Resolutions For A Waning Moon
January Newsletter
Waning energy is banishing energy. Obstacles be gone, coughs and colds get thee behind me and, with the right intention, bad habits will soon melt like the moon into the darkness of the winter sky. It's a good time for getting rid of that which no longer serves you. This is the Earth's magic, beneath the soil and mulching leaves, resting, recharging and renewing.
I have not made resolutions as such this year, instead small goals that will help me to reach my desired destination in both my personal and working life. Small goals can be flexed and adapted to respond to the path you are walking. As Tim Minchin said in his excellent speech for the 2013 graduates of the University of Western Australia:
‘If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye.’
This is how I've always worked. It does mean, however, that you sometimes forget to celebrate the successes found in those little goals. Pausing to celebrate is important too.
January and February are always slightly slower months on the storytelling front, but I do have some big projects I'm working on. I’m delivering a workshop for Brighton Metropolitan College art students for their ‘Reviving Folktales’ project, leading this year's wassail at Butser as the lady of the wassail and continuing with the Portsmouth Poet Laureate programme I'm delivering for Portsmouth Education Partnership.
January’s stories will include green women, selkies and apple tree men as I continue to connect people with the landscape of Hampshire, Sussex and the South Downs through story. You may also notice there are some slight changes to the newsletter with a plant of the month and a podcast of the month replacing the usual music track.
This month, landing in your inbox, there will be the usual, book review and updates as well as the long overdue episode of my own podcast: Stories From Lore - Season 4 Episode 4: ‘Persephone’s Pomegranate’.
Coming up this month for paid subscribers there's another poem in my Symphony of Animals, ‘Badger’ and the next Hearths & Halls Imbolc (late January). In addition, podcast extras will include ‘Kitchen Witching: 'Fruit Of The Underworld’, a themed playlist, and a transcript of the folklore section from the podcast episode.
I hope you have a great start to the New Year and much prosperity for 2024.
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Plant Of The Month
Heliotropium europaeum is mentioned in various medieval leech books as being an excellent purger and banisher of poisons. The plant also has the wonderful habit of turning its flowers to the sun, however, you will also find that it is toxic if you eat it.
Podcast Of The Month :
Upcoming Events For January/February:
9th January - Workshop - Reviving Folktales - Brighton Metropolitan College - Private Event
19th January - Lady Of The Wassail - Butser Ancient Farm - More info here
27th January - 6th February - National Storytelling Week
6th February - Portsmouth Pupil Poet Laureate Workshop - Wordsmithing
12th & 16th February - Storytelling at The Weald & Downland Museum over half term - More Information here
For more information and to book me for your event, visit my events page using the button below.
Stories Of The Sun, Coming March 2024
‘Stories Of The Sun’, is now available to pre-order! Book launch events so far are detailed below. Check out my events page using the link above for more information.
December’s Paid Subscriber Content:
Saturnalia - Watch Here
Continuing archive of content
December was an extremely busy month for in person storytelling and that made for a quieter month on Substack. I very much appreciate the continued support of my paid subscribers during the busy times and I have plenty planned for this coming year, which I'm looking forward to sharing with you.
Thank you for supporting this newsletter through December. Supporting my work in this way allows me to continue to write freely and authentically and I thank you from the bottom of my storytelling heart.
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January’s Read:
One of my goals for this year is to build on my work with stories that connect us with the land and there can be no doubt that Tristan Gooley knows the land and fosters a deep connection with it. As always, I’ll be reviewing this book later in the month.
All the very best for 2024. I too have small goals rather than resolutions. Much more doable and easier to achieve : )