What can red berries, the Robin's song and bare winter branches teach us about wintering?
To celebrate the Winter Solstice I’m doing something a bit different for the month of December on this new podcast.
Inspired by the German Adventkranz I’m going to be sharing a Winter Solstice Advent episode in the three Sundays leading up to the solstice with a final, gift of an episode released on the 21 December.
Each episode will share moments of wonder from the four alchemical elements:
- Earth - 1 December
- Water - 8 December
- Air/Sky - 15 December
- Fire - 21 December
Today’s first Solstice Advent episode is all about the Earth and the wisdom we can learn from other earthly beings during winter, including red berries, the Robin and bare winter branches.
You’ll journey with me into my local garden and park in voicenotes filled with science and folklore stories on:
- The miraculous gift of red berries from the wild rose, Hawthorn, Rowan and Holly
- Becoming the Robin’s song and how it changes our brain and body
- The clever chemical boundaries bare winter branches put in place to preserve energy during the winter months
Each one is a reminder that the small roles we are given in our western society are made up and that there are a million different ways to exist and be on this Earth. In that sense these moments of wonder are a gentle act of resistance.
Mentioned in the podcast:
- Tales of Winter Enchantment podcast (2023)
- Earth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred
- How to identify a Rowan, Hawthorn and Holly from The Woodland Trust
