These disorders affect the physical and mental health of millions of people, negatively affecting their quality of life and general well-being.

We live in an age where hectic lifestyles, daily pressures and constant challenges can lead to high levels of anxiety, stress and insomnia. 

This creates a vicious circle that damages our physical and mental well-being. 

Therefore, it is crucial to address them because of their ability to undermine health, interfere in relationships, affect professional and academic performance and ultimately worsen life satisfaction.

But what are the real implications for the body and how can we counteract these disorders? Read on to find out.

Anxiety stress and insomnia:

effects on physical and mental fatigue

Experiencing constant episodes of anxiety and stress can have profound effects on our well-being.

The continuous activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the release of cortisol and the fight-or-flight response, results in increased energy expenditure that inevitably affects overall health.

A continuous state of alertness leads to physical and mental fatigue. Muscles stiffen, the heart beats faster and the brain floods with stress hormones such as cortisol.

This complete stress on the body can lead to a depletion of energy resources, which in turn leads to fatigue and a decrease in cognitive ability and concentration. 

Knowing more about the causes of physical fatigue is important: these have many facets and can be closely related to anxiety, stress and insomnia. Chronic fatigue in particular can be a common symptom of these disorders, as the exhausted body and mind struggle to function at their optimal capacity.

Taking care of your mental health is indispensable for enjoying a good quality of life. Seek help if you need it.

Anxiety and stress are our body’s natural responses to situations perceived as threatening or difficult.  However, when these conditions become chronic, they can interfere with our vital functions, alter our internal balance and affect healthy sleep.

When we do not get enough sleep (at least eight hours a day), cells do not regenerate properly, the immune system weakens and cognitive abilities, such as memory and attention, decline. 

On the other hand, according to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences have created a threat to many people’s physical and mental health. 

Economic crises, unemployment and fear of losing loved ones can increase symptoms of daily fatigue, depression, stress, anxiety and insomnia.

Anxiety, stress and insomnia : strategies

When suffering from these disorders, it is important to recognise the warning signs and adopt appropriate strategies with the aim of alleviating their effects and promoting lasting physical and mental well-being. Fortunately, there are many recommendations for dealing with these problems and restoring balance in our bodies and minds.

1. Practice relaxation techniques

Take a couple of minutes a day to focus on breathing and get rid of intrusive thoughts.

Research in the Complementary Therapies in Medicine and Journal of Psychosomatic Research

has suggested that meditation, deep breathing and sound healing , can help calm the mind and reduce levels of anxiety, stress and insomnia. 

This improves people’s general well-being if they conduct individual reiki or sound healing sessions in a consistent and disciplined manner.

2. Try to have a regular routine

Keeping a daily rhythm can do wonders. For example, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends, can help regularise your rhythm and improve the quality of your sleep.  

3. Exercise

Exercise is a powerful ally in the fight against anxiety and stress. It not only clears the mind, but also releases endorphins, natural brain chemicals that act as natural analgesics, improving mood and promoting relaxation.

4. Seek help 

On some occasions, the source of the anxiety, stress and insomnia episodes may be deeper and in need of therapeutic intervention. A holistic therapy can offer support and resources to help you cope and overcome these problems.

 5. Avoid stimulants

Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol can interfere with sleep. It is advisable to limit consumption of these substances, especially at night. If you suffer from insomnia, opt for mild herbal teas with relaxing properties, such as chamomile and valerian.

6. Create a suitable sleeping environment

A cool, dark and quiet bedroom can make all the difference and is the basis for good sleep hygiene. Investing in comfortable mattresses and pillows and using accessories such as eye masks or earplugs can help create a friendly environment for a deep night’s rest.

These disorders that affect millions of people worldwide should not be underestimated.

Their impact on quality of life, physical and mental health, and daily functioning is significant.

Thank you

Sound Is Shaped Into a Dazzling Tool With Many Uses

By Malcolm W. Browne

Feb. 9, 1988

Sound Therapy : scientific research since 1988

Credit…

The New York Times Archives

See the article in its original context from 

February 9, 1988, Section C, Page 1

USING beams of intense sound pitched above the limit of human hearing, scientists are learning to create novel substances that are expected to spawn remarkable technologies in the next century.

Physicists and chemists report that the development of powerful sound generators has prompted new research in the applications of ultrasound, sound emitted at frequencies of 20,000 cycles per second or more. These generators are capable of producing narrow beams of sound which, although inaudible to humans, are far more intense than the roar of a jet engine. (Normal hearing extends only to frequencies up to about 16,000 cycles per second.) Ultrasonic beams, directed into ordinary liquids, can create microscopic hot spots that glow with a heat nearly as intense as that of the surface of the sun. The beams can make, break or rearrange molecules, control the crystalline structure of matter and even levitate objects or blobs of liquid. Ultrasonic irradiation, some experts believe, will underlie much of the technology of the 21st century.

Among the products that may result from ultrasonic processes are high-temperature superconducting ceramics, which, unlike ordinary superconductors, can conduct electricity without resistance even at temperatures far above absolute zero.

Ultrasound also permits the melting and processing of materials suspended in midair, free of contact with any contaminating container. Such techniques are expected to yield mineral and metallic glasses with remarkable electronic and optical qualities. New types of lenses, electronic components, structural materials and fuel pellets for nuclear fusion reactors are all possibilities.

High-frequency sound beams have found many applications in the last 60 years. They are used by hospitals to obtain images of internal organs, by manufacturers to weld plastics and by engineers to test airplane parts and other machinery for hidden flaws.

Low-power ultrasound generators have even found their way into homes in jewelry-cleaning baths and humidifiers. But scientists say that the recent development of improved equipment has brought a surge of research in ultrasonics.

Most of the powerful new generators are based on a ceramic called lead zirconate titanate, a ”piezoelectric” material, meaning that it vibrates when alternating current is passed through it. (Piezoelectric materials also produce electric current when vibrated by sound waves, and can therefore be used as microphones.) When a high-frequency alternating electric current is applied to lead zirconate titanate, it vibrates at the same frequency as the current, thereby producing a high-pitched beam of sound.

In an ultrasound generator, the ceramic is bonded to one end of a tapered bar of the metal titanium, called a ”horn,” which channels and directs the sound wave to its target.

Among the scientific mysteries that appear to have been solved by recent research in ultrasonics is the phenomenon of sonoluminescence, the peculiar glow that water and other liquids emit when irradiated by powerful ultrasonic beams. Dr. Kenneth S. Suslick, a chemist at the University of Illinois, has concluded that the glow is caused by intense heat generated in the collapse of microscopic bubbles created by sound waves.

In an interview, Dr. Suslick noted that although scientists have experimented with ultrasound for many years, only lately have observations begun to shed light on how sound initiates and influences chemical reactions.

In a recent paper in the journal Nature, Dr. Suslick and his colleague, Dr. Edward B. Flint, reported that they had induced sonoluminescence, a ”cold, blue flame,” in a hydrocarbon liquid called dodecane. The achievement marked the first time sonoluminescence had been triggered by ultrasound in a liquid other than water, and Dr. Suslick believes the discovery has settled a longstanding debate over the cause of the phenomenon.

Previously, many scientists had believed that sonoluminescence was an electrical effect or was caused by the recombination of split water molecules.

But Dr. Suslick believes he has proved that sonoluminescence is really the result of heat produced by the sudden collapse of microscopic bubbles.

He explains that high-intensity ultrasound has sufficient power to overcome the attractive force between molecules of a liquid thus ripping them away from each other. The sound wave opens a tiny cavity in the liquid, he says, and the cavity begins oscillating in resonance with the sound. Sudden Collapse of a Bubble

Liquid surrounding the cavity vaporizes into gas, and as gas enters, the cavity expands into a small bubble. But at a certain point the bubble becomes too large for the resonating wave of ultrasound to sustain, and the cavity collapses. The sudden collapse of the microscopic bubble compresses and heats the gas inside it to an enormously high temperature, high enough to emit blue light and cause unusual chemical reactions.

Dr. Suslick discovered that the blue light given off by dodecane when irradiated by an ultrasound beam has spectral features identical to those of the flame produced by burning this hydrocarbon in air.

”We knew that the speed at which a chemical reaction proceeds is a function of its temperature,” Dr. Suslick said. ”By measuring the yields of two reactions taking place in the irradiated dodecane during a given period of time, we were able to deduce the temperature of the hot spots driving the reactions. We found it to be around 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly the temperature of the surface of the sun.”

Each microscopic hot spot persists for only one millionth of a second or so, he said, and its heat is so quickly dispersed that the overall temperature of the liquid scarcely rises. But the transient burst of energy released by a hot spot is often enough to trigger or accelerate chemical reactions, Dr. Suslick said. In some cases, ultrasonic irradiation has speeded up reactions by 100,000 times.

Products of such reactions include new molecules containing both metal and carbon, and ”intercalated” substances, in which sheets of molecules are stacked like pancakes to produce materials with unusual qualities. Scientists believe many new technologies may emerge in coming decades from these materials, including high-temperature superconductors. Making Glass in Midair

Meanwhile, scientists are learning to make things without touching or contaminating them, by suspending them in midair on intersecting beams of ultrasound.

Most mineral objects, from rocks to frying pans, are made of crystals, clusters of atoms arranged in orderly, repeating arrays. But there is another class of solids, the glasses, that scientists regard as vital to the development of many new technologies. In the glasses, which include special forms of metal and other minerals as well as common window glass, atoms and molecules are haphazardly arranged. Some glasses have electrical and physical properties unequaled by their crystalline counterparts, and scientists are seeking better ways to make such glasses.

Under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, an Illinois laboratory, Intersonics Inc., is developing ultrasound levitation as a technique for making new glasses. The company’s president, Dr. Charles A. Rey, a physicist, said in an interview that containers of any kind can spoil glass.

”Some things, like the silicon dioxide in ordinary window glass, love to solidify in non-crystalline form from their melts,” Dr. Rey said. ”But with many other materials, the least little thing will make them crystallize instead of solidifying into glass. Even the microscopic irregularities on the mirror-smooth surface of a container are enough to initiate crystallization in many melted materials, including some of the oxides we hope to develop as optical switches in a new generation of computers.

”But we’re learning to prevent crystallization by melting and solidifying these new glasses in midair, holding the stuff in place with ultrasound beams.”

Dr. Rey’s organization built ultrasonic levitation furnaces that were sent into the weightless environment of space aboard the space shuttle in 1983 and again in 1985. His company is developing the technique for future experiments on the ground and in space. The Force of Sound

He said that a beam of intense sound exerts a force known as radiative pressure against any object it strikes. If two or more sound waves pass through each other, the crest of one wave may coincide with the trough of another, and when this happens, their combined energies cancel each other, creating an ”energy well.” A solid object positioned in such a well feels no acoustic force, but if it wanders, the surrounding forces reassert themselves and force it back. The object is thus fixed in place and can even be suspended in midair.

A mixture of minerals suspended in an acoustic energy well can be melted by laser, microwave beam or other means and then cooled into solid glass, with much less chance of crystallizing the material than by using a conventional container. ”Moreover,” Dr. Rey said, ”there are no container materials with which the melted glass can react.”

In one technique, Intersonics uses a single sound generator to produce the two intersecting beams that trap an object. The generator directs a beam that pushes and flows past the object, striking a concave reflector on the other side. The curved wave produced by the reflector bounces back, meeting the oncoming beam from generator. Interference between the two beams results in a string of lens-shaped energy wells, the largest of which is used to hold the levitated object.

In other schemes the company is developing, several sound generators are used to produce intersecting beams. Easier in Space

”It’s much easier to do this in the microgravity of space than on earth,” Dr. Rey said, ”but by increasing the power of the beams, we make it work on earth as well. We have levitated objects weighing up to an ounce, using beams with up to 160 decibels of power.” (Someone standing next to a jack hammer is exposed to about 100 decibels; a person 300 feet from a jet aircraft taking off is exposed to about 120 decibels. Each increase of 10 decibels represents a tenfold increase in the power of a sound.) Among high-priority objectives of ultrasonic processing are tiny glass capsules to be used as fuel cells for future nuclear fusion reactors. Hollow glass spheres would be filled with hydrogen fuel and simultaneously blasted from all directions by powerful lasers. The lasers would vaporize the glass causing an implosion violent enough to heat the hydrogen to fusion temperature.

A major problem is the need to make the spheres perfectly uniform, both inside and outside; the slightest irregularity would prevent the uniform implosion needed to trigger fusion. Experts believe that manufacture of the spheres in an ultrasonic levitator aboard a space station may be the best approach.

”In any case, ultrasound is going to be one of the keys to our future,” Dr. Rey said.

Let’s begin our discussion with some very simple and basic concepts about sound.

First, it’s currently understood as being a wave. Usually, this wave manifests as moving air, which takes the vibrations of an object and causes them to travel.

This wave of sound strikes our eardrums and goes through the most extraordinary bio-acoustic process in which it’s first transformed into chemical form and then into electrical impulses as it travels through our brain.

Sound waves are measured in cycles per second. Scientifically, these cyclical wave measurements are called hertz and are abbreviated as Hz.

The measurement of a sound is called its frequency. One cycle per second is written as 1 Hz. Extremely slow waves create very deep, bass sounds; extremely fast ones create very high, treble sounds. The lowest note on a piano is around 24 waves per second (24 Hz), and the highest is just over 4,000 (4,186 Hz, to be exact).

We have the ability to hear from around 16 Hz to around 16,000 Hz. These numbers, of course, aren’t constant, particularly the upper measurements of our ability to hear.

Young children are said to be able to hear upward of 20,000 Hz, but as we grow older and our exposure to loud sounds increases, our range decreases.

Sounds below our threshold of hearing are often called infra-sound, while those above our audible range are referred to as ultrasound.

An interesting experiment involves a frequency generator (a scientific device that creates specific sounds), which is used to demonstrate our range of hearing.

In the Multi sensory Sound Lab saying, “Now, this is a frequency of 12,000 Hz.

How many of you can hear it?” And everybody in the room, both children and parents, raised their hands.

The instructor continued: “13,000 H2?” All of us kept our hands up.

“14,000 Hz?” A few of the more elderly in the room dropped their hands.

“15,000 Hz?” More adult hands were lowered.

“16,000 H2?” Still more hands dropped. 

“17,000 Hz?” the instructor asked.

And just kids were able to hear that. They were nodded his head and smiled.

From then on, until the instructor stopped demonstrating at 20,000 Hz, all the younger children continued with their hands up in the air. Nobody anyone else in the room who had reached beyond their teenage years was able to hear. 

Just because we can’t hear something doesn’t mean that there isn’t a sound. 

It’s that simple! 

Our cetacean friends in the ocean, the dolphins, can receive and project frequencies upward of 180,000 Hz. That’s nearly ten times our highest level of hearing. When these sea creatures communicate, they exchange many levels of information at extraordinarily high rates of speed.

To us, there’s nothing happening, but to these dolphins, they may be sharing tuna haute cuisine with each other- or perhaps the best route through the Gibilterra Strait!

To repeat: Just because we can’t hear something doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there.

There were people who claimed all sorts of sensitivity to sound , those who could hear the sound of an electric current running through a house or that of a seemingly silent lamp as it burned bright. 

Some other could hear different frequencies coming from various quartz crystals, while another could pick up on actual tones emitted by the body. T heard nothing, but that doesn’t mean that these sounds weren’t there.

As the ancient mystics declared, “Everything is sound!”

From the electrons moving around the nucleus of an atom to the planets in distant galaxies revolving around stars, everything is in state of vibration–and therefore, conceptually at least, everything is creating a sound. Whether or not we can hear these sounds is another story.

Archetypical meanings between tradition & myth

Connecting to the energies of the moment.

 Each natural cycle represents a flow of energies, being aware of what is happening makes us feel and be in tune with nature and our essence.

At this time of year, the energy of the earth is at its peak: 

leaves, flowers and fruit emerge with speed .

It is the season of love, passion is celebrated, people are called out of their homes, animals leave their dens.

It is an important moment of passage where the winter darkness finally gives way to light, to action, to transformation.

It is time to blossom, to flower, to emerge.

In May and mainly on the day of 1 May, dedicated to Beltane, it is customary to dance around a tall pole, preferably made of wood, which represents the universe and male energy, and each dancer will be holding a coloured ribbon that originates from the top of the pole. It is called the maypole. The dancing ribbons are twisted along the pole and thus symbolise the feminine force uniting with the masculine force to create life.

The teachings of the Beltane festival

The element that most characterises this festival is fire. 

That everything purifies, heats and dissolves, to bring new life. In these hours steeped in antiquity, in peasant traditions, in the energies of the awakening earth, it is important to awaken our inner fire as well. 

Nourish it so that it does not slumber, so that it is not extinguished, so that it is not rejected. When we perceive a spark within us, we try to bring it to life without fear of burning ourselves. We will then realise that what really feeds us cannot hurt us.

It is time to let go of control, to dance, to feel the warmth of the fire. 

It is the only way to bring out our inner flowers.

But let’s go more in deep meaning 

WHAT DOES FIRE REPRESENT?

About a million and a half years ago, in Africa, the first humans of our era learned to control fire. It was a fundamental achievement. With fire, man learned to control intuition, to use it as a tool. With fire he could lengthen the hours of light, defend himself, cook food, warm himself (and therefore survive even in cold climates), build tools (cooking earth or metals) and transform substances through heat.

It was such an important discovery that one never wanted to lose it again. It was recognised as a sacred gift and in ancestral rituals it was linked to the Goddess in her Bird form. In many ancient traditions there was an altar on which a fire considered sacred burned perennially, with priestesses exclusively dedicated to keeping it always lit.

This was the case even more recently, in ancient Greece and Rome, where Hestia/Vesta was honoured as the goddess of the hearth and the vestals, from childhood, appeared chosen and consecrated to the goddess, like her forever virgins.

It was so in Celtic Ireland, where the fire of the goddess Birgit, in Kildare, was never allowed to go out. Birgit represented the luminous aspect of the Triple Goddess, the Maiden Goddess of Light and Rebirth, also represented as a white swan, linked to the winter solstice and hope. In the Catholic era it was replaced by Santa Brigitta, and her priestesses with nuns.

ESTIA: silent but central.

Hestia is a forgotten goddess, almost never represented, often unknown today.

 In patriarchal societies her figure becomes discreet and enjoys little appeal, identified with the figure of the “maiden aunt”, the archetype of the wise and discreet old woman who takes care of others without asking for anything.

Hestia’s symbol is the circle, because it is complete in itself but also because it is the empty shape ready to welcome.

In India, the circle and the column which the Greeks kept separate are represented together: the column (the lingam, or phallus of the divine Shiva) is at the center of a circle which represents the sacred Yoni. The masculine and feminine principle are thus reunited and merged into a single altar.

Hestia is the guardian of fire, the complete woman who perceives her body as a temple and for this very reason she is ready to dare. His is a sacred, ritual giving.

She is the initiated woman, who knows the mystery of fire. She is the protector from darkness, the hearth, the altar, the sacred space.

It is the static aspect of the Goddess, quiet, where Aphrodite represents the alchemical goddess of transformation. Hestia rules fire, Aphrodite lets herself be set on fire. They are two complementary aspects of the Goddess, two phases (of many).

If the Hestia that lives as an archetype within each of us is nurtured, this will result in a deep inner balance. Hestia is the goddess of silence and light. His voice can be heard in the crackling of the fire and if you enter his magic circle time ceases to exist.

We will be women who do not act out of need but out of choice.

If a woman knows how to be alone and protect her inner temple, her love will always be a gift and at the same time no love can ever extinguish it.

Hestia is the goddess who is not afraid of winter and who, if she gets lost, can find her way home simply by drawing a circle around her. Estia knows that, invisible in the middle of the ice, burns an ancient flame that never goes out.

It is the mystical fire from which all stories are born. Indeed, this mysterious goddess is also the goddess of tales around the hearth. The goddess of secret traditions, initiatory tales and ancient wisdom. The incandescent core that feeds the engine of Life.

She seems distant and forgotten but in reality her silent voice is always there for us, like the gaze of a grandmother, of a wise ancestor who fears nothing and who knows pain, loneliness, the art of loving.

Dedicate time to our inner fire. Let us not let our temple become a frozen cave. Let’s melt the trapped emotions with our flame and let them flow like water, even if they were tears. They are our direct line to the Sea, our mother.

If you want be more connect with the energies in this moment check the Events of this Month.

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An interesting article on some rituals related to the Mother Earth.

There are places around the world where cults linked to Mother Earth are still remembered.
In Sardinia, Italy, they celebrated that particular moment of passage between the end of February and the beginning of March.

1 March in the ancient world

A quick search in the Roman world allows us to confirm the suspicion.

On 1 March in the Roman world at least two significant things happened: the fire guarded by the vestals was extinguished and rekindled as a new fire. In this sense, the 1st of March was understood as the second beginning of the year. A true new New Year. This meant that it was a truly significant date. A day of power.

The Matronalia were celebrated. On the occasion of the Matronalia, the goddess celebrated was the powerful, feminine, generative Juno, invoked by women in childbirth as Iuno Lucina.

Among the various epithets by which Juno was known was ‘Moneta’ traced back to an Indo-European root whose meaning would be Moon, lunation. 1 March was the feast of Juno, and therefore of the Moon. And since Juno/Moon was in connection with childbirth, conception, and the menstrual cycle, it is not surprising that dew, its expression, was understood to be useful for generating health, abundance, and above all fertility, all of which lead to much sought-after good fortune. The same moon is still invoked in Sardinia today for strength, agility and above all money.

1 March is also celebrated in other places around the world, linked by this and other customs to Sardinia. I refer to Romania, Moldavia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece.

On the occasion of Mărțișor (Little March), small amulets are given to men and women.

The amulet consists of a rope made of intertwined red and white threads. The Mărțișor is considered a protective talisman that balances good and evil.

In Bulgaria, the amulet is called marteniza and can consist of simple red and white threads, bracelets or dolls made of cloth, wool and cotton.

When in thread form and/or the amulet bracelet or necklace is worn on 1 March. It is then hung on a tree or placed under a stone (making a wish) at the first sign of spring. Signs of spring are the flight of a stork, a swallow or a flowering tree. Martenizas can never be worn after 1 April.

In these localities, 1 March is considered a public holiday: traditionally, it was believed that Baba Dochia, the Great Mother Earth, often associated with the Roman Juno, should not be disturbed on that day: it is on that day that she decides whether to awaken spring or keep winter alive.

Dew, moon and health

The recurring elements in this cultural corpus are diverse, but the real protagonist is the dew, bearer of health, healing, and fertility.

When in Sardinia you say dew you mean moon.
Dew: healing and abundance
Dew, in the above-mentioned localities is called s’arrosu ‘e mrartsu (dew / condensation / dew of March) and was collected the night before the first of March.

There were at least two reasons for this:

1. Dew and cosmetics

The dew was used for washing the face, arms and legs. In this way, chapped skin, sunstroke, and spots on the skin due to tanning would be prevented during the following year. The efficacy of the dew was closely linked to when, where and how it was collected.

In some cases it could be collected in any cultivated field, in others only in barley and/or fodder fields. In still other cases, the dew had to be collected only from the leaves of the woolly thistle (kanna de morai) or in the datura stramonium (in Sardinia erba de dente, ischizza babbau, nughe agreste, stramòniu) (in Italy erba del diavolo, erba maga, noce spinosa, stramonio).

An ever-recurring constraint is the time of harvesting: the dew had to be collected under the influence of the moon, before sunrise.

Beauty in this case means health. The use of dew therefore had a preventive and/or protective purpose.

The connections with the rituals associated with the cycle of St John are obvious. In St John, dew is rarely mentioned, but the use of flower water has almost the same protective function.

2. Dew and abundance

The value of the element is made clear by the fact that there are various ways in which dew is stolen. Whatever is stolen is to be considered precious. Dew is more than precious: dew is sacred because it brings fertility to fields and abundance to homes.

The materials: a sheet (in some cases warm from the thief’s sleep) and/or a tablecloth is required to carry out the theft. Crucially, the cloth had to be linen and woven in the home.

Iter: the magical theft had to take place this way. Before sunrise, the thief alone or in the company of a partner had to go to someone else’s field. The field could belong to a particularly hated person.

With the ritual, one could steal another’s fortune. The theft of the dew would have meant the failure of the crops in that particular field to ripen. The dew absorbed in the sheet, once squeezed into the thief’s wheat field, would in contrast guarantee him an exceptional year.

The connection between dew, abundance and good fortune does not escape us here. Dew, especially if collected at that particular time, is a guarantee of life, prosperity and happiness.

Dew: insights

The connection we need to make here is that between dew and the moon.

It was a shared certainty that dew was a direct product of the moon that brought health (mothers would roll their children among the dew-laden herbs of 1 March to protect them from any illness during the following year. Among the most popular herbs was periwinkle), beauty (see above), fertility (of fields, animals and women. Women who were unsuccessful in conceiving a child on St John’s Night were advised to rub their genitals on the dew-rich grass), abundance and good fortune (dew was stolen mainly to steal abundance from the fields and good fortune from the owners of the fields).

The fact that dew is the protagonist of the festivities in question, must make us think that 1 March was once an important date on which lunar or moon-related deities were celebrated, and perhaps the moon itself

I conclude this article with the hope that the festivities in honour of 1 March – lunar, animistic, naturalistic – once rediscovered will allow for a stronger connection and perhaps a more sustainable stay in our habitat.

Sources

The first of March in some localities of southern Sardinia by Pinuccia Piscedda, Brads, 1976

Le piante nella tradizione popolare della Sardegna, Aldo Domenico Atzei, Carlo Delfino editore

The doors of the year: seasonal ceremonies and animal masquerades, Enrico Comba, Margherita Amateis, OpenEditionBook

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