The wheel of the year
Seasonal feasts, trees, stones, flowers and winds as symbols of sacred time.
Autumn equinox: the scales, the harvest and the descent
The autumn equinox as a threshold: the sign of Libra, Saint Michael weighing souls, the harvest, the modern name Mabon and a practice of reckoning.
Birthstones: from the high priest's breastplate to today
Where birthstones come from: the twelve gems of the breastplate in Exodus, the heavenly Jerusalem, Flavius Josephus and modern jewellers' lists.
Calendimaggio and the maypole: the festival of full bloom
Calendimaggio and the maypole in Italian and European tradition: begging songs, flowering branches, Poliziano and the symbolism of spring in full bloom.
Candlemas and the blackbird days: late winter rites
The blackbird days and Candlemas from late January to 2 February: legends, proverbs, blessed candles and the symbolic meaning of returning light.
Carnival and the world upside down: farewell to winter
Carnival as a seasonal threshold: masks, the world upside down, the burning of the effigy and the link with Lent in European folk tradition.
The compass rose: names, myths and symbols of Mediterranean winds
The Mediterranean compass rose: the names tramontana, scirocco and mistral, the Tower of the Winds, the bag of Aeolus and wind as a symbol of spirit.
Coral and amber: the gems born of the sea and the trees
Coral and amber in tradition: Medusa's blood in Ovid, the tears of the Heliades, coral in Renaissance paintings and the link between amber and electricity.
Elder and hawthorn: the fairy trees of European folklore
Elder and hawthorn in folklore: the Irish fairy trees, Andersen's Elder-Tree Mother, the May blossom and the old taboos that protect thresholds.
The grape harvest and the symbolism of wine in the year
The grape harvest as a seasonal rite: the pruned vine, treading the grapes, fermentation as transformation and wine as a symbol of spirit and communion.
The harvest and the last sheaf: grain between death and rebirth
The grain harvest in tradition: the last sheaf, the corn spirit described by Frazer, the feast of Lammas, the grain that dies and the sickle as a symbol.
Holed stones in folklore: the stone with a hole and the threshold
Holed stones in European tradition: pebbles pierced by the sea, Pliny's serpent's egg, the Men-an-Tol in Cornwall and the symbol of the hole as a passage.
The language of flowers: history and symbols through the seasons
The language of flowers from the nineteenth century to today: origins, flower dictionaries and the meanings of snowdrop, violet, rose and more.
Medieval lapidaries: how stones were read in the Middle Ages
Medieval lapidaries from Theophrastus and Pliny to Marbod of Rennes, Albertus Magnus and Alfonso X: how the Middle Ages read stones and colours.
Mistletoe symbolism: the plant suspended between sky and earth
The symbolism of mistletoe: the plant that never touches the ground, the druid rite told by Pliny, the myth of Baldr and kissing under the mistletoe.
Oak tree symbolism: the tree of sky, lightning and strength
The oak as a symbol: the oracle of Dodona, Zeus and Jupiter, the druids in Pliny, the Roman civic crown and the inner meaning of roots and slowness.
Ogham and the tree calendar: between history and invention
The Irish ogham alphabet and the Celtic tree calendar: what the inscriptions and medieval treatises say, and why the thirteen tree months are modern.
The olive tree: peace, wisdom and light in Mediterranean tradition
The symbolism of the olive tree: Athena's gift to Athens, the dove of the flood, the wild olive crown of Olympia and oil as light and consecration.
The Pleiades and the star calendar: the sky that marks the seasons
The Pleiades as a seasonal clock: Hesiod and farm work, the myth of the seven sisters, Sirius and the Nile flood, Matariki and the Nebra sky disc.
Pomegranate symbolism: the fruit of a thousand seeds
The symbolism of the pomegranate: Persephone's seeds, the high priest's robe, Botticelli's Madonna and the autumn fruit as unity in multiplicity.
Saint John's Eve: fires, dew and herbs of the summer solstice
Saint John's Eve, the night of 23 to 24 June: bonfires, dew, flower water, walnuts and witch legends in the folk tradition of the summer solstice.
Saint Martin's Day: the farmers' new year and returning summer
Saint Martin's Day, 11 November: the divided cloak, Saint Martin's summer, the end of farm contracts, the new wine and Carducci's famous poem.
Saturnalia and Sol Invictus: Rome's winter solstice festivals
Saturnalia and Sol Invictus: how Rome marked the winter solstice with feasts, gifts, role reversal and the cult of the Sun that begins to grow again.
Spring equinox: the egg, sowing and the art of balance
The spring equinox in symbols: the cosmic egg, sowing, Nowruz, the reckoning of the date of Easter and a balance exercise for the season of awakening.
The twelve nights between Christmas and Epiphany
The twelve nights between Christmas and Epiphany: suspended time, days that foreshadow the months, the Befana, the Rauhnächte and a new year diary.
Yew and cypress: the threshold trees between life and death
Yew and cypress as symbols: cemetery evergreens, the myth of Cyparissus in Ovid, churchyard yews, Foscolo's verses and memory that never fades.