April

April takes its name from the Latin word aperire, meaning ‘to open’ New life bursts forth from translucent red pomegranate tips on the branches of the handkerchief tree and I stand surrounded by a choir of lilac leaves as they open soft, furry, almost-purple buds and unfurl into delicate new leaves with blushed red tips sounding their Read more about April[…]

Look Carefully

Hokusai says look carefully.He says pay attention, notice.He says keep looking, stay curious.He says there is no end to seeing. He says look forward to getting old.He says keep changing,you just get more who you really are.He says get stuck, accept it, repeatyourself as long as it is interesting. He says keep doing what you Read more about Look Carefully[…]

Spring

Michael hetherington liver and gall bladder meridians connected with smooth flow of energy around the body and detoxifying. Yoga opening the side body and shoulders, pummelling and qigong. Spring is that time of year when new energy, new life and new dreams blossom. As we move out of the colder and more introverted months of Read more about Spring[…]

yǔshuǐ – More Rain than Snow

First pentad / 獺祭魚 : ‘otters make offerings of fish’. As fish begin to swim upstream, they are hunted by otters, which are believed to offer the fish to heaven. Second pentad / 鴻雁來 : ‘the wild geese arrive’. Wild geese begin to make their northward migration, following the onset of spring. Third pentad / 草木萌動 : ‘trees Read more about yǔshuǐ – More Rain than Snow[…]

January

Stirrings. January takes its name from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. He had two faces so he could see the future and the past! He was also the god of doors. Winter light. Naked trees and bright moons. Dark skies and stars. Quieten rest in the stillness Ice and snow swirl and whirl Breathe Read more about January[…]

Winter

Monk: What happens when the leaves fall and the trees are bare?Union: The golden Wind, revealed.Hegikan Roku the blue cliff record.Yoga through the seasons Sandra sabatini,In Buddhism the Golden Wind is a metaphor for the reality that you can only experience and which we call God.  From midway between Samhain and winter solstice, so the Read more about Winter[…]

First frosts

Frost forms in swirling ferns and birds sing it’s praise,crows call far out across the fields and beyond expanding my hearing and my heart as I follow the sounds into the beyond. The average first frost for many inland areas in the UK and Ireland is within the first ten days of November later along the Read more about First frosts[…]

The Dark time – Know thyself

Samhain to Valentines Day (Deep dark – Sagittarius & Capricorn) Stalking our inner selves “There was no one near to confuse me, so I was forced to become original.” Haydn. Brew, Stew. Soften the shellRoot November. December. January. February

Autumn

Shadows lengthen, leaves begin to turn & fall, fruits, nuts & berries ripen for harvest. Birds migrate from & fro, owls duet & deer rut. Mushrooms pop, winds swirl until first frosts descend. Because the early Roman year began in March rather than January, the final four months of our year—September, October, November and December—were Read more about Autumn[…]