Ellen is a druid, an herbalist, and a prolific author. She runs the Willow’s Grove shop through her website. She also runs a course in herbalism for those wanting to learn the marvellous powers of plants. I was fascinated to find out more about this incredibly busy and talented woman. Ellen was kind enough to answer a few of my questions. Mabh Savage: Tell us a bit about your upcoming book A Legacy of Druids. How did it come about? What drove you to write this book? Ellen Evert Hopman: I have been a Druid officially since 1984, which was the year I joined ADF which is an Indo-European…

Steve Andrews: Bard of Ely Dubbed as both a wizard and a bard, Steve Andrews is hardly your everyday herb expert, if there is indeed such a thing. I caught up with Steve to find out about his music, his love of plants and his writing.   Mabh Savage: What inspired you to write your upcoming book, Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets? Steve Andrews: I have been interested in herbs for a very long time and I like to research subjects I enjoy. I found information about planetary rulers for various herbs in books on herbalism and thought it would make an interesting subject in its own right.…

  Paul Davies, aka Oddie, is an independent Druid, a Norwich Quaker, a photographer and a pacifist. He’s also the editor of This Ancient Heart, a book that ‘reveals the connective pathways where beliefs, actions and metaphors lead to dynamic, practical and spiritual lives’. Having had this brief but fascinating introduction, I was thrilled that Oddie gave up some of his time to answer a few questions about the book and beyond.    Mabh Savage: Tell us a bit about the book This Ancient Heart. How did you become involved with editing this compilation? Paul Davies: I wanted to invite the leading spiritual and academic thinkers of our time to…

Notes from the Apothecary: Lovage It is an herb of the Sun, under the sign of Taurus. (Culpeper, 17th Century).   Lovage is a tall, beautiful, leafy herb in the same family as Angelica and carrots. Similar in aroma to celery, this herb is just as edible if not as popular in our modern kitchens. It is native to Europe and Asia, so may be harder to find in the Americas, however you can certainly buy seeds online to grow your own. The name may originally have been ‘love-ache’, which actually means ‘Love Parsley’, which is understandable as the leaves have a similar shape and smell to flat leafed parsley.…

Notes from the Apothecary: Chives     I love chives. They are so easy to grow in the kitchen garden, and the glorious purple globes are somehow magically supported by the slender, green stems that we love to eat. Chives grow all over North America, Europe, Asia and Australia and are easily cultivated. They are the only member of the onion family that spans the globe east to west. Like most flowers that have colours approaching the ultra-violet end of the light spectrum, they attract a huge array of butterflies. They also attract bees, so even if you never pick a single chive stem, you are helping the environment by…

George Nicholas: Cernunnos Rising     Just before Yule I was fortunate enough to catch up with a favourite interviewee of Pagan Pages, George Nicholas of Pagan band, Cernunnos Rising. George was kind enough to bring us up to speed with what’s been happening since he last spoke to us. MS: It’s been five years since we last spoke to you, and there have been two more Cernunnos Rising albums in that time. How has the band evolved? Who are you working with currently? GN: Albums to date have been Cernunnos Rising, Wild Soul, Urban Druid, and the latest is Nature’s Child. The band members are now Martin Robinson on…

Pagan Portals: Kitchen Witchcraft by Rachel Patterson The phrase ‘Kitchen Witchcraft’ conjures up brewing potions and hanging herbs, and while this of course can be the case, the experienced witch knows the kitchen can be the beating heart of their home, where the material and the mystical meld to create magic. Rachel approaches this topic with just such a theory in mind, and makes no assumptions about the level of skill or experience of the reader. It’s important to bear in mind that as part of the Pagan Portals series, this book is intended as a brief introduction to Kitchen Witchcraft. Having said that, for such a slim volume, Rachel…

Ariadne’s Thread by Laura Perry “The myths of ancient Crete, her people, and their gods twine through our minds like the snakes around the priestess’s arms in those ancient temples. They call to us across the millennia, asking us to remember. In answer to that call, Ariadne’s Thread provides a window into the spirituality, culture and daily life of the Minoan people, and commemorates the richness of a world in which women and men worked and worshiped as equals. In these pages, the glory of Crete once again springs to life; the history, the culture, and most of all, the intense spirituality of these fascinating people and their gods can…

Notes from the Apothecary: Cloves As we move into the darkest part of the year I want to focus on a spice that brings joy and warmth into the home. Though they are just little brown spikes, the heady scent and flavour of cloves instantly conjures up images of winter festivity. Combine this with citrusy flavours like lemon and orange and you have a veritable indoor winter wonderland. Cloves are actually flower buds, and it seems fitting that they are often used in winter as the tree they spring from is evergreen. The Kitchen Garden Cloves are a vital component in many different cuisines. In the west, we tend to…

And so we flip to the opposite side of the wheel. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice (on or around 21st December) is sometimes also referred to as Yule, which has Germanic and Norse origins and has sort of been absorbed into modern Paganism as part of the “wheel of the year”, although it has its own rich history and is celebrated worldwide in a myriad of different ways. My most precious memories of the winter solstice all seem to be of going to a specific lakeside on the longest night. I remember it always feels later in the day than it is, because despite it only being early…