With July’s Full Moon rising tomorrow evening, we felt inspired to create some Full Moon pendants this week. We were drawn to woods that feel particularly supportive and balancing during the intensity that can sometimes be felt during this time of year. More on these later…
We wanted to say a big thank you for your feedback on our new Moon Phase print. I wanted to share this photo with you, of one very happily in its beautiful new home. Doesn’t it look wonderful?
We are getting ready to head to Norfolk this weekend for the Strumpshaw Tree Fair where we will be trading alongside some wonderful artisans and woodcrafters. The fair will include workshops, activities and performances across the whole weekend and while tickets are now sold out online, you can still pay on the gate. In August we return to the fabulousYe Olde Wytches Marketin Newark.
To celebrate tomorrow’s Full Moon, these 5 Full Moon pendants are in store now. Handcrafted from windfallen Ash, Holly, Willow, Oak and Beech.
Before I go, I am very excited to share that our gallery is now live on our website and you can view it here. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far, it has been wonderful compiling your photos, stories and words about what your pendants mean to you. This is an ongoing project so please get in touch if you would like to be part of our gallery.
I have shared both Cristi and Jo’s words this week on Instagram. If you missed them, you can read them now by clicking on their beautiful photos.
Midsummer is a brilliant time to develop or deepen our own intuitive connection to the land around us. Spending more time out in nature gives us the opportunity to connect with the wild world. What do we notice around us? Do the colours or shapes of certain plants draw us in? Is there a tree that we just want to move closer to, sit beside or feel their bark or leaves? Notice the pulls and calls, and see where our attention is being drawn. The more present we are, the more we will begin to notice.
Calendula drawing me in on these Summer days
Keep a note of what draws you in, along with any feelings or words that stir when you spend time near certain plants or trees.
Plants of Litha
We are spoilt for choice at this time of year, when so many plants are at their most vital and abundant. I would encourage you to see what plants call to you at this time. If any stand out and are new to you, have a go at finding out more about them.
This year I am finding myself especially drawn to…
Calendula
This joyful beauty is so easy to grow. They are a fabulous companion plant in the garden attracting pollinators and are edible with a wealth of medicinal compounds. The more you pick, the more they grow and perhaps most importantly, they make me smile anytime that I step out the door.
Lavender
Lavender arrives at the height of Summer as if it knows we may be in need of its calming presence. Another wonderful herb for pollinators, I find it soothing to sit next to in the evenings, gathering a few stems for my evening brew or to hang by my bed.
Self Heal
I await the arrival of this wild plant every year. It can be found creeping low amongst the grass to escape the mower but grows tall and proud amongst the herb beds. A member of the mint family, Self Heal always draws me in, and I love adding it to my brews.
Rose
Beautiful Rose offers us a welcome reminder to ‘stop and smell the roses’, especially when we feel too busy to pause. Rose guides us in uniting strength and softness and asks us to consider what we need in order to bloom.
Summer Solstice and the Oak Tree
The tree most associated with Midsummer is the mighty Oak tree. Its broad canopy offers welcome respite from the heat. Acorns are beginning to grow now, and the tree feels in its element. If you haven’t already, you can read the folklore about the Oak King here.
We are now making our Oak slice pendants to order. They have the most beautiful grain and embody the strength and grounding of the mighty Oak tree.
Just a reminder before I go that there is 20% off our prints and Wheel of the Year card deck this weekend
Wishing you all a little magic this Solstice. We are spending a couple of days around some of our favourite wildflower meadows. Look at this poppy field we came across!
Every year, the Summer Solstice seems to take me by surprise, and this year is no exception! The heat is rising, the flowers are blooming and insects are busy gathering nectar.
The Summer Solstice corresponds to the Full Moon phase of the lunar cycle. These are points of fullness and culmination. Whilst these ‘peaks’ can feel abundant and celebratory, we may also find ourselves experiencing overflow and overwhelm as our long days become full, busy, and hot!
Summer Solstice is associated with the fire element and the Full Moon phase of the lunar cycle
In today’s post, I will be sharing my favourite practices for working with this heightened energy so lets dive in!
Grounding Midsummer Practices
As the heat rises, I find myself craving the water’s edge to balance some of the fiery, Summer energy. If you would like to read more about ways to work with and balance the intensity at this time of the year, do check out my post Lessons from the Longestday too.
Grounding
As the land around us brims with abundance, one of my favourite daily rituals is to get my bare feet on the ground as often as possible. In fact, laying my whole body on the earth and feeling the support of the ground beneath me is so nourishing just now. I wonder, do you ever plant yourself to the earth in this way too?
I especially enjoy being outside first thing, as the morning air is cooler, and again in the evenings as the sun lowers in the sky. I tend to my plants, soak in the stillness and gather some herbs for a garden brew…
Garden tea
One of my favourite practices to connect with the seasons is to gather some herbs from the land around me and brew them into a fresh tea. At this time of year, there are so many vibrant herbs and plants to choose from, many of which can be grown in pots if you are lacking space.
Some of my favourites just now include; Peppermint, Lemon balm, Calendula, Sage, Thyme, Chamomile, Lavender, Self heal and Clover.
I like to use a cafetiere to brew my herbs, cover them in just boiled water and steep for around 15 – 20 minutes. I then enjoy my tea mindfully in the garden.
A handful of herbsBrew for 15 minutes or soEnjoy amongst the flowers
Introducing our Moon Phases print
We LOVED creating our new moon print as it is something we have been asked for so many times! We would love to hear what you think. It comes with a guided prompt or reflection for each moon phase throughout the lunar cycle.
As with all our designs, they are printed on uncoated, recycled card by an independent printing company and are available in two sizes; 8 x 10 inches and 11 x 14 inches.
How are you as we approach the end of May? It has been, for the most part, very warm and sunny here in Northamptonshire. The month began with carpets of Bluebells and frothy Hawthorn hedges and is ending with Elderflowers and Roses coming into bloom.
May began with the Bluebells…And ended with the Roses
The recent rains have come as a welcome relief for the garden. The strawberry beds seem very happy for the soaking, as am I, now that I can nibble their sweet red fruits as I do my garden rounds!
Strawberry season has begun!
We have really enjoyed trading at some wonderful events this month, including the very first Suffolk Witchcraft Market. We will be returning in October and December.
We have so many great events coming up next, and I shall be sharing more about them towards the end of this post.
Up early, ready for market day!All set up for the Spring Artisan Market in Stourton Woods, Lincolnshire
Wild Jewellery Gallery
From time to time, we get tagged in your posts on social media, and we always feel so inspired, seeing you in your Wild Jewellery.
It has encouraged me to begin creating a gallery of your photos, to celebrate you in your pendants and what they have come to mean to you.
To express our gratitude, anyone who submits a photo to contribute to our gallery will be entered into a draw to win a custom piece of Wild Jewellery AND a print of their choice!
TO ENTER:
Send us a photo of you in your Wild Jewellery that you are happy for us to share on our website and social media.
Include some words about what your pendant means to you and how you feel wearing it.
Optional – share something about you (your passion, your work, what lights you up) we would love to celebrate you too!
Send them to us via Instagram or email them directly to: wildfen@outlook.com by Sunday 1st June to be entered into our draw.
If you aren’t comfortable sharing a photo of yourself but feel called to send us some words about your Wild Jewellery, we would be most grateful and you will still be entered into our draw. Any questions, feel free to reach out.
Upcoming Events
We are heading into festival season, and will be attending 4 over the Summer! Here is where you can find us next, starting with this weekend at the beautiful Ignite Your Soul: Intro to the Summer Solstice event.
Wild Fen Updates
As a thank you, for your continued support this year, we have 20% off everything in store from now until Sunday. This includes our Wild Jewellery, all prints and our Wheel of the Year card set!
Elder Moon pendantAlder Slice PendantWheel of the Year printWheel of the year card set
In other news, I have begun to dip my toes into the world of Substack as a space to share a little more about my personal journey exploring the wild world. I am still finding my way with this new platform, but you are more than welcome to join me there where I share reflections from a life lived close to nature.
Did you know that it is National Hedgerow Week here in the UK and in my opinion, one of the best times of year to enjoy this special habitat.
Hedgerows can be found throughout the countryside, lining tracks and field edges and marking boundaries. They play an important role in urban areas too, surrounding parks, fields, and gardens. As the UK’s largest wildlife habitat, they provide homes, shelter and food to over 2000 species, including frogs, newts, birds, mammals, and insects.
As well as being a refuge for wildlife, hedgerows also help reduce flooding, soil erosion and air pollution. I feel very lucky to live beside one that is currently filled with frothy Hawthorn blossom, fresh green leaves and the buzz of life, you can enjoy it with me here!
Hedgerows can vary in species, with rural hedges often a mixture of shrubs and trees, including hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel,elder, ash and oak. In urban and landscaped settings you are more likely to find species like box, yew, privet and holly.
Hedgerow Jewellery
To celebrate the beauty and magic of the hedgerow this year, we have crafted some pendants from the woods of some of our favourite hedgerow trees, all of which are in store now.
Just a little update to let you know that our very special Birch burl collection will be instore at 7pm today, this Beltane eve.
We have been feeling the call of the Birch trees so strongly this month as their new leaves unfurled, and their deep roots have been busy drawing up nutrients from the earth.
Each pendant comes infused with the message, ‘I am courageous‘, which feels like the generous gift of the Birch trees who courageously move into new land before any other tree is ready…
We have loved working with this unique wood to create these 5 pieces that we hope celebrate the wild grains and colours of the burl.
Beltane Sale
In celebration of Beltane, our print collection & Wheel of the Year card deck have 20% discount all weekend!
Beltane blessings
As May arrives, I wish you all some magic this Beltane. Sometimes the very simplest of moments are the richest. I will likely be gathering herbs from our garden to make some fresh tea, watching our resident swallows build their nest and soaking in some of this beautiful sunshine as we prepare for Lincolnshire Makers Spring Artisan Market at Stourton Woods on Sunday 4th May 2025.
If you are looking for a Beltane ritual for the coming days, you may enjoy checking out our Beltane fire ritual.
I will leave you with these cheerful little beauties that have become our (very early) alarm clock as they chatter outside the van from 4:30 each morning!
Our resident swallows are back and busy nest building!
As we approach Beltane in the northern hemisphere, the land feels rich with growth and vitality. On Saturday, we travelled to the brilliant Nottingham Pagan Market. On the journey, I was just mesmerised by the vivid green that has cloaked the land once more, and of course, the blossom too.
In today’s post I wanted to share with you an experience that changed my life and helped deepen my connection with the natural world. I will also be sharing some information about our very special, upcoming Wild Jewellery collection, so let’s dive in!
In 2018, I signed up to a forest bathing course, held in an ancient woodland on Dartmoor. Guided by pioneer Eco therapist Stefan Batorijs of Nature & Therapy we spent a long, autumnal weekend immersed in the healing power of nature. Drawing together two areas of life I had long been fascinated by; nature and wellbeing.
Forest Bathing
‘Forest bathing’ is a translation of the Japanese term ‘Shinrin-yoku’, referring to the practice of immersing ourselves in a forest or wild place. It has become an important part of preventative healthcare in Japan, and the benefits to health and wellbeing have been widely studied.Research has been able to demonstrate scientifically, that which we may feel instinctively, that being immersed in nature, is good for us.
Some of the benefits of spending time amongst the trees include increases to our immune function. Trees release natural antimicrobial compounds called phytoncides that protect the tree from pests and diseases. When we breathe those compounds in, they impact our own immune system by boosting the number of NK cells in our bodies. NK cells help us to fight infection, disease and even detect and control early signs of cancer. These benefits to the immune system were observed for up to 30 days after a visit to a woodland. Stress hormones, heart rate and blood pressure were all shown to decrease when we spend time around trees, whilst metabolism increased and sleep quality improved.
A Deeper Connection
During our forest bathing course, we were guided to slow down and engage our senses to notice things that we may otherwise overlook. I didn’t know it at the time, but this skill allowed me to deepen my connection to the world around me in a profound way. I began to listen, to notice, to observe and experience my surroundings more deeply. I was no longer just walking through a woodland but becoming a part of it, welcomed and held by the land around me.
I began to notice more about the trees I walked beside. The way in which the new leaf buds that open in spring actually grow at the end of summer when the trees have more energy. I noticed how little Birch trees could so often be found springing up in land that had recently been cleared, as if to reclaim it for the wild. I observed how Rowans claimed spots high on the top of hills, whilst Willows and Alders thrived whenever water was near. My walks and visits to wild places became more enriched and filled with meaning and discovery.
The Energy of Trees
These days I am usually found talking about a tree’s energy. Sometimes this word can feel a little ‘out there’ but to me, it is simply information that is shared when we open up to a connection with something. Just like how we come to know or feel a person over time, the same can be true of the wild world.
That brings me on to our latest collection of Wild Jewellery, that has been inspired by the recent call of the Birch tree, a wonderful tree guide for courage and new beginnings.
Inside a Birch burl
A few years ago, we came across a beautiful Birch tree, recently fallen in a storm. It had a small burl on its trunk. Burls can grow on trees for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is where the tree has been injured and healed, sometimes due to an interaction with fungi. Burls are prized in woodwork as they house the most fascinating, irregular grains and colours that are completely unique.
We created 5 wild pendants celebrating this beautiful wood. They will be in store on Beltane eve, Wednesday 30th April at 7pm. You can see a preview of the whole collection in the video below:
I love this time of year, the blue sky and warm afternoons. The vivid green of new leaves and the excitable bird song that fills the morning air. There is an aliveness that I feel seeping back to me from the earth around.
And yet, alongside the joys of spring, other experiences can arise, too. Fluctuating energy levels, feelings of restlessness, overwhelm, and anxiety can all increase as our bodies adjust to longer days and increased light levels.
In today’s post, I wanted to celebrate the beauty of this month and share some of my favourite ways to bring mindfulness into busy days.
This season brings so many invitations to leave the busy realms of our minds for a few moments and come back to the present moment, where life is unfurling.
Here is what we’ve been noticing this month:
Tree flowers
Over the past few years, we have really enjoyed noticing the different flowers that grow on trees in the spring. They tend to open just before or alongside the leaves. This is a wonderful month to see some growing. Here are a few that we have spotted in the last few days…
I must also take a moment to celebrate the blossom that is continuing to bring me so much joy as streets and parks transform. From cherry blossom to blackthorn, white to every shade of pink. I know no better way to welcome spring than to spend a few moments standing beneath a blossom tree, absorbing its beauty, and noticing the life that buzzes around them.
Cherry blossomBlackthorn blossomI adore the pink buds of apple blossom
Getting outdoors
Whether it be the woods, a park, or beside a river, this season is filled with magic and change around every corner. We can spot something new on every visit. The vibrant green of new leaves that draws our eyes skyward never fails to make my heart feel uplifted.
April is the month that bluebells transform ancient woodlands into places of (even more) wonder. Birds, including swallows and cuckoos, are arriving back to the UK after their winter migration.
Tree Guides for Overwhelm
Both Birch and Willow have been capturing my attention this week and are wonderful allies for soothing busy minds. Spending time around any trees can significantly improve our wellbeing. Here are some of my favourites to visit during times of overwhelm:
Willow – beside the water, Willows always offer us a place to soften beneath their branches. Their gentle yet supportive energy can guide us in slowing down, releasing tension, and creating more space in our busy lives.
Birch – these pioneer trees are wonderful guides for courage and new beginnings when we are required to step out of our comfort zones and into the unknown.
Hawthorn – these special trees are known for nurturing the heart and nervous system and are particular favourites to visit during times of worry and overwhelm.
Oak – these iconic trees offer a deep sense of strength and grounding and are wonderful to visit whenever we feel on shaky ground or are doubting our abilities.
Wild Fen updates
We are looking forward to returning to Nottingham Pagan Market for Beltane in a couple of weeks’ time.
You can find out where we will be next at the bottom of our about page.
We are currently working on some beautiful new Wild Jewellery pieces, inspired by our favourite spring trees.
Here is a sneak peak of a fascinating piece of birch burl that we found 2 years ago, and now feels like just the right time to share its magic. You will be the first to see the finished pieces in a few weeks’ time…
Wishing you all some mindful moments over the coming week,
Me again! I love this time of year as the trees are unfurling their leaves and blossom. Tomorrow is the Spring Equinox or Ostara here in the UK, the point at which hours of light and dark come back in to a balance once more. After this point, the light continues to expand, encouraging growth across the land.
There is so much to notice as spring arrives, and today, I wanted to share some of my favourite trees to connect with during this season.
Tree Guides for Spring
Cherry blossom has to be one of the most beautiful markers of spring. Whole streets are transformed as the Cherry trees bloom and the buzz of pollinators return.
The blossom is revered all over the world, and it is a wonderful guide to bring us into the here and now, to appreciate this moment’s beauty.
Cherry energy & symbolism: Joy, Appreciation, Impermanence, Gratitude, Love.
The recognisable black buds of the Ash tree are fattening now. Ash energy is one of strength and direction, aligning us with the rising currents of spring.
Interestingly, they are one of the last trees to unfurl their leaves, which allows the beautiful spring plants that grow beneath them to absorb the sunlight first. They hold strong associations to the sun, producing wood that is incredibly strong and that burns very hot. Its Latin name means ‘firelight’, and even the grain reminds me of sun rays radiating out from the wood.
Ash energy & symbolism: Direction, Strength, Protection, Growth, Transformation.
Blackthorn has guided us through the dark months, and as winter wanes, her blossom is the first to open reminding us of the cyclic nature of life.
Blackthorn energy & symbology: Renewal, Boundaries, Determination, Cycles.
Alder trees thrive beside the water’s edge. Their soft wood becomes as strong as stone beneath the water. They are experts at transforming watery landscapes, making them more hospitable for other trees and wildlife too. Along with their deep connection with water, they are often associated with the fire element too, and can be seen ‘glowing’ in early Spring when their red catkins cover the tree. The tree’s connection with both elements can teach us about balancing opposites and becoming more comfortable and empowered to explore our emotional landscapes.
Alder energy & symbolism: Balance, Emotional exploration, Adaptability, Transformation.
I am so sorry to anyone who found they had a broken link to the shop in my previous emails. I have checked, checked and checked again this time so click away!
Just a little update from me to let you know that our Wild Jewellery collection for Spring will be in store at 6pm today! In my previous post, I celebrated the magic of Gorse and why it has inspired our first collection of the year. You can catch up with that post here.
There will be some other beautiful woods featured in this collection, and I shall be sharing more about them in my Tree Guides for Spring post coming later this week. Here is a sneak peak of some of the pieces!
And finally, in celebration of Ostara, all of our prints & Wheel of the Year reflection cards will have a 20% discount this week.
Wild Fen 