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Elemental Insights : Samhain (All Hallows Eve)

Samhain 2024

Back in Blighty 

It’s been pretty manic since I returned to the UK from my time in Zambia. So crazy in fact that I missed sending out the last newsletter at the Autumn Equinox… oops – apologies. There has been a lot to catch up on and much rest was needed. That said, I came back earlier than usual this year and so have had a slice of British autumn which has been beautiful (if a little soggy).
As we enter silly season for crafters like me and my weekends are filled with fayres across the country, I have to remind myself to take time out and reconnect with Rais wood. Where it has been a fungi feast this last few weeks with some impressive displays of fruiting bodies – very shortlived though as they are either demolished by wildlife, or battered by more wind and rain.
The weather has also taken down a few trees. One of which was in a dangerous position in the wayleave – on the bright side, it removes the need for us to work out how we were going to safely bring it down!


Samhain (All Hallows Eve)

Today marks the start of Samhain. A pagan festival that marks the end of summer and the harvest season, and considered the origin of Halloween. Traditionally celebrated from sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st.

The name Samhain is Gaelic and means “summer’s end”. It was a time when the Celts celebrated the return of their cattle from higher pastures, and culled their livestock to ensure the strongest survived winter.
I use this time to “cull” my wardrobe and send to charity shops anything that I haven’t worn in a year.
I remember as a kid in rural England it was typical for everyone to take part in apple bobbing at Samhain: Apples were placed in a bucket of water, and anyone who could grab one with their teeth and pull it out were said to have good fortune in the coming year.
Another ancient tradition which I’d not heard of before is Hazel nut divination: Groups of hazel nuts were placed in the hearth fire, one group marked with the names of eligible maidens and the other with the names of eligible bachelors. As the nuts popped, the names of the pairs were romantically linked.


What has our jewellery brand Harmonite been up to?
So many people asking for forget-me-not pendants that this has become my fastest seller at recent fayres. People sharing stories of late relatives who loved this tiny delicate flower and wanted a pendant as a symbol to remember them by.
Not quite as fiddly to make as the acorns, but definitely going to make some more when the flower blooms again next spring. 
I am busy preparing for another large craft fayre this Saturday – nothing particularly witchy in my collection, but I have made some “wych elm” pendants from a packet of seeds a fellow stallholder gave me when we last met up.  Will see how the witchy community likes them! 
Harmonite Store on Amazon UK
What have I been writing?
Revive & Thrive
Not so much writing as redesigning. Despite getting lots of good reviews and having some really positive feedback from my advanced readers, my book about regenerative gardening is not getting much traction on the Amazon platform. So after some careful reviewing of the data from my Amazon ads, I have decided to have a new book cover designed to see if that makes any difference. What do you think? better or worse than the original?
Buy Now on Amazon USA
Buy Now on Amazon UK
Social Media Posting
Writing books is one aspect of my business that I really enjoy, yet when I analyse what I spend my time on, actual manuscript writing takes up a very small percentage. Marketing takes up a staggeringly large proportion of my time and more recently social media planning and posting.
Writing content to engage, to compete, to stop people scrolling, words to educate, and yet more words to try to introduce myself in an authentic and inspiring way. It’s tough and time-consuming, and I feel for all the small business owners out there who manage this on a daily basis. There’s no doubt that AI makes these things easier and can generate ideas and concepts to help get started – but there is no fast track to writing engaging content that actually works. So I thank each and every one of you who subscribes to this newsletter and I thank all those who also follow me on Instagram or Facebook, and engage with my posts every now and then. It really is appreciated. 
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What have I been influenced by lately?
Battle of Hastings Re-enactment 
I’ve wanted to go since I was a youngster but just never managed it until this year.
Held annually on the anniversary of the historic event from October 1066, the people of English Heritage do an incredible job of putting on a weekend long memorial event.
As well as the battle re-enactment itself, there is an entire village set up with weavers, cooks, monks and nuns, axe-makers and mead brewers. There are craft stalls and have-a-go archery as well as an incredible falconry display with hawks passing just inches above the heads of the crowd.
But the most memorable for me was the “tale of the tapestry” a hilarious dramatization of the story of the Bayeaux tapestry. Not the story depicted on it of course, but the story of the cloth itself. Who commissioned it, where it travelled and the owners it passed through since it was made almost a thousand years ago.
Sitting on the grass on what was the actual battlefield where my ancestors fought and lost to Duke William of Normandy “the Conqueror” I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness for the simplicity of life that was lived back then.
It was brutal sure, and many did not survive the battles, the illness, cold winters and poor harvests, but I think if I had a time machine I would set it for the early 11th century and see how true the re-enactment really is.
History is, after all, always written by the winners.
One small business helping out another …
Campwell Woods
I spent a glorious weekend at this place for a yoga retreat last month, and I simply cannot wait for an opportunity to go back. Every guest had a log cabin with wood burner, there is a woodland sauna and outdoor ice plunge bath, loo’s with views, hell… hot showers with views, and the most incredible pair of wilderness chefs who cooked up all kinds of delights in the outdoor woodland kitchen – cooking over fire and clay.A short walk through woods and fields and there is a secret lake – perfect for wild swimming or a bit of paddleboarding between yoga sessions in the green-roofed roundhouse.
A final word from the woodland…
It’s been so good to be back at the wood and spend time watching the birds flitting about, the buzzards circling overhead and the voles scurrying around the banks again. However our shelter’s roof has become so successful as a green roof that the deer have thought it solid enough to jump onto and sadly discovered that it is not in fact sturdy at all. So we now have some major repairs to do next spring. A temporary fix is now in place to stop the rain pouring in through deer hoof holes and the mind is racing with ideas for how we can rebuilt the shelter stronger and safer second time around.
The list of other jobs to get done this autumn include removing the cages from the sapling trees we planted a few years ago, cutting back the Rhododendron again along the main path into the wood and harvesting moss for the next batch of pendants.

Until next time…
Blessings from our resident fox!
Joanne
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If you are reading this and thinking who the hell is Joanne Hedger, then I sincerely apologize; your email address has reached my Google contacts list somewhere along the line and I have embarrassingly failed to keep in touch. For this I am very sorry and wish you all the best in life. (There is an unsubscribe link below).If, however, you wish to continue receiving Elemental newsletters, (I send a maximum of 8 per year), be sure to whitelist my email address or mark me as an approved sender in your email inbox. This is to ensure that you will receive all updates and announcements and not have me sent to your spam box.   My email address is: joanne@elementalretail.com

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