Natalie Ross shares about Celtic folklore and traditions around the winter seasons, solstice, and Christmas holidays. You’ll also hear about:

• Folklore of the ancient goddess, the Cailleach
• Saining, the Celtic practice of cleansing with smoke and herbs
• On the seasonal traditions and rituals of the Celtic people, co-opted by the church 

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This episode is pulled from our Magical Wreath Making workshop, which was held within the Collective in December 2020. In this workshop, we made wreaths infused with our heart’s intentions. Whilst Collective members were putting together their wreaths, Natalie took us back about 9000 years for a quick history of the people who were Indigenous to the land, up until the Celtic people were living. 

 

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Romans as pagans
• On the rabbit hole that is Celtic research
• Celtic folklore and traditions around the winter solstice, and the Christmas holiday
• Natalie shares some of her favorite books on learning about the Celtic people and their traditions
• On re-connecting with Celtic roots and ancestry
• On the movement of Celtic people and their relationship to the Indigenous people of the lands of Britain, Ireland, and Scotland
• The fire feast festivals
• The story of Newgrange - an ancient and sacred burial mound and its relation to the winter solstice
• Natalie shares some tips on how to start doing research on the Celtic people 
• Whats is yule, and what is a yule log
• Why and how evergreens play a part in Celtic rituals and traditions
• How ancient pagan sacred sites are connected to the church
• How the church painted the old gods as malevolent and satanic
• Celebrating time as circular
• Samhain as the Celtic new year
• The necessary and destructive forces of winter  On why the church now celebrates the birth of Jesus on December 25th
• The folklore of the ancient goddess, the Cailleach
• The 12-day pagan holiday 
• Saining, the Celtic practice of cleansing with smoke and herbs 
• Traditions for disposing of seasonal garlands and wreaths 
• How the tradition of the Christmas tree evolved 
• And more!

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References:

• Native Land https://native-land.ca/
• Kat Lee || Episode 67 https://www.earthspeak.love/shows-1/kat-lee-67
• Celtic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic  
• Celtic Christianity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Christianity  
• Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld || Book https://amzn.to/3seGmFd
• Kindling the Celtic Spirit || Book https://amzn.to/3IW30Z5
• Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore || Book https://amzn.to/3GN7bEr
• Animism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism
• Homo sapiens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human
• Stonehenge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge
• Anatolia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolia
• Celtic Wheel of the Year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year
• Nordic people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_people
• Equinox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox
• Solstice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice
• Beltane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
• Samhain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
• Brigid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid
• Cailleach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cailleach
• Loch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch
• Hag https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hag
• Ritual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual
• Megaliths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalith
• Baba Yaga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga
• Birch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch
• Willow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow
• Broom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytisus_scoparius
• Holly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly
• Imbolc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc
• Well of Youth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Youth
• Mid-Winter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice
• Newgrange Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
• Neolithic people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas
• The Dagda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dagda
• Boann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boann
• Elcmar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elcmar
• Yule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule  
• Yule log https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_log
• Saining https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saining
• Smudging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smudging
• Garland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garland 
• Hearth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearth
• Inglenook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglenook
• Witch burnings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt
• Ivy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedera
• Boxwood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buxus
• Bay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_leaf
• Yew https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yew
• Juniper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper
• Pine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine
• Lutheran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheranism
• Mistletoe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe
• Natalie Ross + Imbolc || Episode 38 https://www.earthspeak.love/shows-1/folklore-and-imbolc-38
• Natalie + Shawna || Episode 65 https://www.earthspeak.love/shows-1/natalie-and-shawna-65  

 

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Theme music is “It’s Easier” by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and “Meeting Again” by Emily Sprague  https://mlesprg.info/

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