The Snowdrop's Bud
February Newsletter
February holds the last of the long cold winter. It’s a time of waiting. Waiting, for the sun to finally arc high enough to warm our faces, high enough for the new leaves to unfurl and reach its nourishment, high enough to look down on the earth and for the soil to feel its power.
Soon lambs will fall from the ewes’ bellies, nests will be repaired, restructured and rebuilt and the foxes will shriek into the cold clear nights.
I’ve noticed that the snowdrop buds have been present since the middle of last month, not caring a jot for the cold snaps and storms of January. Their milk-white, teardrop, buds bob nonchalantly in the fierce gales, close enough to the ground to know that the earth will hold them safe. Their winter resistant bulbs push up first shoots through even the thickest of frosts, giving rise to the nickname of ‘snow piercer’ in France and some parts of Wales.
As a consequence, it feels to me as if the snowdrops bud for an inordinate length of time. On particularly sunny days their flower’s outer petals will reach out just that little bit further as they stretch out, shake off winter and tentatively test the strength of spring.
In folklore, as with many wildflowers, snowdrops are a dichotomy of symbolism. On the one hand they are strongly associated with the Catholic celebration of Candlemas Day and the Virgin Mary, so much so that young girls would wear them to demonstrate their unsullied state, but, on the other hand they are seen as death tokens and bad luck, if brought indoors.
As do many of the places, stories, flora and fauna that I love, they occupy a liminal space between the seasons, along with the hellebores, celandines and wood anemones.
February’s stories will include night sky stories such as Phaeton & Cygnus, a moth seeking the light and The Shepherd & The Moon. In addition to the cosmos we will travel into the woodlands for The Magpie’s Nest, Three Green Women Of The Hill, The Green Woman, (the ever popular) Queen of The Birds, Brigid & The Wolf and The Hedgehog & The Fox.
Unfortunately, the last few days of January have been spent languishing in the throes of a seasonal cold - is there a season without one? As a result, I managed to get the podcast recorded before I was struck down but Hearths & Halls will be a bit later than planned as no one is going to enjoy me coughing and spluttering through a vlog. Hopefully I’ll have it recorded and posted over the weekend.
This month, landing in inboxes for all, there will be the usual, book review and updates as well as Season 3, Episode 5 of ‘Stories From Lore’ - ‘Castle Dwellers’. I’ll also be beavering away on a new podcast to coincide with the launch of my new book.
Coming up this month for paid subscribers; ‘Hearths & Halls: Imbolc’, and ‘Five Winter Essentials For The Outdoor Storyteller’, in addition, podcast extras will include a themed playlist, a transcript of the folklore section from the podcast episode and ‘The Rise of the Gonk - Why We Still Love Our Household Spirits’. It’s going to be a busy month!
I hope your February thaws quickly and that the buds of your endeavours are able to spring forth from the earth.
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Plant Of The Month
Sweet Violets
The sweet violet is associated with Aphrodite the goddess of love, hence ‘roses are red, violet’s are blue’. Perfect for St Valentine’s Day, it was often given to a bride and groom as a keepsake for their wedding day and a symbol of their love. On the flip side, in the story of Persephone & Hades, told in last month’s podcast episode, this is sometimes one of the flowers she was collecting when Hades kidnaps her - not something I would imagine that Persephone wants as a keepsake. They are also, therefore, associated with the underworld, death and darkness.
Its cousin the dog violet is thought to be helpful in folk medicine. If a child loses their canine tooth, then they must chew on a dog violet flower in order for the new tooth to grow in straight.
Podcast Of The Month :
A fabulous look at British humour and a great insight into why we continue to find certain things funny like killer rabbits, trumpeting bums and drunk people.
Upcoming Events For February/March:
6th February - Portsmouth Pupil Poet Laureate Workshop - consultancy project
12th February - Storytelling at The Weald & Downland Museum over half term - More Information here
14th February - Mini Story Circle - The Wild Nest - Petersfield - Book Here
15th February - Dark Skies Festival - Queen Elizabeth Country Park - more information here
16th February - Storytelling at The Weald & Downland Museum over half term - More Information here
17th February - Dark Skies Festival - Seven Sisters Country Park - more information here
March - ‘Stories Of The Sun Published’ - for book and author events see below.
2nd March - Party For Rowner - Community Engagement Event
9th March - Party for Seafield - Community Engagement Event
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.
January’s Paid Subscriber Content:
Badger - Symphony of Animals - Watch Here
The Apple Tree Man - Read Here
Kitchen Witching - Fruit Of The Underworld - Read Here
Podcast Extras - Read Here
Continuing archive of content available here
Thank you for supporting this newsletter through January. Supporting my work in this way allows me to continue to find new stories and research the old ways, and I thank you from the bottom of my storytelling heart.
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Fabruary’s Read:
I’ve just finished reading this book and it is excellent! It encompasses history, story and plants - three of my loves I’ll be back to review it very soon.
