Through fiction, essays, and speaking, Druscilla French explores how ancient myth, seasonal cycles, and depth psychology illuminate the patterns of modern life.
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals marking the year’s chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. Modern pagan observances of the cycle adapt a range of folk traditions to varying degrees. British neopagans popularized the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, combining the four solar events (“quarter days”) marked by many European peoples, with the four midpoint festivals (“cross-quarter days”) celebrated by Insular Celtic peoples.
What does a does an over-educated middle-aged English major do when she reaches a crossroads in life? Wife? Check. Mom? Check. Housewife? Check. Not nearly enough for a bookworm/brainiac with “miles to go before she sleeps.” She consults Hecate, the Goddess of crossroads, a prescient sorceress with magical powers, the wisest of female entities. The Goddess Hecate told me to go back to school, of course. I could collect two more college degrees in the lucrative fields of Jungian psychology and Cultural Mythology. Hecate is not a pragmatist, but she was right. I started down a road and totally changed my life, for the better. That’s how I became Dr. French, happily wandering the labyrinth of depth psychology. It is a journey without a destination and endless fascination.
What to do with an such an eclectic assortment contained in a non-STEM education? I have wanted to write novels since the sixth grade. Given my odd sense of humor, I enjoy including literary references and inside jokes. I could plum the depths of the human psyche and use it to spin tales. Four years of studying Archetypal Depth Psychology did not go to waste. My characters are taken from the Greek pantheon, with liberal twists as I see fit. They reside on mountains, just as the Olympians did. Hecate, in the twenty-first century is a magical matriarch, creator of a family not based on patrilineal kinship. The masculine powers in Cate’s psyche come from her inner anima, rather than any sexual partner or father figure. The story begins when a young Cate, pregnant and broke, flees an unwanted engagement and heads for the Rocky Mountains. She uses her Ph.D. in English to write practical craft booklets with funny titles based on literary classics. Clouds of Glory: Fabulous Gifts for Cherished Babies (Thank you, Wordsworth). A Loom with a View: Tapestry Weaving (Forster) and As I Lay Dye-ing: The Art of Coloring Fabric (apologies to Styron). For decades, the little books provided a steady stream of income to support her eclectic family, including dogs, Belle and Booker.
I set each novel at one of the segments of the Wheel of the Year. Each season has a practical aspect and a sacred/psychological assignment. Each year my characters grow and learn something new, moving forward in what Jung would call individuation. Cate and her family are all Wiccans, attuned to the natural cycles of the planet we live on, connected to all living things, all that has come before, and all that is yet to manifest. They strive to attain harmony with these natural cycles and to live mindfully, causing harm to none. It is more challenging than it would seem.
Medusa (Maddie): She is Cate’s first and only natural born child who grew up to be a successful Denver lawyer. She represents women who have been victimized by patriarchy. Should Perseus ever show up, this Medusa would find a way to remove his head, metaphorically. (I have not written this story yet, but it offers possibilities.) Why does Maddie drive a Jaguar? It has been pointed out that it is unsuitable for Colorado mountain driving. Nevertheless, I can’t resist. Maddie is a witch. She owns a black cat. Somehow a Mercury Cougar just didn’t fit the elegant Medusa Catesdater. She is an effortlessly chic, workaholic avenger who is devoted to her clients, but a careless mother. She takes her oath seriously, “Harm to None,” but finds it increasingly challenging as she matures. Actions have far-flung, unforseen consequences. Maddie has fraternal twins, fathered by Sperm Donor Guy, as they all refer to him.
Artemis and Atticus: Dropped off by Cate’s hippie/wild child sister Leigh, who did not want to keep her newborns. Cate agrees on the condition that Leigh relinquishe all claims. Cate becomes the mother of three.
Artemis, Goddess of the Moon: Cerebral, self-sufficient, extremely introverted, she lives with her rescued greyhounds, Moon Doggie, Silver Streak and Gris Lightning. Artemis writes books about the cultural mythology of American business and the global economy. She is considered remarkably insightful regarding future predictions, which makes her a respected author and sought-after consultant. She prefers solitude, doesn’t care for children, and takes long walks with “the nymphs” (the greyhounds). She drives her silver Audi sedan, frequently over the speed limit but never apprehended.
Atticus, her Apollonian twin brother is a techie, recently employed by Sun Systems. A takeover made him a very wealthy guy, so he cashed in his stock to join his sisters in the purchase of Whitewater Ranch, now renamed The Silver Bow. He is currently the CEO of PNK, Inc. which he has relocated to The Silver Bow. Of course, he drives a golden Porsche convertible and buys fine wines. His expensive suits hang unworn in the closet while he masquerades as a rancher in jeans, plaid shirts, and boots. His sisters tease him about this persona. He is fooling no one. He is a tech wizard, but not much of a ranch hand.
Artemis and Atticus (Twins I) have an incomprehensible connection. They can hear each other think, often speaking in tandem. They have learned how to turn this power on and off to suit their desires but occasionally invade each other’s psyche. When sun and the moon clash, fireworks erupt.
The three recently formed a partnership, Silver Bow, Inc. and live on the newly acquired ranch with Maddie’s Twins II, Pegasus and Chrysaor.
Pegasus Madison (PZ): PZ is a galloping pre-adolescent, filled with energy and imagination. He dresses like a flying horse on Samhain (Halloween) and plays endless games of imaginary basketball, all concluding with a mid-court final basket to win the game just as the buzzer sounds. He steals his sister’s homework, dodges responsibility and chores, dresses in costumes, loves his dog, Candle. He teases his sister mercilessly, is infinitely kind, and very funny. He is what the Jungians would refer to as puer aeternus. The archetypalists would call him a trickster. The literati would say he is in the tradition of the picaresque. PZ is fun to write.
Chrysaor Madisdater (Chrys): With Chrys, I took a lot of liberties with the mythology. Chrysaor is the brother of Pegasus, offspring of Poseidon and Medusa (beheaded by that asshat Perseus). In my imaginary world Chrysaor is Maddie’s daughter and the sister/twin of PZ. She is not at all like the wild boar that is the image given to the Greek entity. Chrys is conscientious, responsible, and quite mature for an eleven-year-old girl. Apart from Cate, she is probably the most mature of the lot. She is a precocious, creative, loving young lady who longs for connections and girlish adventures, but is generally quite lonely. She has a lot in common with Hermione Granger, without the wand. She has intuitive dreams, can sometimes hear voices, is courageous, brave, persistent, brilliant. And largely neglected. She gives so much and gets so little in return. Writing Chrys can bring tears to my eyes.
Seasonal festival activities of pagan peoples differed across ancient Europe. Among the British Isles, Anglo-Saxons primarily marked the solar stations (solstices and equinoxes), while Insular Celtic peoples marked the four midpoints between them.[5] The four Celtic festivals were known to the Gaels as Beltane (1 May), Lughnasadh (1 August), Samhain (1 November), and Imbolc (1 February).
The eight-armed sun cross is often used to represent the modern pagan Wheel of the Year. The annual cycle of insolation for the northern hemisphere (Sun energy, shown in blue) with key points for seasons (middle), quarter days (top) and cross-quarter days (bottom) along with months (lower) and Zodiac houses (upper). The cycle of temperature (shown in pink) is delayed by seasonal lag.
In many traditions of modern pagan cosmology, all things are considered to be cyclical, with time as a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat tied to the Sun’s annual death and rebirth. This cycle is also viewed as a micro- and macrocosm of other life cycles in an immeasurable series of cycles composing the Universe. The days that fall on the landmarks of the yearly cycle traditionally mark the beginnings and middles of the four seasons. They are regarded with significance and host to major communal festivals. These eight festivals are the most common times for community celebrations.
Conclusion of a cycle, beginning of the new, gratitude and celebration of a job well done, survival. From this sabbat came Halloween, All Saints and All Souls, Thanksgiving. From my perspective, it is a time for recognition of the timeline, the interconnectivity of all living things, the contributions of all that have gone before to create the current moment. Gratitude for the divine energy that manifests in the plants and animals and recognition that in our lives, it is our responsibility to live mindfully. What we do in our time on the earth is only possible by reason of those who came before. Similarly, everything we do and don’t do affects all who come after us. Completion, gratitude, grace. A divine web connecting all sentient beings, past, present, future. We owe our lives to those who came before, to those who sacrifice for our survival (plants and animals). To live on purpose is to carry out the tasks of the wheel of the year such that those who come after us are sustained by the same grace. To whom much is given, much is expected.
Lughnasadh / Lammas (Aug 1–2): The first harvest festival. Celebrates the first fruits of autumn. Psychologically, this is breathing room. The summer’s hard labor is over. Plants have abundantly borne fruit and grain. Soon we will be harvesting and storing with the hope that there is enough to get us through to the next spring. Come fall, there will be butchering and storing and preparations to be made for the coming winter. For the time being, however, there is plenty to eat and the weather is not life threatening. A time for dancing, relaxing, and enjoying the company of those we love. Make wine. Prepare jams. Dry grains. Bring in what is needed to sustain life, not only for humans but for all domesticated animals. Celebrate abundance and love for one another. A gentle time with space for socializing and generosity.
The Wheel of the Year is a four-part mystery series, with three books currently available.
In the late afternoon of All Hallows Eve, the pregnant widow of a heroic firefighter is viciously assaulted. The attack is attributed to white supremacists, and attorney Mattie Catesdater is hired to seek restitution. Mattie manages to extract sizable damages, including the century-old homestead of the group’s leader…
In the predawn hours of a long winter night, Cate is awakened by an ominous precognition. Alone in the big, dark house, surrounded by forest and mountains, a chilly sense of isolation and vulnerability saturates her soul, compelling her to leave her bed and head for the kitchen in search of a hot drink and the comfort of fire…
In the third novel of the Wheel of the Year series, three exceptional women—grandmother, mother, and daughter—find themselves at a crossroads where they must adapt to uncomfortable inevitabilities and reimagine who they are becoming. The seeds of transformation and change are gathering and beginning to stir.
Druscilla French, Ph.D. is an author, educator, and depth psychologist who blends her deep expertise in cultural mythology with rich, evocative storytelling. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her doctorate from the Pacifica Graduate Institute. Druscilla is the creator of the Wheel of the Year novel series—including Shadows on Samhain, Solstice on Ice, and Divining Women—a 3-part series that explores the profound rhythms of nature, myth, and human connection. Whether hosting experiential workshops or crafting her next manuscript, Druscilla invites readers to return to center, explore the labyrinth of life, and reignite their personal purpose through the timeless power of both fiction and non-fiction..
Druscilla French, Ph.D. is available for interviews, podcast conversations, literary events, and speaking engagements on mythology, depth psychology, seasonal symbolism, women’s stories, and the creative life.
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