This year's Lughnasadh gathering marked something significant: our eighth Seasonal Gathering and the completion of our first full turn of the Wheel of the Year together.

A year ago, these gatherings were little more than an idea and a hope that there were others longing for slower, more intentional ways of marking the passing of the seasons. Sitting together on the sand dunes at Sand Bay, warmed by the sun and surrounded by familiar faces alongside newcomers, it felt like that hope has taken root.

Image credit: Esther Hall

Most of us live by a calendar that has very little to do with how life actually moves.

We mark time by deadlines, school terms, tax years, and diary appointments. The months pass, the seasons change, and often we barely notice. We feel out of sync, tired in winter when we think we “should” be productive, restless in summer without knowing why, and slightly unmoored from any real sense of natural rhythm. The Wheel of the Year offers a different way to mark time. One that is rooted in the earth, the seasons, and the steady, reliable turning of nature.

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