An around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants. Whether viewed as a mid-winter observance of the Winter Solstice or a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, for millennia cultures have taken time out to honour the darkest days of the year with lights, foods, and festivities. In ancient Egypt, people decorated their homes with greenery at the festival of the re-birth of the God Horus. The ancient Romans decorated their homes with vines and ivy and shared gifts, especially candles, at the midwinter festival of Saturnalia. In Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, the Yule Log was burned in the hearth, fruit orchards were wassailed, and sheaves of wheat were displayed to carry luck into the New Year. In Celtic cultures, mummers and guisers went door to door and European mistletoe (Viscum album) was gathered by Druids as a medicinal and magical aid. Presenting an around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants, Ellen Evert Hopman shares lore, recipes, rituals, and crafts you can make as a family activity to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, as well as female gift bringers, holiday Spirits, and Yuletide animals. She shows how to make a Yule Log and decorate your house with greenery and grain weavings. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and cook traditional foods and drinks such as Wassail and Elizabethan gingerbread cookies. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Bayberry, and many more. Woven throughout with mystical seasonal lore, this guide offers practical and magical ways to celebrate and honour the darkest days of the year.

EARTH RELIGIONS / HERBAL MEDICINES For the ancient Druids, the healing and magical properties of herbs were inseparable from the larger cycles of the seasons, the movements of the planets, and the progression of a human life. A Druid's Herbal shows the reader how to use herbs when creating rituals to celebrate festivals and significant life passages such as births, house blessings, weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies. Drawing on extensive research and a deep personal experience with Pagan traditions, Ellen Evert Hopman explores the history and folklore surrounding the eight major Celtic festivals: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lugnasad, and Fall Equinox. Included in each discussion are complete instructions on the medicinal and magical uses of the herbs associated with each celebration. Using these Celtic traditions as examples, the author suggests ways to incorporate the symbolic and magical power of herbs into personal rituals that honor all phases of life from childbirth to last rites. Also included are chapters on how to prepare herbal tinctures, salves, and poultices; herbs used by the Druids; herbal alchemy and the planets; and the relationships between herbs and sacred places. Filled with practical information and imaginative suggestions for using herbs for healing, ceremony, and magic, this book is an indispensable and comprehensive guide to age-old herbal practices. A master herbalist, psychotherapist, and lay homeopath, Ellen Hopman is the author of Tree Medicine, Tree Magic and the video Gifts of the Healing Earth, and co-author of People of the Earth: The New Pagans.

An illustrated collection of stories and activities to celebrate traditional Pagan festivals and the changing of the seasons * Shares original stories, based on traditional folktales and designed to be read out loud, for each festival, such as Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasad, the solstices, and the equinoxes * Includes traditional games, hands-on projects special to each holiday, and seasonal recipes to enjoy the tastes and smells of each feast day * Discusses the sacred symbolism, magical lore, and cultural practices within each story and the healing and magical uses for the trees and flowers featured Once upon a time, when only candles lit the inside of homes and people traveled on foot or by horse, the family would finish their supper, wash and dry the dishes, and sit down before the hearth to hear a tale. These tales were not only entertaining but also passed down both history and tradition to the next generation. And as the wheel of the year turned, these tales also served to teach the children about holy days and festivals and the Gods and Goddesses who reigned over the changing seasons. In this beautifully illustrated book, Ellen Evert Hopman shares rich stories drawn from traditional folktales, hands-on crafts, and seasonal recipes to help families and classrooms learn about and celebrate traditional holy days and festivals of the sacred earth year. Designed to be read out loud, the stories are complemented with pronunciation guides and translations for foreign words. You will learn of the Cailleach, the ancient Goddess of Winter; La Befana, the Italian new year's witch; Eostre, the Goddess of Spring; Kupalnocka, the Polish feast of wreaths at midsummer; Yule among the Vikings; and many other deities and celebrations. For each story, the author includes hands-on projects special to the holiday--from crafting magical wands and brooms to flower crowns and Brighid's Crosses--as well as seasonal recipes, such as Magical Peppermint Chocolate Tea, Beltaine Bannock, and La Befana Cake, allowing families to enjoy the tastes, smells, and sounds associated with the feast days and celebrations.

Weaving together ancient wisdom, mystical folklore, and modern plant research, master herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman explores the many uses of flowers, trees, common weeds, and ornamental plants for food, medicine, spiritual growth, and magical rituals. She reveals the herbal lore surrounding each plant, drawing on traditional knowledge and remedies from around the world. She includes recipes throughout so you can make medicines from wild and domesticated plants easily found in yards, forests, meadows, and hedgerows, and she discusses what to plant to ensure you have leaves, berries, and flowers all year. The author reveals how to quickly intuit an unknown plant's properties using the signatures of plants - universal indications and contraindications based on the form, color, and location of a plant. She includes an in-depth section on honey and Bee Medicine, allowing you to appreciate the labors of these plant-dependent insects. Showing how to easily incorporate wild plants into your life to receive their healing benefits throughout the seasons, Hopman reveals the power of the bounty that Mother Nature has provided right at our doorstep.

Your kitchen is a place of ancient secrets and hidden treasures. The herbs, spices, and other foods that you have in your cupboards contain magical healing properties and can be used for basic first aid, or to promote wellbeing. In this practical guide, herbalist, Ellen Evert Hopman, takes you on a profound journey through the secret healing qualities of everyday foods. From apples to olive oil, bread to potatoes; you will be amazed at how easy it is to unlock the medicinal properties of commonly sourced items. Sumptuously illustrated throughout, this whirlwind tour of your kitchen apothecary is packed full of wisdom and handy tips that will benefit you and your family for years to come.