Author: Isla Skye
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Barley: Sacred Staple Crop
“I sat within a valley green, I sat there with my true love, My sad heart strove the two between, The old love and the new love, The old for her, the new that made me think of Ireland dearly, While soft the wind blew down the glade, And shook the golden barley… But blood […]
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The Elderberry Fairie
“…thoughts, beguiled by the fairy song, had in realms afar off been…” James McLoughlin Original children’s tale, written by Isla Skye and illustrated by Francesca Paiocchi.
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Reframing Our Relationship With Animals and Related Divination Practices
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” Anatole France At times it amazes me how we can share this beautiful earth with so many other forms of life and yet because of industrialization, spend so little time with them or in their presence. Animals have an incredible ability just […]
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The Jack-o’-Lantern, Will-o’-the-Wisp and Ghosts
Cover art by Rob Alexander “They saw a divine virtue in the healing properties of springs and herbs, they felt the presence of a god in the brooding mists, the gloomy thickets, the wildfire that flitted across the sky, the mysterious moonbeans, and the glorious sunrays, the will-o’-the wisps of the swamps, the mountains and […]
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Mullein: The Hag’s Taper
“A decoction of the leaves with the flowers is good against the diseases of the lungs, such as coughs and spitting of blood. It is also good for colic pains. Applied externally, the leaves are useful against swellings, ulcers, inflammations of the eyes, burns and scalds… Country people say that carrying it about one preserves […]