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VID_20260804_113634269.mp4 
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In Europe, people create beautiful wheat-weavings from the last sheaf of grain harvested, and / or make "corn dollies" to represent the spirit of the corn (grain). These are often portrayed as female. Here in America, we make rather clumsy looking dollies out of sweet corn husks. Both are used as talismans for good luck and abundance.

People also traditionally play harvest games, eat a feast, toast one another with barley ale, and celebrate the bounty of our Earth. ​

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In the Celtic world, Beltane is considered the first day of summer. There were two seasons -- summer and winter -- which began on Oct. 31st. Lammas in English, and Lughnassadh in Irish, was celebrated around August 1st. That was the day for paying rents, making good debts, and kicked off the grain harvest. It was one of the four quarter-days. Therefore, June 20-21, the summer solstice, was considered to be the midpoint between the beginning of summer and the start of the harvest season. In the Norse / Danish areas, it was called MidSommer. Cymric / Welsh people said Gwyl Canol Haf, the start of summer, or Alban Hefyn, the Summer Solstice.

One of the ceremonies is the Gardnerian Wiccan representation of Summer and Winter, the Oak King and the Holly King, duking it out to see who will have dominance. This was likely derived from the many folk-plays, or ritual theater performances, where a villain representing Death / Winter battled a hero representing Life / Summer, such as the Robin Hood plays and other mumming performances.

Note: This Article was first published in BBI Media's Witches and Pagans in 2020.

        A clootie tree is a British Isles folk-magick tradition that has survived into the present day. The trees or bushes are found near sacred wellsprings which are believed to have healing or curative powers. Sometimes, a particular goddess, fairy, saint or nature spirit is associated with the well. Clootie trees are covered by strips of cloth, bits of yarn, pieces of rags, torn clothing, and sometimes coins and trinkets. They are also called “clouty” or “raggy” trees. The name comes from the Scots Gaelic colloquial word “cloughtie”, meaning “cloth.”
            For magickal healing purposes, people use a piece of fabric to dip into the holy well’s water, bathing their afflicted area with the cloth. The material is then hung on a nearby tree branch. This serves not only as a votive offering to the deity or spirit, but also a magickal spell: as the cloth rots away, the illness or injury is believed to dissipate.
            People also hang devotional objects in the clootie trees, as offerings to deities, ancestors, or the spirits of Nature These objects may symbolize a request for healing, or they may simply be a token of affection for a spirit or its divine being. Some items may be used as a personal connection to the energies of the sacred wellspring.
            While the clootie tradition began as a Pagan practice, Christian people also participate. Rosaries, saints’ medals, crucifixes, and other Christian holy objects can be found on or near the clootie tree, right along with Pagan images and the pieces of cloth. Christian folks most often participate on a saint’s sacred day, while Pagan people usually visit the clootie tree on the four “high holidays” of Wicca, or the four Celtic “fire festivals”: Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain.
            Clootie trees are most often sacred rowans, hawthornes, or ash trees, but can also be evergreens or thorn bushes, or any other tree growing near a holy wellspring. Clootie trees can also be trees associated with the Celtic sacred woods, including yew and blackthorn, or trees associated with the Fae, such as hawthorns.
           Clootie trees can be found in Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. One of the most famous is near the St. Brigid’s well in Kildare, Ireland. Some of the votive offerings there are made by Christians, including prayer cards and crucifixes. The overwhelming majority of devotional objects are personal items, asking for healing for a loved one. However, many items left at the clootie tree for Brighid are Pagan, including woven straw equal-armed crosses called “Brigid’s crosses” that are often constructed on Imbolc / Oimelc to honor the Goddess.
          The wellspring of St. Madron in Cornwall was documented as being heavily used in the mid-1800s. Madron is a folk saint, meaning she has no record of being canonized by the Catholic Church. In some Welsh literature, Madron takes on a deific image, including as the mother of the lost infant Mabon, who was the subject of one of King Arthur’s quests. She has also been associated with the Morryghan / Morrighu / Morrigan, or sometimes with Morgan LaFey.
           The clootie custom was discussed in written sources as far back as 1413, yet some of the votive objects in the wells include Roman coins and a form of Cornish tin, used in sewing pins. The practice was outlawed in Scotland during the Protestant Reformation, yet bounced back stronger than ever after the Restoration. In the present day, clooties are advertised on British Isles websites as a tourist attraction.
            Preservationists ask pilgrims to not use fabrics that are made from synthetic materials, as the fibers do not biodegrade, and can actually kill the tree. This is also likely to displease the deity or spirit associated with the sacred wellspring, and defeat the purpose of magickal healing. Seekers are also asked to no longer nail coins or tin cutouts to the trees, as it has a detrimental effect.
            Modern Wiccans and Pagans can participate in this beautiful custom, even if they do not live near a holy well. Make votive offerings beneath a flowering tree or bush in your yard. Decorate it with ribbons, trinkets, and strips of cloth. As you tie the material to the tree branch, make a wish. As the fabric waves in the breeze, your request is carried to the spirits or the Gods. If you live in the British Isles or Ireland, or if you are visiting, you can find clootie trees on local tourist websites. Madron’s Well can even be looked up on Google Earth or similar map programs.

The last few days, I have been made aware that many people are resistant to using the term "Pagan" as well as the word "religion."

Some of the Reasons:  The word Pagan is the Romans' term for "people of the country". It stuffs us all beneath one label. Many people who practice Earth-Based spirituality or magickal traditions have their own terms for themselves, such as Witches, Druids, Heathens, Wiccans, Helenists, or a dozen more words that describe individual paths. Some people associate modern neo-Paganism with the hippie movement, or with an eclectic mixture of traditional praxes. Others want to maintain their own ethnic or cultural identification. Some non-theistic individuals do not want to put themselves in a category with people who worship deities. And some folks just plain crave autonomy.

My wise son Bran pointed out that it lumps everyone under one label -- same as the "Other Religions" now classified by the Pentagon. 

However, Pagan is the easiest, most succinct term to describe the many ways of expressing earth-based or magical traditions. We have a joke that "indigenous British Isles earth-based polytheistic folkloric traditions" does not fit on one's Dog Tags.  Rev. Oberon Zell, (then calling himself Otter) first used the term Pagan to describe himself in the early 1960s. 

Some of the people I've spoken with online have rejected the word "Religion" because it implies a set of beliefs, dogma, and practices that they associate with mainstream Abrahamic religions, with their very set rules, and their limited freedoms. Many folks prefer the words "practice" or "spirituality" or "tradition" or some other term that connotes individual connection to deity, and /or nature, and /or a universal energy.  

However, our US Constitution protects the practice of Religion in a manner not ascribed to spirituality or faith. Congress shall make ... no establishment of Religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof. This is an important concept because it means that other people -- your parents, your boss at work, a congressional representative, a military leader -- cannot force you to practice any faith or spirituality, or take away your right to practice your OWN religion. So if we want these protections, then we need to use the word "Religion", even if our beliefs and praxes do not fall into lockstep with the mainstream concept of religion. 

Religion means a "set of sincerely-held beliefs" which is also important. No other person can determine what mindset you take when it comes to your faith, spirituality, connection to the universe, relationship with the divine, and so forth. 

Some folks are still resisting the labeling, and that is all right. You do you.

My concern is safety in numbers -- as Ben Franklin said, "We must all hang together or we will surely hang separately." There are a lot of people trying to impose their idea of faith, spirituality, deity, and religion on US, and they're not gently suggesting using a term for solidarity with others. Instead they are forcing their religion onto us and forbidding us to practice our sincerely held beliefs. 

So that's why I'm gonna continue using the term Pagan and the word Religion.