Cailleach

One of the things that I appreciate about traditional crafts is the thriftyness of finding a use for every part of materials from nature. In this episode, I talk about the strawy parts of plants left over when seeds and bulbs are harvested. Lughnasa crafts often involved the use of these. I also share some ideas of what to do with the first fruits of harvest, using preserving methods such as dehydration, jams and freezing. This is the last chance to plant for winter crops, so  I give some pointers for avoiding weeds and what else to do in the garden to help your harvest be abundant.

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As the two main characters spend time together, after their meeting at the river, their conversation explores their opposing worldviews of technotopia vs a nature spirit based culture. They arrive into the gathering of women as Jules prepares for her young women's rite of passage. I look back at this story from my present vantage point and try to articulate what I sought to explore with it.

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The episodes in this thread are a kind of recipe of ingredients for a regenerative community-led, just society. In this episode, I discuss the Co-operative movement, because it holds nuggets of wisdom about how collaboration can be structured and fair shares distributed.

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In each of these episodes in the Wellbeing thread, I'm using thoughts about developmental stages, and the needs that emerge in them, to highlight needs that may still be present for adults. In this episode, that path is getting closer towards adulthood, as I explore the stage of life when children leave childhood and begin early adolescence. This is a stage characterised by testing elements of identity and ability in a wider world and beginning to receive ever-expanding feedback from that world.

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Claire Templar came to Ireland inspired to find a new lifestyle in a cottage in the west of Ireland. This interview is from her early times there, after just 20 months. You can get an update on where she has got to since at Wild Acres Farm, by following her updates on Facebook and Instagram.

Baby teens and their mentors, finding the way into identity exploration is the territory of this episode. It may help if you are looking to have some perspective as a parent or someone working with that age group or perhaps the lessons from that time might help your current wellbeing foundations.

How have we used means of exchange over the centuries and where money came into the story is explored in this episode. What do money and manure have in common and how what are the alternatives that build community in use around the world and in Ireland today?

Continuing on the edges of real world magic, and how Jules can use ungated awareness to try to heal and connect to Rowen, the story continues.

Linked to the thread on Ancestors, I decided to explore the pratical skill of working with plant fibres and wool and the basis for understanding how to play with them for all manner of craft work. This episode also follows the stage of garden care as summer growth comes in: Chop and drop and weed control and planting out bigger plants.

Solstice is the traditional time, as the sun stands still, for us to stop and stand still too. This short mediation can be used at any time of year or day or week that you need to stop and tune in