Holly

Acrylic on deep edged box canvas with metal leaf and glitter

Part of a series of paintings on the theme of 'trees of the pagan calendar' The holly moon, said to be the moon of encirclement, polarity and rebalancing, is the eighth moon of the calendar and falls at the beginning of harvest time when the pagan festival of Lammas (also known as Lughnasa or Luna) - a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest/the first picking of corn.  The word Lammas means 'loaf mass'. In European mythology the holly tree is associated with the thunder gods Thor and Tavani's and in British tradition the holly tree is known for its protection against lightning strikes - hence the thunder clouds in the painting.