Tag: Ireland
-
Clover: The Sacred Three Leaf Cover Crop
“There was an herb called wood sorrel and it is said that there is a tradition connected with it. It was a sacred plant of the Druid before Saint Patrick came to Ireland. It is now called shamrock as Saint Patrick picked it at Tara and held it up as a symbol of the three…
-
A Druid’s Ritual at the Spring Equinox
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” Lady Bird Johnson A woman walks along a deserted beach in her sturdy Docs on a pet of an evening in March close to the Equinox. She is alone, there is no partner, no child by her side, not even a dog. She carries nothing, no book, no bag,…
-
The Gifts of the Four Cities
In the tale, “Cath Maige Tuireadh,” The Tuatha Dé Danann became masters of Magick by studying the occult arts as taught by four Wizards in the four Otherworldly cities of the islands of the “North.” North here means the Otherworld and could just as easily be in the Sky or under the sea. The names…
-
Ireland’s First Witch Burning: Petronilla de Meath
Cover art by dawndraphoto.com There is a famous Jonathan Swift quote about how the law impacts upon the rich and poor in unequal measure which reads… “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but lets wasps and hornets break through.” This interpretation was certainly the case three centuries earlier when Irish law decreed…
-
Oh Rowan Tree
“The rowan tree’s graceful leaves and soft white flowers brush my arm like a whisper.” Lisa Ann Sandell, Song of the Sparrow One of the things I loved most about working in big national museums, was when people Iknew came to visit because it meant I could take them on a tour of my favourite…