Damascena is a journal of story, tradition, and the rhythm of the year.
Here you’ll find long-form writing shaped by season and sacred time — reflections on history, faith, myth, and the quiet practices that help meaning endure.
Begin Reading
By Season
Reflections shaped by feast days, festivals, and the turning of the year.
Begin with the season you’re in.
By Story
Fairytales, myths, history, and the lives of saints, queens, and heroines.
Stories that hold meaning across generations.
By Attention
Essays on slowness, craft, beauty, and why not everything should scale.
Notes on how we live, make, and remember.
Recent Writing
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Seeking Saint Margaret: A Pilgrimage by Surprise
In 2018, my husband, our eight-month-old son, and I took a somewhat spur-of-the-moment trip to Scotland. It was my husband’s first time in the UK, and we…
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The Robes of a Pope: Vestments, Vigil, and the Waiting Room of History
Out of reverence, I have chosen not to include any photographs of Pope Francis lying in state. While many images exist and may be readily found elsewhere,…
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Illustrated Children’s Classics: A Journey Through Timeless Tales
My top 10 There’s a kind of magic found in books whose pages have been turned by more than one generation—books that outlast trends and technology because…
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The Language of Roses: Symbolism, Storytelling, and the Spirit of Damascena
There’s something eternal about the rose. Velvet-petalled and thorned with care, it blooms not just in gardens, but in memory, in myth, in liturgy and legend. For…
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Review – Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England
I’m incredibly lucky to have received a copy of Annie Whitehead’s new book Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England. The Anglo-Saxon period is not unfamiliar to me,…
