Hello, it is so lovely that you have found my blog and I thank you in advance for taking the time to read it, I thought that I would introduce myself, so you can find out a bit more about me. I'm Jooles, married to Ivan and I have 2 beautiful grown up children and 2 cats called Jasmine (Jaz for short) and Ziggy. We live in Mid Wales in our witchy cottage up on a hill next to an ancient Oak tree.
I am originally from Yorkshire, close to the beautiful moors and my childhood was truly immersed in nature. My mum taught me all the wild flowers on walks and we spent a lot of time foraging from the hedgerows and she also taught me so much about the geography of the land, particularly all about rock formations (which when I was younger I didn't find that interesting!). My dad is a Zoologist, so much of our summer holidays were spent on nature reserves learning how to identify dragonflies and other species. It was a magical childhood where I was gifted the time to spend hours quietly observing the ways of nature and the seasons.
It was in my late teens and early twenties that I began to notice that I struggled more in the winter, finding the short days and long nights intolerably long, wishing the winters away as I told everyone I was a 'summer person'. This was a time in my life which I found very difficult however during these years I began to explore my spiritual side finding comfort in reading runes and cards. During this time, many magical books turned up either gifted to me or whispering to me from charity book shelves to choose them, open their pages and explore; books on herbs, homeopathy, aromatherapy, spirituality and celebrating the Celtic festivals and these books formed a part of my healing journey.
When life got particularly hard and I met an all time low, nature held out her hand to me and in time, when I felt able to emerge, I accepted the offer and I rediscovered the magic again, taking myself off to the wilder places, the moors and the mountains, but it wasn't until I lived off grid, with no electricity, that I truly immersed myself in seasonal and lunar living. There was more time to notice the seasons, I naturally worked harder on the long summer days and hibernated in the winter months . The moon became a part of my life as I tracked her across the sky, feeling into each phase. And it was within this time that I began to heal, to embrace the darkness off the winter months, knowing that this is a time where our ancestors also slowed down and there became a beauty in the winter. Slowly I began to notice in awe the sunsets and sunrises, the changing colours of each day, frost glistening on the grass and dew sparkling on spiders webs. The buzzards swirled over head and they called me home.
I no longer live off grid, but I carry this magic in my heart accepting that the low days are a cycle of life, they are what makes us human. But also knowing that during these times that I just need to remember that whatever happens, mother earth is always there for me, waiting, patiently.
And it's this unconditional love that mother earth has for us that I want to share with you, how living with the seasons and following the Celtic Wheel of the Year has helped me navigate my way through life. How the moon has shone a light and also how the moon has equally held me in the darkness holding me. I want to share with you the magic of the trees, the sacred places, the holy wells and the sacred waters. This is my path.
Would you like to find out more?
With love and light,
Jooles x
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