Here in Connemara we have finished celebrating the Winter Solstice and on Monday I went to a friend’s house to enjoy an evening with women friends as it was Nollaig na mBan or Women’s Christmas. Traditionally in Ireland, this is the day when women put up their feet and relax or they go out and …. Read More
Category: Herbs
Plant Allies to the Rescue!
My spiritual believe is that everything on this planet is sentient and has a spirit. I suppose you could say I am an animist or a pagan or even a fool if you like; but it is my belief and it seems self evident to me that it is a belief based on fact. I …. Read More
Lovely Lughnasadh – Enjoying Abundance
Lughnasadh is a seasonal event derived from the funerary celebrations, games of skill and animal trading that the sun god Lugh devised to commemorate his foster mother Tailtu.. She was an ancient Earth or Mother Goddess who had decided to clear the land of rocks and boulders so that the people of ancient Ireland could …. Read More
Medicine and Magic in the May Garden
I love the month of May – the whole country becomes lush and green and seems to me to be full of magical promise. Every time I turn around there is a new plant to discover, a new flower blossoming, a new leaf just opened on a young tree. Some people might say that …. Read More
A Springtime Walk in Connemara
Walking the dog this morning, I was enjoying the soft spring day and feeling optimistic, fresh and energised. The Spring Equinox is almost upon us and we should be feeling balanced and in harmony and ready for anything, as there are so many spring tonic herbs available at the moment. I decided on my walk …. Read More
Taxation on Health – An Opportunity?
The Irish Government recently decided to impose a 23% taxation charge on health supplements. This seems to be a disappointing move but perhaps we should view this step as an opportunity for self-empowerment. Fortunately, for the present at least,( no doubt due to the massive response from the public and a number of …. Read More
Danu’s Irish Herb Garden – Spring Intentions and Brigid’s Day
Spring is almost here – only a week until Brigid’s Day Eve which is a great opportunity to check in with the intentions made at the new year. It is also a good time to make some Spring intentions now that energy is rising as the Earth slowly wakes up and begins to stretch. I …. Read More
Danu’s Irish Herb Garden – Healing for Mother Earth
The weather is growing colder and the nights become darker earlier. With the fall of leaves, the landscape changes and the trees appear skeletal. Their nakedness reveals other things within the landscape, things that are usually hidden, such as tussocks and hillocks and animal dens as well as the rocks and stones that are the …. Read More
Danu’s Irish Herb Garden – Winter is Coming
Look at the snow on the mountains! Last week, before Samhain, there was a hint of what might be to come, in terms of winter weather, so I am busy preparing cold and cough remedies from the herbs I have harvested this year. Coltsfoot Coltsfoot leaf is one I always make sure to have enough …. Read More
Danu’s Irish Herb Garden – A Radical New Beginning!
For twelve years I have been working with and learning about medicinal plants in my study of herbal medicine. For the last seven years I have been learning from and journeying to plants and trees. I am now fully out of the closet – I am a herbalist. In today’s corporate world, a world of …. Read More