(Opposite Imbolc on the counter quarter Turns of the Wheel…when the first stirrings of the seeds are felt….)
This is a time of Joy and Celebration of the First Harvest and the Height of Summer
The first signs of the fertile partnership of the Sun & the Earth are evident through the corn, fruits and vegetables that abound around us….
We also become aware of the reality of death within life …
As we are reminded that it is also the Time to begin preparing for the Autumn…
The Life of the Corn is cut down, transformed and reborn as the Loaf of Bread…..
Lugh the Corn King dies and releases his seed to be reborn again….
31st-August 2nd is Lammas also known as Lughnasad to the Celtic people. This is the Mid-Summer festival of thanksgiving and celebration for the first grain harvest, celebrated with home-cooked breads and other fresh dishes of summer vegetables from the garden harvest. This time marks the mid-point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. At this time the fertility of the earth and the harvest of the life force is evident all around us, grains and vegetables abound. This is a good time to pray in thanksgiving to the Corn Gods and Goddesses, to create a colorful altar of bright harvest colors, contemplate what you are harvesting in your life, what work is still left before the last harvest time of Fall, what areas of your life you feel abundance, and what you are needing to store away in the form of ideas, abilities, realizations, that you will be needing in preparation for the coming fall months. At the same time this marks another turning point towards descent into greater darkness. In the Demeter/Persephone myth this is the point at which Persephone reaches Hecate at the crossroads and when Demeter realizes her daughter’s absence. In the Innana (Old Sumerian) and Ishtar (Old Babylonian) myths these Goddesses, Queens of Heaven begin the descent into the underworld, putting on all the necessary regalia for the descent. In the Druid/Celtic tradition this is the time when the Corn God Lugh is slain by the Great Mother of both Life and Death, as the first grains are harvested, marking the sacred turn towards greater darkness, and a descent into the feminine/yin time of year.This is a time to connect with Mother Earth as Gaia as she begins to withdraw and descend into the mounds and richness of the earth. Everything that is growing has just peaked and the first signs of death are evident in the golden rather than green colors of nature. This is a good time to contemplate what you are harvesting in your life, what areas you feel abundant in, and what you need to store away in preparation for the coming fall and winter months.
This is a time to especially honor the Corn Mothers including: Demeter/Ceres, Gaia, Changing Woman, Corn Woman, Pachamama to name a few. Gaia is Mother Earth herself as a living entity. She gave purpose, substance and form to the Earth. She is here to teach us about the value of honoring the Earth as a living organism and our own bodies as a sacred vessel and temple of the spirit and soul.
