Folklore Friday: Holly
Trading places
Hello, friends! This is the final poisonous plant poem for 2024’s Folklore Fridays. Eventually I’ll organize my Substack so that my posts will be easy to find by subject (fingers crossed), should you want to look back over this year’s Folklore Fridays. But for now here is one I wrote about contrary little sunshine death flowers.
I started writing Folklore Friday posts in February of this year, so I’m thinking I need to write one for January to finish a complete year’s worth of plant folklore poems. What do you think?
I haven’t decided what I’ll do for 2025 Folklore Fridays yet, but I’m excited to explore my options. If there’s anything you want to read about in The Purple Vale, feel free to leave me a comment or hit reply to this email. I’m always up for a chat.
Most people aren’t in danger of accidentally ingesting holly, but it is super poisonous all the same. The leaves and berries can cause severe nausea, vomiting, and even drowsiness, among other things. The bright red berries are so pretty, yet I can’t imagine anyone being tempted to eat the glossy, sharply-pointed leaves!
In Celtic traditions, the Holly King rules the half of the year beginning at the Summer Solstice. At the Winter Solstice, he engages in battle with the Oak King, who then takes over for the next six months.
It’s interesting reading about how the folklore of these two figures intersects with the Celtic cross-quarter days (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh) and the Anglo-Saxon Solstice celebrations. In some cases these forest beings are fearsome and terrible; in others, they adopt a more playful aspect. Here are two sources I especially enjoyed:
Who are the Holly King & the Oak King?/Arcane Alchemy
Holly tree mythology and folklore/Trees for life
Holly King
You greet the Oak King
In cheerful, frightful battle
As the seasons change
Solstice or fire fest?
No one really knows for sure
Maybe you were both.
Celts knew you as one,
Anglo Saxons, another.
Maybe you were both.
Benevolent grace
Of the woods, fierce violence–
Maybe you were both.
Winter brings darkness,
small treasures found in secret.
May we have both.
©Stephanie Ascough 2024.
Book sales
First–I don’t post sales here very often, so this is the last time in 2024 I will share these! But I wanted you to know that I joined Smashwords’ End of Year Sale to discount all my ebooks. Some are free!
Below is the link to Flower and Cloak. Perfect for fans of fairy tale retellings and reimaginings, it contains three familiar and two original fairy tales by yours truly. Featuring found family, a bit of romance, and one of my favorite takes on Beauty and the Beast, it’s only 99¢.
If you scroll down, you’ll see all my other books. Don’t forget to check out the other deals on Smashwords, too. You can easily gift any book.
Also, I’ve partnered with other fantasy authors to bring you a group sale featuring low or no romance, low violence books. The Secret Heart of Maeve MacGowan is on sale for $2.99 for this month. Click the image below to learn more.
Thanks for reading, friends.
Meet you over the orchard wall.*
*One of my wonderful early readers for my book started signing her emails like this. I like it.
