Natalie Ross shares about Celtic folklore and traditions around the winter seasons, solstice, and Christmas holidays. You’ll also hear about: Folklore of the ancient goddess, the Cailleach Saining, the Celtic practice of cleansing with smoke and herbs On the seasonal traditions and rituals of the Celtic people, co-opted by the church  ♥♥♥ Join The Earth Speak Collective Membership! Join like-hearted folks in a sacred container and community where you'll: Connect deeply to yourself, others, nature & spirit Learn to trust your intuition Activate your Earth magic Expand your healing & divination skills Put your intuition into practice in everyday life Stop feeling lonely on your spiritual path Embody & express your creative power & truths Experience safe space without agenda or judgment When you join the Collective, you get access to all of our past workshops, any live workshops happening while you're a member, live weekly energetic reset calls, monthly community rituals, all the secret episodes, member-run meetups to explore magical topics, and a lively members-only forum (that's not on FB!). ▶▶▶ Learn more and sign up for the Collective membership here: https://www.earthspeak.love/collective ***** This episode is pulled from our Magical Wreath Making workshop, which was held within the Collective in December 2020. In this workshop, we made wreaths infused with our heart’s intentions. Whilst Collective members were putting together their wreaths, Natalie took us back about 9000 years for a quick history of the people who were Indigenous to the land, up until the Celtic people were living.    In this episode, we talk about: The Romans as pagans On the rabbit hole that is Celtic research Celtic folklore and traditions around the winter solstice, and the Christmas holiday Natalie shares some of her favorite books on learning about the Celtic people and their traditions On re-connecting with Celtic roots and ancestry On the movement of Celtic people and their relationship to the Indigenous people of the lands of Britain, Ireland, and Scotland The fire feast festivals The story of Newgrange - an ancient and sacred burial mound and its relation to the winter solstice Natalie shares some tips on how to start doing research on the Celtic people  Whats is yule, and what is a yule log Why and how evergreens play a part in Celtic rituals and traditions How ancient pagan sacred sites are connected to the church How the church painted the old gods as malevolent and satanic Celebrating time as circular Samhain as the Celtic new year The necessary and destructive forces of winter  On why the church now celebrates the birth of Jesus on December 25th The folklore of the ancient goddess, the Cailleach The 12-day pagan holiday  Saining, the Celtic practice of cleansing with smoke and herbs  Traditions for disposing of seasonal garlands and wreaths  How the tradition of the Christmas tree evolved  And more! Secret Episodes! Get access to past secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret. Links: Sign up for our newsletter, get the Village app, or join the Collective membership at www.earthspeak.love Follow us on Instagram @earthspeak // http://www.instagram.com/earthspeak Follow Natalie on Instagram @natalie.alexandra.ross // http://www.instagram.com/natalie.alexandra.ross Become an Earth Speak Sponsor and reach more of the people you're meant to serve www.earthspeak.love/sponsor Support us and purchase our T-shirt || https://www.earthspeak.love/shop?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=organic&utm_term=shirt Support Earth Speak and make a donation https://www.earthspeak.love/checkout/donate?donatePageId=61a04698829f5f05eaac54e5&utm_[…]notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=organic&utm_term=donate   References: Native Land https://native-land.ca/ Kat Lee || Episode 67 https://www.earthspeak.love/shows-1/kat-lee-67 Celtic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic   Celtic Chris