Fall is setting in here on the mountain. After weeks long drought we finally got some steady rain and the fall colors are blooming on the trees. Today I raked leaves for the first time. An enjoyable Fall task if I take it slowly, and clear one section of garden at a time. I usually have to do every part of the garden at least three times before winter. I have planted a small hawthorn tree out back that I grew from a mother tree that I also grew, from berries I brought back from Uisneach, the mystical and geographic center of Ireland. I hope the little tree (Crataegus monogyna) makes it through the winter. I have set a ring of sticks around it so I can find it next spring.
It is very important for a Druid to have a Hawthorn tree somewhere on their property. The blooming of the Hawthorn tells you when it is truly Beltaine (May Day). In the old days that signaled the time to move the cow herds up to the hills for their summer grazing.
Yesterday I went for a walk in the woods and found a Chicken of the Woods mushroom which I divided in half with a neighbor. Two years ago, he found a log covered with nine pounds of the fungus and shared it with me.
I soaked my half in water with a few tablespoons of vinegar, to drive off the bugs, chopped it into pieces, and sauteed it with olive oil, butter and garlic. I served it on a bed of rice with fresh, chopped parsley.
While I was out on the trail, I thought I heard the sound of two trees rubbing against each other. But the sound continued and there was no wind. I eventually figured out that it was a bear, groaning at me from a distance. I backtracked pretty fast and I did not tell my neighbor because he is a hunter. The last thing I want to do is cause the death of an innocent animal, when we humans are the ones encroaching on their living spaces.
I have been processing acorns for the last few weeks; shelling, grinding and leaching. I crack the nuts, put them in jars with water, and change the water every day for two weeks. Today I will roast the ground acorns to dry them and when I want to make bread or cakes, I will grind the dried acorn gruel into flour, using a coffee grinder.
This summer I tinctured Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) from my garden, which some studies are showing is anti-viral. It is also antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal (Erika P., Sep 21, 2020, WHO Endorses Protocol for Testing Herbal Medicines as COVID-19 Treatment).
I have a small collection of herbal allies to help in case I or someone else comes down with Covid-19; Yarrow, Mint, Elderflower, Angelica Root, Boneset.
A few weeks ago, I sat in on a class with Matthew Wood who talked about “Bat Medicine”. In my book “Secret Medicines from Your Garden” I have a chapter on animal medicines (and lots of acorn recipes too!) but Bat Medicine was a new one for me. Bat Medicine is perfectly attuned to the time of Covid that we are now experiencing, and very apropos as we move into the dark half of the year. Images of bats are appearing in stores, along with other dark Halloween decorations.
Bat Medicine is a shamanic way of working with deeply rooted diseases like viruses that have penetrated into the darkest, innermost recesses of the body such as the heart and brain. Bat Medicine works on a genetic level and can change us, our ancestors and even our past lives. It is multidimensional.
The Bach Flower Remedies have a specific Flower Essence for these kinds of feelings which is Holly. Holly trees live in dark woods and bats feel comfortable sleeping in their branches. Spread out, the dark leaves of Holly look like bat wings, and the red berries speak of blood, circulation and the heart, in Chinese Five Element Theory.
The USA is facing its national past and the deeds of our ancestors as the Black Lives Matter movement proliferates. Humanity is being asked to change its present and its past. Bat can help us to find our way through the dark. We need to call on Bat as a Spirit helper and use Holly as an herbal brew or as a Flower Essence. Bats, through heart-deep Covid-19, are giving us the gift of the possibility of deep change and transformation.
There are many kinds of Holly that are used as medicine, but English Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is probably the easiest to work with. The fresh or dried leaves can be taken as tea or in alcohol-based extracts. Collect the leaves in late spring, before Summer Solstice. Make a Flower Essence from the fresh flowers when they appear in the spring. Caution: The berries are poisonous.
BOOK NEWS
- A lecture on the Real Witches of New England (video)
- The Sacred Herbs of Samhain gets another wee mention here
- A Druid’s Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine
Rowan berries for Fall!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
- Madame Zee’s Witches Gathering
A virtual event
November 6-8, 2020
Workshops, entertainment, vendors
Ellen Evert Hopman will speak on The Sacred Herbs of Samhain – plants to communicate with the spirits of the dead
Register here - Changing Times Changing Worlds 2020
An on-line Metaphysical Conference
Coming November 9 – 15, 2020
Ellen Evert Hopman will be speaking on the history of Witch persecutions
WHERE: Anywhere you want! This year the conference is completely on line!
Changing Times-Changing Worlds will be taking place M-F November 9-13 in the evenings, as well as the usual full days on Saturday and Sunday November 14&15. The links to join workshops, panels and chat rooms will be posted on the website.
Register here - I presented three virtual classes at HexFest which was supposed to be live in New Orleans but was done as a virtual conference instead. It went very well and since all the classes are archived, you can still watch the whole thing!
This Moonth we have two Full Moons and by the end of October we will be at the conclusion of the Celtic ritual year – the time of Samhain (Halloween) and the festival of the dead. Make offerings to your beloved dead, and work to heal their history – and your own. May you and your ancestors find peace and solace in the midst of our national angst. AND BE SURE TO GET OUT AND VOTE!!!
“Wild Geese “
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
-Mary Oliver, from Wild Geese
*Below you will find the usual Archaeology, Herb, Climate, Health, Nature, Art, Celtic, Fairy, Folklore, Politics and Ethics News. Enjoy the read! And a reminder – you can find my books here *
ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS
- How Neanderthals Lost Their Y Chromosome
- Irish Sheela na Gigs – the Kerry Connection
- The hill of Uisneach, Ireland
HERB NEWS
HEALTH NEWS
- 1 million people have now died from Covid-19 world-wide
- What we now know about Corona virus mutations
- Corona virus morphs into different shapes to attack different organs
CLIMATE & NATURE NEWS
- There may be sub-surface, salty lakes on Mars
- Antarctica is on track to lose all of its ice, we have about a century left to stop it
- Are some black holes wormholes in disguise? (I have always thought so)
FAIRY NEWS
- Genii Loci – Fairies are Spirits of Place
- Folklore, Fairies, and Irish national identity
- Germanic folk spirits
CELTIC NEWS
- The Celtic origins of Samhain (Halloween)
- Michaelmas – carrots, horses and dancing
- Michaelmas in Ireland
FOLK NEWS
RELIGION NEWS
- The religion of the ancient Iberian Celts
- Regional variations of worship among the Iberian Celts
- Celtic religion in the Iron Age
ARTS NEWS
- A painting thought a fake may be a genuine Rembrandt
- Is there a hidden drawing under the Mona Lisa?
- A rare Botticelli portrait goes on sale
POLITICS & ETHICS News
- 10 things you need to know to stop a coup (and how to know if it’s happening – Coup – if the government:
1. stops counting the votes
2. declares some a winner who didn’t get the most votes
3. allows someone to stay in power who didn’t win the election - Historians warn that Trump is behaving like Mussolini
- Where the trump Money came from; “We have all the funding we need from Russia” – Eric Trump