XIV TEMPERANCE (reversed) The card depicts a beautiful woman on a white horse, led by a flock of blackbirds. She is the psychopomp, who carries souls to the Otherworld, the goddess who holds the key that opens the doors between the worlds. She bridges the realms of life and death, the manifest and the unmanifest, … Continue reading "This Week’s Reading (6 October 2025)"| Hearth Witchery
I always look forward to finding horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) in autumn, the shiny brown ‘conkers’ once beloved by schoolchildren for their games, but they are much more useful than that. The tree is so named because the nuts used to be made into liniments to treat muscle sprains in horses. They contain aescin, a … Continue reading "Horse Chestnut Salve"| Hearth Witchery
THE UNIVERSE (reversed) The card depicts the Goddess dancing within the centre of the Universe, which lies within our hearts, for the centre is wherever we are. She holds a circle which is a symbol…| Hearth Witchery
KNIGHT OF PENTACLES (reversed) The card depicts the Knight of Pentacles. Unlike the other knights, this one doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere and patiently leads his horse through the trees. He has forgone the shiny armour of his fellows and instead wears practical, homespun clothes. He is Silvanus, the god … Continue reading "This Week’s Reading (22 Sept 25)"| Hearth Witchery
At the autumn equinox, day and night stand equal once more, but the dark is gaining. Afterwards the hours of darkness progressively become greater than the hours of light, with dawn getting later and sunset getting earlier each day – a process that will continue until the winter solstice. The Sun is weakening, and the … Continue reading "The Autumn Equinox"| Hearth Witchery
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THREE OF CUPS (reversed) The card shows three lovely women dancing and raising their cups in celebration. They are the Three Graces, the sisters Splendour, Joy and Good Cheer, the attendants of Aph…| Hearth Witchery
TWO OF SWORDS The card shows a moody landscape of pools and rocks, where two women are quarrelling and batting at each other with wooden swords. The younger one is thee Vanir goddess Freya, mistres…| Hearth Witchery
THE HANGED MAN The Hanged Man card depicts Odin, hanging on the great world tree Yggdrasil from Norse mythology, which has its branches in Asgard, the upperworld, its trunk in the middle realm or E…| Hearth Witchery
Marymass, sometimes known as Murmass, is the Scottish name for the feast of the Assumption on 15th August. It replaced the earlier festival of Lughnasain in the northern regions where the harvest w…| Hearth Witchery
Paeonia sp. As I write, the peonies are starting to come out in my garden this week, and I know from experience that this heralds a period of early summer storms – every year, my poor red peony get…| Hearth Witchery