Solstice – Wild Fen

Hello Wild Soul,

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 Longest day 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.

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.

Tree guides for the darker months

December 3, 2024October 1, 2025 Wild Fen

Hello Wild Soul,

How are you as we move into the darkest days of the year?

In today’s post, I wanted to share some of the trees that I love connecting with through the darker months. It is my hope that their generous energy may support you too as we move into Winter.

Let’s dive in…

Tree Guides for Winter Months

In my last Samhain post, I shared the Celtic myth about the old Goddess of Winter; the Cailleach, who beats her Blackthorn staff on the earth to bring Winter to the land. This determined, thorny tree can be a wonderful guide for us in establishing the boundaries we need to protect our dwindling energy at this time of year. And if you find yourself feeling lost in the cold, just know, that it won’t be long until Blackthorn will be opening her small, white blossoms once again.

Energy & Symbolism: Boundaries, Determination, Hope, Overcoming Challenges.

Holly trees shine the brightest amongst the cold days of Winter. Hollys are long lived trees, growing slowly and patiently, often beneath the taller trees in the woodland. When the time is right and space emerges, they claim their space proudly amongst the woodland greats.

Energy & Symbolism: Patience, Adaptability, Wisdom, Acceptance, Clarity, Introspection.

When our minds are overloaded, and our short days disappear into a busy haze, Pine offer a great reminder to pause, look up and breathe deeply. No matter how long our to-do lists are, we can always create more space in our day when we make the decision to pause and come back to the present moment, even if only for a breath or two.

Energy & Symbolism: Cleansing, Clearing, Expansion, Protection.

As Birch trees mature, their bark turns white, brightening even the gloomiest of Winter days. Associated with the Winter Solstice, renewal and new beginnings, they support us in sowing the seeds of our dreams into the dark, fertile earth.

Energetic Properties: New beginnings, Transformation, Flexibility, Courage, Nurturing.

Whilst many plants are dormant over the Winter, Ivy continues its journey, climbing trees and walls in order to reach the light. It is wild and rambling and is steeped in folklore and mystery. It can be symbolic of our own, wild journey and guides us in embracing the twists and turns in our path.

Energy & Symbolism: Wildness, Journey, Change, Growth, Embracing ourselves.

Thank you!

We would like to take the chance to thank you all so much for your ongoing support this year. I think I speak for many of us when I say it has been really challenging at times, and your words of support, purchases, reviews and connection mean the world to us. If there is anyone who you think may enjoy our creations, we would be super grateful if you could spread the word and share our details with them.

Wishing you all a little peace and nourishment this week,

With love,

Nic x

A Guide to Samhain

A Guide to Yule – the Winter Solstice

A Guide to Imbolc

Wheel of the Year

The Wheel of the Year

July 29, 2020October 1, 2025 Wild Fen

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.

These can be further divided into 4 solar festivals that follow the Sun’s rise and fall throughout the year. With daylight reaching its height at the Summer Solstice (Litha), its lowest at the Winter Solstice (Yule) and reaching an equal balance with night length at the Spring Equinox (Ostara) and Autumn Equinox (Mabon).

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.

Find our Wheel of the Year guides here:

A Guide to Imbolc

A Guide to Ostara – the Spring Equinox

A Guide to Beltane

A Guide to Litha – the Summer Solstice

A Guide to Lammas

A Guide to Mabon – the Autumn Equniox