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: Medicinal Plants
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
Head Down – Treasure to Find!
During the three days of the Summer Solstice we had the loveliest of weather and thanks to the Goddess it is continuing. Hurray! Have you noticed how the energy has changed? Something has definitely changed or shifted since last Friday. On Friday I found myself skipping up and down kerbs in the city. I was …. 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
Will You Join The 3.5%?
What a beautiful and delicate little flower the Wild Violet is. Would you deliberately trample on it? Would you pluck it and let it wilt and then discard it? I am sure you would not. I am mulling something over here, so I hope you will bear with me. A very good friend mentioned …. 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 – 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