Author - Linda E. Savage, Ph.D. DD

Yuletide Blessings to all my wonderful friends,

This newsletter brings my heartfelt wishes for a truly meaningful holiday season and an abundant New Year.

In the Northern Hemisphere, December 21st is the time of the longest night.

The Winter Solstice is universally honored with lights the world over.

People have burned Yule logs and oil lamps, candles and bonfires. Currently

electric lights are strung around our homes. My mother told me as a child that

these traditions reassured us that days of longer sunlight would be returning.

Yet there is much to appreciate about darkness. Indigenous wisdom holds that darkness is simply the other side of light and there is great creative power in the dark void.

2024 Lammas Newsletter

August 2nd is Lammas, the first of three festivals celebrating Mother Earth’s bounty. Baking loaves from the first grains and offering them at a communal meal has always been central to these gatherings, going back to thousands of years before the Common Era. 

The Celts called this time Lughnasadh (loo-na-sa), Native Americans called it the Green Corn Festival and in Slavic Regions it is called the feast of the Big Glad Woman. Ireland celebrates Lammas as Big Sunday and farming communities gather at hundreds of traditional hilltop sites to set up craft fairs, feast, play games, and dance. A part of every one of these gatherings is a ceremonial meal where the first fruits of the harvest are shared in gratitude to Mother Earth. 

Merry Midsummer my Friends,

On June 20th when the Sun moves into Cancer, we celebrate the Summer Solstice in the Northern Latitudes. Also known as Midsummer, this Solstice (meaning ‘Sun stands still’) is when the Sun is at its peak; it is the longest day of the year and celebrated in some way in all cultures. The next day, on June 21st we have an auspicious full moon in Capricorn, making this particular Solstice more powerful. Summer Solstice celebrations have been a time for merry making for millennia. Not only is it one of the eight great spokes on the Celtic wheel of seasons but also Midsummer’s Eve is one of the three important spirit nights of the year; the other two are Beltane (May Day) and Samhain (Halloween).

Celebrate Life Force Energy on May Day,

May Day is the time when nature has truly come alive. Our ancestors joyfully embraced the fertility of Mother Earth; flowers bloom, offering their pollen to the bees. The Celtic name for this period is Beltane, which means bright or sacred fire. During the festival, great bonfires were lit and animals and fields were blessed in hopes for an abundant year. Traditionally May Day began on the eve of May 1st and was celebrated with feasting, dancing, and merriment for two weeks. Lovers knew that sexual energy is a most powerful connection to Spirit as well as it plays an essential role in the abundance of all life. 

Beltane was a time when lovers ran off to the fields and woods together to honor the Great Goddess with ecstatic lovemaking.

Celebrate the Green Fire my friends,

This year in the Northern Hemisphere, March 19th is the Spring Equinox. It is the time when day and night will be equal in length at the equator as the sun moves into Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac.  Also known as Ostara or Eostre (the origin of the name Easter) light and dark will be balanced. It is the New Year for Persians as well as the Earth Honoring spiritual traditions that follow the ancient ways.

In these ancient traditions the Vernal Equinox is considered the time of Green Fire. It refers not only to sap rising, but also to all the electrical energy pulsing through the growing plants.

Embrace the Power of Hope,

Imbolc in ancient traditions is the time of hope for new life and the return of the light. For thousands of years, Imbolc, meaning “in the belly” was a sign of hope as there would be lambs born in the spring. In addition, the people saw the noticeable signs that the days were lengthening. Hope is not the same as wishing things were better but it is cultivating a strong ability to allow ourselves to anticipate joy, avoid thoughts that dash hope, and to celebrate life, even in the small things we can look forward to, keeping our focus on what gives us hopeful feelings. 

Hope is unique from other positive emotions because hope requires some degree of difficulty or uncertainty to be ignited.

Yuletide Blessings to all my wonderful friends,
This letter brings my heartfelt wishes for a truly joyous holiday season and an
abundant New Year. In the Northern Hemisphere, December 21st is the time of
the longest night. The Winter Solstice is universally honored with lights the world
over. People have burned Yule logs and oil lamps, candles and bonfires. Currently
electric lights are strung around our homes. My mother used to tell me as a child
that these traditions reassured us that days of longer sunlight would be returning.
Yet there is much to appreciate about darkness. Indigenous wisdom holds that
darkness is simply the other side of light and there is great creative power in the
dark void. Lisa Thiel’s lyrics capture this knowing:

On the longest night, we search for the light

And we find it deep within

As we open our eyes, we embrace what is wise
And see the light of our souls shining
Enter the night and you’ll find the light
That will carry you to your dreams
Enter the night; let your spirit take flight
In the field of infinite possibilities
From Lisa Thiel, Circle of the Seasons CD

Leonard Cohen’s line in his famous song Anthem touches an essential truth:
“There’s a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.

Samhain Greetings my friends,

The time period, between Oct. 31st and Nov. 2nd is one of the most widely celebrated ancient traditions honoring our ongoing connection with ancestors and loved ones who have passed. Samhain meaning ‘summer’s end’ heralds the thinning of the veil between the seen and unseen worlds. An example of the old ways is the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico or here in the US. Connecting with our ancestors and expressing love and gratitude has always been the theme of this time for thousands of years, long before ‘trick or treating’ as goblins and ghouls became popular.

How did we go from honoring and loving our ancestors to not even knowing their stories, or feeling their loving presence in our lives?