most people know about The Twelve Days of Christmas via the traditional song listing an array of strange gifts - including 'A Partridge in a Pear Tree' - that 'My True Love Sent to Me'. I had always assumed that the gifts were sent in the run-up to Christmas, but actually the Twelve Days of Christmas commence on 26th December, the day after Christmas. 

According to Caitlin Matthews, the Twelve Days of Christmas are called 'Omen Days' in Wales and Brittany (click through to the link for her full explanation of this). Each of the twelve days corresponds to a month in the coming year - the first day (today, 26th December) corresponds to January, the second day - 27th December - to February, and so on. The idea is that on each day you look out for an oracle which forecasts what you can expect for the corresponding month of the year ahead. You can either take note of events or occurrences during each day, or you can use a divinatory system such as the runes or tarot for your predictions. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 56

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Starting from today, until Twelfth Night (6th January) keep alert for oracles forecasting the months of the year ahead. Or do daily divinations using the method of your choice to get your forecast.      

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 50: Mistletoe

 

Along with Holly and Ivy, Mistletoe is one of the classic Yuletide plants with which people traditionally decorate their homes - yet it is also set apart from the others in many ways. The first difference of course is that mistletoe is a parasitic plant which draws water and nutrition from its host. It grows on a variety of different tree species but is found most frequently on apple trees, hawthorns, poplars, willows and lime. It can weaken the host tree but rarely kills it, which would after all be fatal to itself. 

The seeds are usually spread by birds either in their droppings or when they wipe their beaks on tree branches after eating the sticky berries. The seeds get stuck in crevices in the bark where they germinate, and a kind of root called a haustorium penetrates the branch, allowing the mistletoe to tap into the tree for its food and water.

Mistletoe does produce some of its own food through photosynthesis which is why its leaves are green. This is probably one reason it was seen as 'magical' and significant during Winter - like holly and ivy, it is evergreen. But it must also have seemed magical to our ancestors due to the fact that it doesn't grow in soil but seems to miraculously appear in the branches of trees, a product of neither earth nor sky. 

Understandably, as such an unusual plant, mistletoe appears in a great deal of folklore and mythology.

The 'Golden Bough' that enabled Theseus to visit and safely return from the land of the dead in Greek myth is thought to have been mistletoe. 

The Romans associated mistletoe with peace and hung it over their doorways during Saturnalia. 

In Norse myth, Balder the Beautiful God was magically protected by his mother Frigg, who extracted promises from everything living on or growing in the earth that they would not harm him, thus rendering him invincible. He seemed so indestructible that the other Gods played a game using Balder for target practice. Unfortunately Frigg had overlooked mistletoe when she wove protection around her son, either because she considered it too weak to pose a threat, or because uniquely among plants, mistletoe doesn't grow on or in the earth. The trickster God Loki (being jealous of Balder's beauty) mislead Balder's blind brother, Höd into throwing a piece of mistletoe at Balder, killing him. 

Mistletoe was seen as a fertility charm too - partly because the sticky white juice of the berries was thought to resemble semen. This, added to its ability to remain green throughout Winter suggested the plant contained a vital life-force, and this may be the origin of the custom of kissing under the mistletoe for good luck. 

All these Pagan connections were too much for the medieval Church and it banned mistletoe as a decoration in churches.

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 50

Mysterious, Magical Mistletoe

is there any mistletoe growing in your area? It's usually most easily spotted in Winter when there is no foliage on its deciduous host tree and its bushy growths can be seen silhouetted against the sky. In certain areas of the UK - such as Herefordshire - it is very common, but in others it is something of a rarity. 

Take a walk to see if you can spot any mistletoe growing. If not you may be able to buy some - it is often sold at this time of year as a Christmas decoration.

If you can find some, you may like to hang a sprig or two over your door like the Romans used to, as a protective charm for your household. When I do this I tie it with a piece of red ribbon and leave it up for the rest of the year, until I can replace it with a fresh sprig next Winter.    

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 48: Saturnalia

 

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia was celebrated from 17th-23rd December, with feasting, gift-giving and much merry-making. It was a time when normal social conventions were turned on their head - gambling was allowed and slaves were waited on by their owners. A 'King of the Saturnalia', was elected by drawing lots and would preside over the festivities, issuing arbitrary whimsical orders which had to be obeyed by his 'subjects'.

It's believed that some of the customs associated with later European celebrations of a Winter festival have been influenced by the Saturnalia festivities, including that of electing a 'Lord of Misrule'.

To this day, the days leading up to the Winter Solstice and Christmas have a quality of 'time out of time' mixed in with a celebratory atmosphere. Schools wind down for the holidays and there is often more fun than learning going on; a festive air pervades the workplace and there are office parties, and meals out; the darkness is lit by a myriad of fairy lights; people frantically shop and prepare for feasting and merrymaking with loved ones. There is a sense of anticipation, and to a certain extent the usual rules are suspended. 

Isn't it interesting how our modern celebrations so closely mirror many of the ways the Romans celebrated their mid-winter festival 2,000 years ago? Is it because the Romans set a template that has been followed down the years? Or is it human nature to feel the need to cut loose, let our hair down and light up the darkness with a big party? Or is it just the tension between the darkest, slowest, quietest time of the year crashing up against our impatient desire for the return of the light?  Personally I suspect it's a little of each. 

Winter Blessings amd Beauties, Day 48

Saturnalia

Take a few moments to centre yourself. Breathe slowly and deeply and feel your way into the energy of midwinter. How does the contradiction between the slow, deep rhythms of the sleeping earth, and the excited, jubilant energies of the human world as it gears up for midwinter festivities in anticipation of the turning of the darkness feel? It feels to me as if the two opposing forces coming together generates a charge of intoxicating energy. Is it any wonder that the King of the Saturnalia and the Lord of Misrule revel in their ability to turn convention on its head and undermine the usual order of things?  They are the perfect incarnation of the paradoxical midwinter energies in this liminal time, when winter approaches its peak - which is simultaneously the point at which it begins to wane.

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 45: The Mari Lwyd

 

The Mari Lwyd is a Welsh winter folk custom related to Mumming and Wassailing. 'Mari Lwyd' means 'Grey Mare' in Welsh, and the Mari herself is a hobby horse made from a horse's skull on a pole. The skull is decorated with ribbons or strips of cloth forming a mane. The eyes usually have pieces of glass or baubles inserted into them and sometimes the skull is painted or otherwise embellished. The jaw is often wired so that the operator of the Mari, who is hidden beneath a draped cloth can 'snap' the teeth at people. 

Traditionally, around Christmas and New Year - the timing wasn't exact, varying  between communities - the Mari, accompanied by her Handler and a group of others including musicians and sometimes stock characters such as 'Punch' and 'Judy', would travel around the village, stopping to sing outside each house. The song requested that they be allowed to enter, but the inhabitants of the house would reply with reasons why this couldn't happen. The Mari's party would then sing another verse about why they should be allowed entry, and the inhabitants would again rebuff them. This battle of wits was known as the 'pwnco' (pronounced poon-KOH) and it would go on until the household eventually gave in and welcomed in the Mari and her supporters with food and drink.    

These photos of the Mari Lwyd were taken a few years ago at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Although the custom of the Mari Lwyd had declined, in recent years there has been a revival and there seem to be more Mari Lwyd events every year. There is now even an annual gathering of Mari Lwyds at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic at Boscastle in Cornwall.   

The origins of the Mari Lwyd are obscure. Some think she dates back into the mists of prehistory, others argue she is a mere couple of hundred years old. Whatever the truth of her origins, she is a potent and magical figure. Mysterious, frightening, mischievous, anarchic, she has connections to horse Goddesses like Epona and Rhiannon; to the mysterious chalk hill figure horses such as the Uffington Horse; and to other folk horses like the Padstow 'Obby 'Oss. Let us also not forget there is a longstanding strong taboo against eating horseflesh in the British Isles. Clearly the horse is an important and magical creature within British folklore, and the Mari reflects this.

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 45

The Mari Lwyd

Learn more about the Mari Lwyd (there is much to be found simply by Googling 'Mari Lwyd') and other traditions of Hobby Horses and Hooden Horses. To connect with her spirit, try drawing or painting her image, or compose poetry dedicated to her. Place an image of her on your altar at this time of year, and treat her with respect and deference. 

 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 38: Welcome the Spirit of the Green Into Your Home

The Christmas Tree as we currently know it seems to have originated as a custom in Germany before it spread more widely throughout the world. It was popularised in Britain in the 19th Century by Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert. Yet bringing Winter greenery into the home around the time of the Winter Solstice has been a custom among many, many different cultures through the centuries - for example, the Romans are known to have decorated their homes with evergreen wreaths during Saturnalia.

It's easy to imagine that in the depths of Winter, the plants and trees that remained miraculously green in the dying days of the year were seen as holding the life force that seemed so lacking in the rest of the natural world. No wonder people wanted to bring them in to decorate their homes during the festivities. I also like the idea that perhaps people wanted to invite the Gods and spirits of the green world indoors to partake in their Winter celebrations. If humanity was believed to be in relationship with a conscious, living world inhabited and animated by spirits, then it would be only natural to include these spirits in your family's and community's celebrations and rituals.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 38

Welcome the Spirit of the Green Into Your Home

Bring in some winter greenery to decorate your home - be it in the form of a real Christmas Tree, a wreath of foliage, sprigs of holly and mistletoe or a vase of  assorted evergreen leaves. Know that the greenery you have brought in contains the Spirit of the Greenworld, and symbolises the vital, resilient life-force that perseveres through every obstacle and hindrance. Treat the Spirit of the Green as an honoured guest in your home and celebrate that bold, beautiful, determination and tenacity. Let it inspire you in times of hardship and darkness. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 34: St Barbara's Twigs

Today, 4th December, is St Barbara's Day. It's uncertain whether she ever existed as a real person, but legend tells us that she was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. While she was in prison awaiting her execution, she found a dried up cherry twig. She sprinkled it with a little water each day, and miraculously it blossomed, comforting her with its pretty flowers (some versions of the story say it blossomed on the day of her death). 

The story has led to a charming German and Austrian custom where people cut cherry twigs on St Barbara's Day and bring them into their homes - and the warmth causes the tight winter buds to gradually unfold and flower. They are called 'Barbarazweig', which means (St) Barbara's twig(s). If all goes well they are supposed to flower at Christmas - some sources say at Yule. I think this is a lovely idea, and I intend to try it this year.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 34

St Barbara's Twigs

Usually cherry twigs are used for St Barbara's Twigs, but other flowering tree and shrub twigs are suitable, including apples, pears, plums, Japanese quince (chaenomeles), forsythia, witch hazel or lilac.

They should be cut on 4th December (if you want them to flower in time for Christmas) and they need to have been exposed to frost in order for the flowering mechanism to be triggered, so if it's still mild in your area apparently you can put them in the freezer for a couple of days. It sounds drastic, but I suppose they'd have to put up with such cold for longer than a couple of days if they were left out on the tree!

When you bring them in, keep them in a cool room overnight. The next day, soak them in tepid water for an hour or two. Then cut a couple of centimetres off the bottom of the stems, slanting the cut edge and arrange them in a vase. Place the vase in a warm, bright spot and wait... hopefully you will be rewarded with flowers. It is considered especially lucky if they bloom on Christmas Day as it means you have a good year ahead of you..     

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 28: Holly Magic

Now that deciduous trees have shed virtually all their leaves, the evergreens come into their own. Especially eye-catching is the Holly, with its distinctive evergreen glossy, spiky leaves and bright red berries. A mature Holly tree can grow up to 15m and live for 300 years. 

Holly is dioecious (meaning male and female flowers occur on different trees), and only the female trees bear berries. Holly is valuable for wildlife. It provides protective cover and nesting opportunities for birds, while its deep, dry leaf litter is used by hedgehogs and small mammals for hibernation. The white flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects and they and the leaves are food plants for butterfly and moth caterpillars. In winter, Holly berries are a vital source of food for birds and small mammals, such as wood mice and dormice. Deer are known to graze the leaves. The mistle thrush is known for vigorously guarding the berries of Holly in winter to prevent other birds from eating them!

Holly wood is hard and white, with a fine-grain. It can be stained and polished and is used to make furniture, tool handles, walking sticks and chess pieces or in engraving work and marquetry. It also makes good firewood, burning with a strong heat.

The leaves and berries are toxic to humans, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. As few as 20 berries can be fatal to a child. 

In the Bach Flower Remedies, Holly is used to treat feelings of anger and jealousy. 

In folklore, Holly was often paired with Ivy, whose black berries symbolized night and darkness. In some regions, Holly was seen as the Winter King and Ivy the Winter  Queen. The carol 'The Holly and the Ivy' has its origins in this ancient belief. In other lore, the Holly King (symbolising Winter) battled with the Oak King (symbolising Summer) at the equinoxes. Holly was used as protection against malign spirits and lightning (it is now known that the spines on Holly leaves can act as miniature lightning conductors, thereby protecting the tree and other nearby objects), and it was considered unlucky to cut down a Holly tree. In heraldry, it symbolises truth.

Folk names include Holm, Hulver, Hollins, Aquifolius, Bat's Wings, Christ's Thorn, Holy Tree, Christmas Tree, and Tinne. In Welsh it is known as Celyn.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 28

Holly Magic

Go out for a walk and try to find some Holly. Cut a few sprays of leaves (and berries if you can) - ask the Holly's permission first. Tie them into a bunch with red ribbon (to match the berries) or gold ribbon (to symbolise the Holly's 'Kingship') and tie them over your door as a protective winter charm.  

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 21: Ivy Appreciation

Pic: Ivy (Hedera helix ssp. helix) showing both mature (left) and juvenile (right) forms of the leaves.  

As an evergreen, ivy is far more visible during winter which is probably one of the reasons it appears in much of the folklore for this time of year. It's long been used as a Christmas decoration along with holly, although using it this way was forbidden by an early Council of the Church because of its Pagan associations. Ivy and holly have long been paired, with ivy considered to be 'female' with holly her 'male' counterpart.

Ivy can grow up to 30m high. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't parasitic (it has its own root system in the soil which means it can absorb its own nutrients and water) and doesn't damage trees.

There are two native subspecies of ivy in Britain. Hedera helix ssp. helix (which climbs) and Hedera helix ssp. hibernica (which spreads across the ground - but shouldn't be confused with Ground Ivy [Glechoma hederacea] which isn't actually an ivy at all!) Hedera helix ssp. helix has two different forms - juvenile and mature. The juvenile plant has lobed leaves and the creeping or climbing stems have specialised hairs so the plant can stick to surfaces as it climbs. The mature forms have heart-shaped leaves on thicker, hairless, self-supporting stems. They are usually found high up in trees or at the tops of walls or cliff faces. To add further confusion, there are also many cultivated varieties of ivy, often with variegated leaves.

Ivy provides nectar, pollen and berries and is an essential food source for bees, butterflies, moths and birds during autumn and winter when other food sources are scarce. It also provides shelter for insects, birds, bats and other small mammals.

Although it has been used medicinally in the past, ivy is toxic and can cause skin irritation. It's not really suitable for amateur herbalists and is probably best left to the professionals!

In mythology ivy was sacred to Dionysus and Bacchus, both Gods of wine and intoxication who were depicted wearing wreaths of iv and grapevines. Paradoxically, it was believed that wearing a wreath of ivy leaves prevented one from getting drunk. The Romans used to hang a branch of ivy over the doorway of a place that sold alcohol, and the popularity of 'The Ivy Bush' as a pub name is believed to date back to this practice. Ivy wreaths were also awarded to athletes and poets as an honour.

Symbolically, ivy stands for friendship and fidelity. It was customary for priests to present a wreath of ivy to newly weds, and bridal bouquets often contained a sprig of ivy to bring luck to the marriage. 

Folk names for the plant include Bindwood and Lovestone.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 21

Ivy Appreciation!

Pick yourself some sprays of ivy to decorate your home. Display them in a vase, trail them along a shelf or mantlepiece, or twine the stems into a wreath.