The Hawthorn is one of our most wild and magical native trees. Steeped in folklore they can live for up to 700 years. Once a custom to plant one in every garden for good luck, they are often found marking ancient sites and boundaries. They support a plethora of wildlife, including over 300 species of insects, doormice and other small mammals and many birds, including migrating species over the winter.
Come May the hedgerows are an abundant mass of creamy Hawthorn blossom earning them the name ‘May tree’ they flower just in time for Beltane – the festival of Nature’s abundance and fertility.
Autumn Equinox, falls between September 20th and 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere. At this point each year, day and night length reaches equal balance once more as we pass through the doorway to the dark half of the year. After this point, the balance tips as hours of darkness increase and day length shortens. This heralds a time to begin slowing down, give thanks for what we harvest, release the old and turn our gaze inwards.
The wheel of the year is an ancient way of marking the changing energy of the Earth throughout the yearly cycle. The wheel consists of 8 seasonal celebrations or marker points, that fall every 6 – 8 weeks.
In-between each solar festival is a seasonal festival (or cross quarter point) connected with seasonal and agricultural changes. Imbolc marks the height of Winter where the first signs of Spring begin to appear, Beltane the height of Spring and birth of Summer, Lammas the height of Summer and birth of Autumn and Samhain the height of Autumn and birth of Winter.
The celebrations can be thought of as natural points throughout the year where we can stop and observe what is going on in the outer world as well as our inner worlds. A moment to reflect on how things currently are, how they have been over the last season and how we would like to move ahead into the new one.
My most precious insight from observing the wheel of the year is the element of change within it. Light and dark, growth and decay, beginnings and endings. In the modern world we are often expected to be as productive and efficient no matter the season. A striving towards a fixed state of happiness, vibrancy and certainty that isn’t present in the natural world, certainly not all year round.
Connecting with the energy and changes in the natural world, can help us to reflect on our own energy throughout the seasons which may naturally rise and fall. It can help us appreciate the change and flow of nature and learn to welcome and embrace these qualities in our own lives.
We have created 2 prints to celebrate the Wheel of the Year and a Seasonal Reflection card set aimed to support you in connecting with the energy of each festival, available now in our Etsy store.
Wild Fen 