Embrace the Cycles of Nature and Spirit
Do you rest your hands on ancient bark, do you notice the moon's cycle, do you speak softly to animals, collect feathers and shells like treasure? If your soul feels at home in nature or you find magic in the quiet corners of everyday, then you were meant to find your way here ..
Tide and Thorn invites you on a reflective journey through the pagan wheel of the year, sharing recipes, rituals, and stories that celebrate seasonal living and emotional truth.
Tarot
I offer reflective tarot readings using Major Arcana, full tarot spreads, and oracle guidance - each reading created to bring clarity, insight, and gentle connection.
I offer a free pendulum clarification question and an oracle card message for every Tarot reading.
Each reading will be delivered as a private recorded video message. Your reading is recorded in one continuous take with no edits, cuts, or tricks. Everything you see and hear is exactly as the reading unfolded. Afterwards, you'll also receive a beautifully presented PDF summary of your reading, so you can return to the guidance and reflect on it whenever you need.
Sometimes life calls us to look beyond the day-to-day and explore the deeper lessons shaping our path. A Major Arcana Reading is designed to help you connect with the bigger picture, revealing the themes, life lessons, and transformative energies at work in your journey.
Using the Major Arcana cards, this reading offers insight into where you are now, the spiritual lessons you may be experiencing, the opportunities for growth before you, and the guidance available to help you move forward with greater confidence and clarity.
During checkout, you'll be able to select the focus of your reading (for example, personal growth, life purpose, relationships, career, or general guidance), allowing me to tailor the reading to your intentions.
Your personalised reading will be delivered as a private video, giving you the opportunity to fully absorb the messages as they unfold. Afterwards, you'll also receive a beautifully presented PDF summary of your reading, so you can return to the guidance and reflect on it whenever you need.
Each reading is created with care, compassion, and respect for your unique journey, offering a calm and supportive space to explore the wisdom and transformation that the Major Arcana invites.
When you're looking for deeper insight, an 8-card Tarot Reading offers the space to explore your current situation with greater clarity, guidance, and understanding.
Using the full tarot deck, this in-depth reading explores your current circumstances, the energies surrounding you, any challenges or opportunities that may be present, and the possible pathways unfolding ahead. Whether you're seeking guidance around love, career, family, personal growth, or another area of your life, each reading is intuitively tailored to your chosen focus.
During checkout, you'll be able to select the type of reading you'd like (for example, love, career, general guidance, or another area that's calling to you), allowing me to create a reading that is centred on your intentions and your journey.
Your personalised reading will be delivered as a private video, giving you the opportunity to fully connect with the messages as they unfold. Afterwards, you'll also receive a beautifully presented PDF summary of your reading, so you can revisit the guidance whenever you need to.
Each reading is created with care, compassion, and respect, offering a supportive space for reflection, clarity, and empowerment.
Sometimes we don't need all the answers—we simply need a little clarity, reassurance, or a gentle nudge from the Universe.
This Oracle Card Reading offers intuitive guidance and heartfelt messages to support you wherever you are on your journey. Whether you're seeking comfort, encouragement, or a fresh perspective, each reading is approached with care, compassion, and intention, creating a quiet space for reflection and connection.
Your personalised reading will be delivered as a private video, allowing you to experience the messages as they unfold. Afterwards, you'll also receive a beautifully presented PDF summary of your reading, so you can return to the guidance and reflect on it whenever you need.
Three Card Written Tarot Reading - £5
Sometimes the messages we need are found in quiet reflection.
This Three Card Written Tarot Reading offers clear, intuitive guidance delivered in a beautifully written PDF that you can revisit whenever you need it. Rather than receiving a video, you'll receive a personalised written interpretation of your cards, allowing you to absorb the guidance at your own pace.
Your reading will explore:
- Past – Influences, lessons or energies that have shaped your current situation.
- Present – What is unfolding now and what your cards invite you to understand.
- Future – The energy ahead if you continue on your current path, along with guidance to help you move forward.
Your personalised PDF includes:
✨ A detailed interpretation of each card
✨ Reflection prompts for deeper self-discovery
✨ Gentle journal prompts
✨ An affirmation inspired by your reading
✨ A simple action or intention to help you integrate the guidance
✨ The current moon phase and seasonal energy (where relevant) to add further insight
Become a member of the Tide & Thorn Circle
The world moves fast. Tide & Thorn doesn't.
Join a quiet corner of the internet where each week we pause, reflect and reconnect with ourselves through tarot, seasonal wisdom and ancient rhythms.
No fear. No doom. No endless predictions.
Just gentle guidance, honest reflection and a little magic.
🌿 The Tide & Thorn Circle (£4.99/month)
Members receive:
- 🌙 One exclusive collective tarot reading each week (video)
- 🍂 A monthly tarot spread that isn't shared anywhere else
- ✨ A printable journal page each month with prompts and reflections
- 🔮 One members-only oracle card pull each month
- 📖 Early access to new decks, guides and products
- 💚 10% discount on personal readings
Seasonal Wisdom - This month's energy
Litha - Summer Solstice
June arrives at the threshold of summer, carrying with it a sense of fullness and light. The days stretch long into the evening, and nature seems to reach its peak abundance. Fields shimmer with wildflowers, trees stand heavy with green leaves, and the air hums with life and possibility.
The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, marks a moment of celebration and reflection. It is a pause at the height of the sun's journey, a reminder to appreciate growth, warmth, and the fruits of what has been nurtured through the seasons. Across cultures, the solstice has long been honoured as a time of joy, community, and connection to the natural world.
The mood of June is both vibrant and gentle. There is an optimism in the bright mornings and golden evenings, a feeling that life is unfolding exactly as it should. Yet beneath the celebration lies a quiet awareness that this peak of light is fleeting. The solstice invites us to be present, to savour the beauty of the moment, and to carry its warmth with us as the year slowly turns toward autumn.
June teaches us to embrace abundance, gratitude, and the simple wonder of standing beneath a sky that seems almost endless with light.
Moon Cycle Magic
Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice
Watch the sunrise or sunset
- Rise early to greet the sun or gather in the evening to watch it set.
- Take a moment to reflect on what has grown in your life since the beginning of the year.
Spend time in nature
- Go for a woodland walk, picnic, or visit a garden.
- Observe the plants, flowers, insects, and wildlife that are thriving at this time of year.
Create a seasonal altar or display
- Decorate with summer flowers, greenery, herbs, candles, or symbols of the sun.
- Include items that represent things you are grateful for.
Light a bonfire or candles
- Fire has long been associated with solstice celebrations.
- As you light a flame, think about what brings light, joy, and energy into your life.
Share a meal
- Gather with family or friends and enjoy seasonal foods such as strawberries, cherries, salads, fresh bread, and honey.
- Celebrate the abundance of the season.
Practice gratitude
- Write down the achievements, lessons, and blessings you have experienced so far this year.
- Acknowledge the growth you've made, however small.
Set intentions
- Although the solstice marks a peak, it also signals the gradual return of shorter days.
- Consider what you wish to nurture and carry forward during the coming months.
Get creative
- Make flower crowns, press flowers, paint, write poetry, or keep a nature journal inspired by the season.
A Simple Solstice Reflection
On this longest day, I honour the light within and around me. I celebrate growth, abundance, and the beauty of the present moment. May I carry the warmth of the sun in my heart and continue to grow with wisdom, gratitude, and joy.
The mood of the Summer Solstice is often one of celebration, gratitude, vitality, connection, and wonder—a chance to pause and appreciate the fullness of life before the wheel of the year turns once more.
Folklore & Landscape
The Summer Solstice and Midsummer
The most important folkloric event in June is the Summer Solstice, usually around 20–21 June. In ancient Britain, it marked the height of the sun's power and the peak of the growing season.
- Bonfires were lit on hilltops to honour the sun and bring protection and good fortune.
- People believed that herbs gathered on Midsummer Eve held special healing and magical properties.
- Dew collected on Midsummer morning was thought to promote beauty, health, and fertility.
- It was considered a liminal time when the veil between the human world and the spirit world was thinner.
Many people still gather at Stonehenge to watch the solstice sunrise, echoing ancient connections between the monument and the movement of the sun.
Elderflower Magic
June is the season of elderflower blossom. In folklore, the elder tree was considered sacred and inhabited by the Elder Mother, a protective spirit.
Traditional beliefs included:
- Never cutting down an elder tree without asking permission.
- Hanging elder branches near the home for protection.
- Using elderflowers in remedies and celebrations connected with midsummer.
Love and Marriage
June has long been associated with weddings. One explanation traces this to the Roman goddess Juno, for whom the month is named. Folklore held that marrying in June brought happiness and prosperity.
Young women also practised midsummer love divinations:
- Gathering flowers and herbs on Midsummer Eve.
- Sleeping with them beneath their pillow to dream of a future spouse.
- Weaving flower garlands as symbols of love and fertility.
Fern Seed and Fairy Lore
A widespread British belief claimed that fern seed, supposedly gathered at midnight on Midsummer Eve, granted unusual powers such as invisibility, luck, or the ability to see fairies. Since ferns do not produce visible seeds, the plant became associated with mystery and magic.
St John's Eve
The night before St John's Day (24 June) absorbed many older midsummer customs:
- Bonfires were jumped for luck and protection.
- Livestock were driven near fires to keep them healthy.
- People danced, sang, and celebrated through the shortest night of darkness.
Weather Lore
Country folk paid close attention to June weather:
"A calm June puts the farmer in tune."
And:
"If June is sunny, the harvest will be merry."
While not always accurate, such sayings reflected hopes for a successful harvest later in the year.
The Mood of June in Folklore
In British folklore, June is often seen as a time when:
- Nature is at its most abundant.
- Magic is close to the surface.
- Love and friendship flourish.
- The sun reaches its greatest strength.
- People celebrate gratitude for the gifts of the land.
There is a bittersweet note, too. The Summer Solstice is the year's brightest point, but it also marks the moment when the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to shorten. Folk traditions often reflect this awareness that every peak contains the beginning of a turning—a reminder to savour the light while it lasts.
Seasonal recipes
June Elderflower Fritters
These delicate fritters are a traditional early-summer treat, capturing the scent of June hedgerows.
Foraged Ingredients
- 4–6 fresh elderflower heads (fully open, picked away from roads)
Other Ingredients
- 100g plain flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 150ml sparkling water or milk
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Icing sugar or a little honey to serve
Method
- Gently shake the elderflower heads to remove any insects. Avoid washing them if possible, as this can remove some of the pollen and fragrance.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, egg, and sparkling water until you have a smooth batter.
- Heat about 2cm of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Holding each elderflower by the stem, dip the flower head into the batter so the blossoms are coated.
- Carefully place in the hot oil and fry for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden.
- Drain on kitchen paper.
- Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with honey and serve warm.
Why It's Perfect for June
Elderflowers bloom around the Summer Solstice and have long been associated with abundance, celebration, and the arrival of summer. Their sweet floral aroma captures the mood of the season beautifully
A living connection to nature ... how we can help
For me, this path is simply not about aesthetics, beautiful alter spaces, or curated moments online. It is about remembering that we are part of the natural world - not seperate from it.
To walk a spiritual path rooted in nature means learning to become caretakers of the earth, protectors of wildlife, and respectful gaurdians of the places we love. The sea, the forests, the rivers, the hedgerows, the birds overhead and the creatures beneath our feet are not decorations to admire from afar. They are living beings we share with this world.
Spirtuality should deepen our relationship with nature, not distance us from it. Even small acts of care matter:
Planting flowers for pollinaters
Supporting wildlife rescues and conservation
Leaving places cleaner than when we found them
Feeding birds during harsh winters
Buying less and wasting less
Protecting ancient woodland, coastlines, and wild places
Learning the folklore, plants, and traditions connected to the land beneath our feet
To honour nature is to protect her. To walk this path is become a warden of the wild in whatever small way we can.
Get in touch
E-mail: elowynthornetarot@hotmail.com