Ways of ease in Seasonal Living
Heritage
Story
The original observance of the passing seasons correlated with the rhythmic transitions of nature, and like the renewing of marriage bonds, were opportunities for honouring the continued provision, beauty and gifts of nature, through times of thanksgiving, celebration and offerings. Families, friends and wider community gathered and rested particularly after prolonged periods of work of all kinds, be it on the land or in the home.
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Giving thanks for daily and seasonal abundance helped renew our bond with nature, the land, and the community as a whole, supporting one another in the passing of time. Nature mirrored our own growth journey, the cycle of birth, growth and death, the celebration of new life and the grieving of its passing, as rights of passage shared by all of humanity.
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We were and still are, beholden her cycles, to the nourishing condition of the earth's soil, the flow of water through the land and the optimal ambient temperature of the sun's warmth required for life to grow and flourish, so that we might drink clean water and eat nutrient rich food to sustain our own growth and development.
Ergo the sun and moon conducted our motions long before we endeavoured to conduct them with our humanly constructed song of time, our devised schedules and routines of punctual appointment, industrial efficiency and homogenisation. ​​Circadian rhythms bonded our relationship to the light and the dark and the forces governing them, the sun and the moon. In our ancient hunter gatherer, agrarian and subsistence existence, the hours of light and dark were our guides. They girded our patterns of movement and stillness, bustling activity and quiet retreat. We were moulded to their moods as our muse, beholden to the land and cellularly marked by her. We were of and belonged to, the land.
Wheel
of the Year
The wheel of the year depicts a year not as linear, but a gentler cyclical passing of time that begins when the earth is at its quietest, when light is at its minimalist. The sun in its horizons, is at its lowest point and will rise no further, the Winter Solstice. From that day, the days begin drawing out slowly, getting longer incrementally. The earth tilts towards the sun and days feel warmer as they stretch towards the Summer Solstice on the opposite side of the wheel when the sun is at its highest point and the day is as long as it will get, before tipping back again. Dissecting the two solstices are the two equinoxes, the points where the length of light and dark are equal, neither season in its extremes. Almost liminal between spaces, they offer glimmers of what the season ahead might hold and where we can carve out our own intensions to hold as we enter the next.​
The traditional wheel of the year is punctuated by its own ancient festivities, commemorations and observances, many of which coincide with more contemporarily adopted religious festivals. Some are still marked more prominently in other cultures such as Litha or Mid-Summer in Sweden. Myth, mysticism and magic can be woven into the rich history of storytelling, folklore and custom embedded in the traditional titles of the wheel of the year, but from the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, this embodied somatic instinct to orientate towards light, be drawn to nature's intricacy, breathtaking landscapes and night skies, is an innately human one worth rediscovering.
Everything,
in its Season
for year 2023-2024
~ Yule ~
Winter Solstice - Midwinter Yule
Shortest day and longest night
22nd December 2023 to 31st January 2024
~ Ostara ~
Spring Equinox
Balance of light and dark
20th March 2024 to 30th April
~ Imbolc ~
Spring Begins - St Brigid’s Day
Days are getting longer
1st February to 19th March
~ Beltane ~
Summer Begins - May Day
Days are getting longer
1st May to 19th June 2024
~ Litha ~
Summer Solstice - Midsummer
Longest day and shortest night
20th June 2024 to 31st July
~ Lughnasadh ~
First Harvest - Lammas
Days are getting shorter
1st August to 21st September
~ Mabon ~
Autumn Equinox
Balance of light and dark
22nd September to 30th October
~ Samhain ~
End of Harvest - Winter Begins
Days are getting shorter
31st October to 21st December
The Ease Edit Almanac for Seasonal Living
​At Ease Edit, my heart is to inspire moments of slow living that are accessible to everyone and small and valuable changes we can make that begin at home, to create a more sustainable lifestyle and connect us with our most ancient and intuitive relationships, with the earth and one another.
I’ll share tips and tales of my own and from the artisans, growers and craftspeople, that inspire me most. I hope it will awaken your souls with excitement and inspiration to breathe magic into the special place that is your home and help you create the home of your aspirations.
I'll also share beautiful ideas inspired by the seasonal landscape to enrich your celebration at the gathering table as you extend homecoming to family and friends, foster neighbours and strangers, building community around you, during the well loved intervals of the year where we all renew our bonds with each other and our big home, Earth.​