Issues

The Green Man, an architectural detail carved into English churches, is a mystery and lesson in modern myth making. Before being named “Green Man” by Lady Raglan in her 1939 article for The Folklore Journal, ...

May Day, an ancient spring holiday falling between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, celebrates fertility in all its many forms. On May 1st, rituals for the blessing of fertile lands, fertile livestock, fertile ...

Little Red Riding Hood, a favorite fairy tale read to all young children, espouses the dangers of venturing off the known path, talking to strangers, and trusting people– even your own grandmother. Red Riding Hood ...

Eggs are a symbol of rebirth and new life. Eggs have become associated with Easter, perhaps because of this symbolism of resurrection and rebirth, or because Easter coincides with Spring– the rebirth of the land ...

The month of April was dedicated to the goddess Venus in Ancient Rome, and their word for April, Aprilis, came from the verb aperire, “to open”. The Fasti Praenestini, the Roman calendar, described Aprilis as ...

I recently went on a vacation that I usually find overwhelming. I used two sessions with my therapist to get prepared for the holiday and to come up with some self-care practices to do on ...

Flowers are some of the most symbolic elements in nature. Who can help but love them? Who can help but be shocked by the freely-given grace of their wild beauty, and gladdened by this generous, ...

March 20th is the Vernal Equinox, which, in the U.S., heralds the beginning of spring. I, for one, am more than ready for spring and its warmer weather, budding trees, flowers, and showers. The earth ...

I just love mushrooms. I don’t mean I only love to eat them (but that too). Seeing them out in the world– growing in the grass, on trees, and on fallen logs– makes me happy ...

“It has always seemed to me, ever since early childhood, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil ...

Engaging with my local community is one of the delights of my life. I love that I can walk or ride my bike to the small grocery market, post office, pharmacy, farmer’s market, library, coffee ...

I grew up in South Florida, home of the Everglades, mangroves, and alligators. The only skiing we do is in water. The first time I saw snow with my own eyes, I was 26 and ...

I am familiar with some of the ancient greek words for love, like eros, from which we got the lovely word erotic; agape, which means spiritual selfless love; and philia, deep non-romantic love, like the ...

Imbolc, pronounced EM-bolgk, is an ancient Irish festival marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man on February 1st and 2nd, ...

During the year I was approaching 40, I made it my goal to spend time figuring out what I really like and to challenge some old assumptions about what I don’t like. It was kind ...

The Roman God Janus is the god of beginnings, endings, gates, bridges, and thresholds. He has two heads– one that faces the past and one that faces the future– and he presides over liminal times ...

Music is a form of magic. Songs are spells we sing to summon emotions and transport listeners to rhapsodic realms. Ancient stories attest that the power of music can shape the world and the hearts ...

I first heard of the Danish concept hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) four years ago, and I was thrilled to put a name to the aesthetic that I had been creating in my own home since I ...

Almost every culture around the world celebrates the New Year on December 31st, and the themes are consistent from Brazil to Finland: out with the old and in with the new. At that moment when ...

We have many Christmas traditions in our household. We always go to see my daughter’s friend perform in the Nutcracker ballet, and then see another of her friends sing in a Saint Lucia Fest. We ...

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. Throughout autumn and winter, the days have been getting shorter and shorter. On the winter solstice in Philadelphia, the sun will set ...

Imagine a Christmas parade, up in hidden villages dotting the Alpine mountains of Germany, Austria, and Northern Italy. But instead of a jolly white-bearded man handing out presents, there are huge half-goat half-demons wearing chains ...

Hanukkah begins next week, at sundown on December 2nd. Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday, is also known as the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the miracle of the oil and is observed for eight nights, starting ...

Harvest festivals, like Thanksgiving, have a history that stretches back to ancient Greek women who honored Demeter and Persephone at the festival of Thesmophoria. A harvest festival has been celebrated in Britain since pagan times, ...

Traditions are customs, ways of doing things, that we give symbolic significance. They are passed down through generations and upheld through repeated reenactment. I write a lot about sacred and magic traditions. I also recommend ...

When I am not on my daily five-mile trek through the woods, I like to bike or walk in my neighborhood. I love to meander down narrow, partially hidden roads and alleyways. I have a ...

I believe quite firmly that much of the magic in the world resides in small things. There are fleeting moments that nevertheless linger because they expand us with their beauty and meaning. There are delicately ...

Themes of death, spirits, and visits from the Otherworld are celebrated throughout October, culminating on October 31st, Halloween. Hallowe’en is a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve (Hallow is another word for Saint), which is the ...

Halloween has its roots in the early Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced Saw-win). Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the Gaelic people of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Samhain marked the ...

Halloween is approaching. We are in the height of Autumn. The weather is cool, the cocoa is hot, and the pumpkins are orange. Sights, smells, and sounds of the season are all around us. The ...

For me, the month of October is all about Halloween. Throughout the month we go to pumpkin patches and haunted houses, watch horror movies, and make our homemade costumes. Every year I host a huge ...

Autumn can have a melancholic quality. The bittersweet change from the abundant warmth of Summer towards the inevitable cold of Winter can invoke a feeling akin to nostalgia. But somehow it is a beautiful melancholy ...