New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
| Color of the day: Black
Incense of the day: Honeysuckle In Ireland, morning dew was collected during the month of May for health and beauty. It was considered especially potent if gathered on a May morning, but it was also collected throughout the month and into June. The dew was either brushed off the grass into a dish, or it was collected with a clean linen cloth that was then wrung into a vessel. Sometimes it was placed in a glass bottle and set out in the sunshine for an entire day. Daring young women rolled naked in the dew for beauty. Dew was not to be wiped off but let dry in the air. Here is a traditional charm for collecting May dew, which alludes to its mysterious and otherworldly qualities: I wash my face in water That has neither rained nor run, And I dry it on a towel That was never woven or spun. |
