Winter(ing) Stillness. Quiet. Dormancy. Energy below ground. Nourishment from the roots. Darkness of the womb. Origin. Creativity. Cocoon. Rest. Replenish. Sleep. Dream What is wintering? How can we learn to winter? Why is wintering important? What
Autumn is a time of adjustment and transition for our entire body and being. As we enter autumn, the first signs of readiness for dormant times ahead become visible on the land: cooler nights draw
One of the ways that Natural family planning is remarkable is how it accumulates a menstrual cycle history for us that gets recorded and documented through months and years of charts. I always recommend we
1 ~ NFP deepens your relationship with your partner With so many other methods of contraception, we organise and action it alone without any involvement from our partners. NFP is inherently different because our partner
I am writing this after watching Davina Mcall’s channel 4 documentary about the pill which was very damning of fertility awareness apps and the Natural Cycles app in particular. Unfortunately, the documentary grouped all natural
The health of our mind (mental health), is not separate from the health of any other part of our body or being. It’s also not separate from the health of our relationships, community, the land
Understanding how to observe, chart and interpret our shifting signs of fertility is a foundational skill for feeling more at home in ourselves and our bodies as women and menstruators. Cycle charting is a powerful
Natural family planning (NFP) is a method of contraception where we monitor and record our different fertility signs throughout our menstrual cycle to work out when we are fertile or infertile. Each day this tells
These are not times of peace. These are times when veils are being lifted on governance, power, inequality and colonisation. It’s a time when many extremely difficult truths are being told and a time for
Maternal mental health matters more than we think. It’s one of the key social markers for how well we’re doing as a culture because it has an impact on everyone. Supporting mothers has a ripple
This week marks the anniversary of the 1st lockdown announcement. What was happening in your life 3 years ago? I’d just come to the end of my first 40 days of home rest & was
The seed I want to tend and grow this spring is a healthier menstrual culture for us all. Through winter rest, I clarified my vision for a world where working menstruators are rewarded for their
There is a particular birth story medicine available to us around our child’s birthday ~ a medicine we can retrieve for ourselves, for them and for our parent-child relationship. We’re about to celebrate our daughter’s
Amidst the new year and its call for resolutions, it is still midwinter. And you are still enough. The land is still silent. Seeds still sit dormant. Bumblebees still sleep in the earth And all
Nothing completely prepares us for what we feel and experience during birth and beyond. Whatever our experience, one thing is true for us all: we enter the birth space one version of ourselves and emerge
The September new moon passed with the making of our annual autumn polypharmacy oxymel. I love the polypharmacy approach of blending multiple medicines together into one remedy. This jar captures a unique medicinal moment in
Dear mothers, My offering this as an invitation, a wish and a longing that we actively cultivate a fierce connection to our heart and soul throughout our mothering journey. I offer us this ritual as a
I’ve been quiet this last while; doing the bare minimum between surrendering into and emerging steadily from a covid underworld. I’ve been present with the rich, in-between space of illness, recovery and all it brings;
Today and all days may the loving care you bring be seen. Today and all days may you be mothered and supported through your mothering. Today and all days may your mothering flow from a place of
As guardians of children (watching over, protecting and taking responsibility for ~ which, by the way in a functioning society is all of us), we have so much more influence than we think. Stephen Jenkinson’s
Having slow, unstructured, quiet time on the land is one of my favourite ways to spend time with my daughter. In fact I am very purposeful about making space for it in our week. Unstructured
These images give you a sense of the beautiful earthen work of processing root medicine from the herb garden. Dandelion root always reminds me that we all already belong. We belong to this earth ~ our
There are times when wild ones arrive to the herbal apiary garden as if out of nowhere. It moves something in me ~ readjusting my place as a five fingered one amongst the wider web
My favourite photo from my pregnancy. My name comes from the Old English for a clearing in a hay meadow. When I was a child I remember feeling disappointed with that but now as a
Human body ~ soil body ~ Yarrow is calling us back. Everything at the herbal apiary garden is looking lush after the much needed rain. Holly has been helping me harvest Yarrow leaves between the
At menstruation, during, pregnancy, through womb loss, in the birth space and during postpartum, I have found ways to honour and tend to my body and self. I do it because I have to ~
Day 26.Inner autumn.When the season outside marries perfectly with my inner hormonal world, I feel at peace. Nothing to reconcile ~ a permission to simply be.As progesterone takes hormonal dominance in my body, all the
After a decade of reliable full/new moon bleeds, my bleed post-birth has settled its rhythm in between ~ with the waning half moon. This is my 4th cycle as a mother & I’m starting to
Each day a mother-centered matriarchy unfurls from within me. My daughter’s watchful gaze guarantees my commitment to slowness ~ to presence with my body ~ to my wellness as a mother. All day & all night
I move through these days with an awareness that something is making its mark on us. We are called upon to be altered.•Slow daily meanderings with a sleeping babe on my chest find me swaying
I’ve spent these past days gathering in and processing seeds from the herbal apiary. Saving seed has become a vital part of my working year on the land as I expand the garden to meet
This year I’m honoured to be making these smoke sticks* for our local Mankind Project group. It’s a wonderful feeling to know these herbs will go to support the important inner work of such amazing
In you is an infinite web of mythical people and hidden places waiting to be awoken; kingdoms and queendoms, the webbed realms of nature – the wild, the invisible and the small. Waking up will
Each month I bleed with the full moon so right now, I’m patiently awaiting my flow. The days leading up to this monthly release can be intense. Depending how easeful life has been during my
As women living in a patriarchal culture, we’re likely to find ourselves in environments where consistent, linear ways of being are valued most. We may see adverts for menstrual products that show us how easily
