We no longer sacrifice goats and dogs or strike people with bloodied strips of goat hide to induce fertility. Making truffles mixed with herbs is more civilized and more likely to result in a sensual response. Here’s to a more pleasing interpretation of a pagan ritual.

Thanks to our ancestors, we’re alive. We’re all works in progress, a never-ending journey of change. Our beloveds who have Transitioned to the other side continue to support and care for us. They surround us at this time and ask to be remembered and to offer support and advice.

COVID-19 became a game changing reality in March of this year. It was, and is, frightening in its symptoms and lack of response to our known arsenal of pharmaceuticals and other treatment modalities. This is also true regarding common herbal remedies.

A major Celtic holiday Lughnasadh (Lúnasa in modern Irish) is being celebrated on August 1. Mistakenly called a harvest festival, it’s actually an anticipation of the harvests beginning in five to six weeks and was named for the Celtic god Lugh. Celtic gods

It’s so good to see everyone in the store again! With the new ritual of wearing masks and hand washing upon entry, having folks in the retail area makes us happy. I’ve relearned how important kindness is and how you, our customers, demonstrate this in your visits to our store. Small actions like holding the door for someone or letting an elder checkout first – it may appear as politeness but I think it’s a reflection of a deeper caring and awareness of our own humanity.

These past three months have felt like living in a Vitamix blender. First a global pandemic, then the explosive unveiling of marked racial inequality following the death of George Floyd at the hands of white police in Minneapolis. It wasn’t just this one man but ALL the other POC (People of Color) who have recently been murdered in the name of maintaining order and law.

Hello My Elderberries!

These past three months have seen a lot of changes in how we live and do business. If I was telling a story, I’d begin with “Overnight, reality changed. They awoke and realized the old order had shifted . Everyone was freed to create a new one. For some, it was seen as a challenge. To others, it represented a burden and a loss.” How will the story be written?

Lately it seems our community focus is on the sacrificial part. What if we questioned and reframed this narrative: take stock of our gifts and use them to navigate the current situation? We all want some assurance of our efforts resulting in some benefit in the end, whether it be personal or communal. Joy Harjo, 23rd poet Laureate of the United States and the first Native American to hold that post, was recently interviewed and addressed this issue:

Quarantining. Social distancing. Zoom. Facemasks. Sheltering in place. Daily mortality and morbidity reports. If you’d told me in January that these words would become our common language, I would’ve thought I had stepped into an alternate universe.