(Nimue)
Climate chaos means we're seeing more flowers blooming at unexpected times. Even so, many summer flowers in the UK have always lingered into the autumn. On my local commons, a few of the scabious flowers are still around into the autumn, and that's not a new thing. There's always been the odd daisy or dandelion persisting late into the year.
There are two plants that flower around now that I am especially conscious of – ivy and cyclamen. Ivy flowers are a great source for bees and other insects, and the plants around me are humming with them. The flowers have an odd and distinctive smell – very much part of the odour of autumn for me.
While cyclamen may be best known as large pot plants, they also grow wild in the UK. The wild ones are much smaller, and tend to show up in sheltered spots under trees and hedges. They bring dashes of colour, and finding them always feels to me like discovering a little cache of treasure.
Our standard Pagan wheel of the year narrative has autumn down as harvest time. It's all supposedly dying back out there, and falling away towards winter. Nature is complex, multifaceted and full of stories that do not match the 'wheel of the year' story.
If your inner life isn't attuned to the standard take on the turning of the year, then look around you. You aren't alone, and there will be other natural things that will seem resonant. This autumn I would like to be like an ivy plant, late blooming, nourishing others.
No comments:
Post a Comment