Before heading off to the lake for a weekend of camping and celebrating, I was cleaning outmy inbox and I had my Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter which I enjoy reading. I opened it and found a nice little article about Lammas, so I am sharing it.
Lammas Day—August 1
Lammas Day marks the beginning of the harvest. In old England, loaves of bread were baked from the first-ripened grain, consecrated in churches, and eaten.
From the Old English hlaf, “loaf,” and maesse, “mass” or “feast,” Lammas is very old indeed.
It derives from the ancient English festival called the Gule of August, which marked the beginning of the harvest, traditionally August 1. The early English church kept this pagan dedication of the first fruit but converted it to Christian usage.
After Lammas Day, corn ripens as much by night as by day. –proverb
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{hhhhmmm yet another holiday the Christians took from the Pagans...Easter and Christmas are 2 others btw}
Oh well, wheather you are Pagan or Christian or of any other path, I hope you all enjoy this weekend and even tho it's hot as can be now, know that the cooler days of Autumn are just around the corner :)
Blessed Be!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
LAMMAS celebrating the first harvest
Sunday is August 1st and for Pagans, it is the holiday of Lammas, or first harvest.
We have personally, finished out first harvest and have just now planted the second crop, so it's time to celebrate, and that we will be doing. We are taking off tomorrow to go camping with some of our Pagan friends. So I won't be around on Sunday to post about Lammas and it's meanings so I am going to go ahead and put it out there for all who are interrested to read about.
The following is stuff I have gotten from other sites (links included) because they explain it much better than I can.
Blessed Be!
Lammas is a Neo-Pagan holiday, often called Lughnasadh, celebrating the first harvest and the reaping of grain. It is a cross-quarter holiday halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon). In the northern hemisphere, Lammas takes place around August 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Leo in the tropical zodiac, while in the southern hemisphere Lammas is celebrated around February 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Aquarius. On the Wheel of the Year, it is opposite Imbolc, which is celebrated on February 2nd in the northern hemisphere, and late July / early August in the southern hemisphere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammas
If anything, the days are hotter now than they were in early Summer. These are the best days for trips to the beach and back yard barbecues. Meat prices are lower now, especially beef. This is the time to enjoy a thick steak. The really good sweet corn, the kind that melts in your mouth, has just begun to arrive in the supermarket. Since the seasonal changes at this time are more subtle, it is even more important that we celebrate the festival. We need to bring the cycles of the Universe into manifestation within our own minds, by demonstrating what we may not see.
The mental/emotional indications of the changing seasons are more obvious now than the physical ones. The air is filled with anticipation of the coming fall, of the approaching return to school and of the cooler weather to come. It is also a time of sadness, as the knowledge sets in that the good times of Summer will soon be over. There is a bit of "haste to have fun" before it comes to an end.
http://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Temple/lammas.htm
We will return on Sunday, tired, and probably sun burned, but we will have had fun in the sun and we will know that the wheel of the year is about to turn again and before we know it, we will be celebrating Autumn!
We have personally, finished out first harvest and have just now planted the second crop, so it's time to celebrate, and that we will be doing. We are taking off tomorrow to go camping with some of our Pagan friends. So I won't be around on Sunday to post about Lammas and it's meanings so I am going to go ahead and put it out there for all who are interrested to read about.
The following is stuff I have gotten from other sites (links included) because they explain it much better than I can.
Blessed Be!
Lammas is a Neo-Pagan holiday, often called Lughnasadh, celebrating the first harvest and the reaping of grain. It is a cross-quarter holiday halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon). In the northern hemisphere, Lammas takes place around August 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Leo in the tropical zodiac, while in the southern hemisphere Lammas is celebrated around February 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Aquarius. On the Wheel of the Year, it is opposite Imbolc, which is celebrated on February 2nd in the northern hemisphere, and late July / early August in the southern hemisphere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammas
If anything, the days are hotter now than they were in early Summer. These are the best days for trips to the beach and back yard barbecues. Meat prices are lower now, especially beef. This is the time to enjoy a thick steak. The really good sweet corn, the kind that melts in your mouth, has just begun to arrive in the supermarket. Since the seasonal changes at this time are more subtle, it is even more important that we celebrate the festival. We need to bring the cycles of the Universe into manifestation within our own minds, by demonstrating what we may not see.
The mental/emotional indications of the changing seasons are more obvious now than the physical ones. The air is filled with anticipation of the coming fall, of the approaching return to school and of the cooler weather to come. It is also a time of sadness, as the knowledge sets in that the good times of Summer will soon be over. There is a bit of "haste to have fun" before it comes to an end.
http://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Temple/lammas.htm
We will return on Sunday, tired, and probably sun burned, but we will have had fun in the sun and we will know that the wheel of the year is about to turn again and before we know it, we will be celebrating Autumn!
Monday, July 26, 2010
I've been MIA yet again
I know I haven't posted anything for a long time. No excuses really, except that it's summer and I'm lazy.
It has been so hot here lately that the heat has got me drained of energy. Tonight was the full moon and I had meant to do a ritual with the family and the kids were looking foward to a ritual, but it is too hot to breathe outside. Seriously at midnight it was still 80 degrees outside. Maybe tomorrow night???
Dewayne and David and Daniel went down to the river a week or so ago and got a bunch of new rocks to redo the family fire pit. The old was was over 2 years old and in bad need of replacing. It was hard for me to replace it tho because my sister Concetta helped to build it for our midsummer ritual 2 years ago. I miss having her here and hearing her drum and sing around our fire.
We let the boys build the pit and this one is much larger than the last one. I told them we would need trees not logs to fill it lol. Of course it has been so hot we haven't even dedicated it yet *sigh*
I am looking foward to the new school year. Since we homeschool, I am always preparing for new learning adventures. I found a GREAT bargin at a yard sale. For $3 I got a big boxful of teacher's books that came from a public school. It has something for all grades as well as both special needs kids (Allison) and gifted kids (David and Daniel)
I also lucked into some encyclopedias and science encyclpedias for free at a library. The first set in on Daniel and Hunter's level and the Science books will be for David.
Also at this library, I got as many National Geographic magazines as I wanted for free, the ones I got date back to the 70's. I even found the one for the month and year I was born!!! And these things are in excellent shape!! (ok I know I'm a geek for getting all excited over old magazines but I don't care)
Oh on a Magickal note, Dewayne and I did a money spell about a week ago. Since the ex isn't paying child support, money is very tight. Two days later he got a call from his lawyer and a lawsuit he got a judgement for is about to pay up and the other day a check came in the mail that was owed to him for an insurance premium he overpaid. Much thanks to the Lord and Lady for blessing us.
In the upcoming weeks, we have a camping trip planned with some Pagan friends. It is always fun to get together with like minded people. Also our Pagan study group will be holding Lammas Ritual (albeit a week late) in a couple of weeks. After ritual we always have a potluck and socialize. I am greatly looking foward to that. (more on Lammas and it's meaning later)
I am also going to try to do a Lammas ritual with the family after the camping trip. I think we will still be campe dout on the actual day of Lammas, but since we will be with other Pagans, perhaps we will do a lil something then?
So that's a quick rundown of life in this Pagan family.
Blessed Be!
It has been so hot here lately that the heat has got me drained of energy. Tonight was the full moon and I had meant to do a ritual with the family and the kids were looking foward to a ritual, but it is too hot to breathe outside. Seriously at midnight it was still 80 degrees outside. Maybe tomorrow night???
Dewayne and David and Daniel went down to the river a week or so ago and got a bunch of new rocks to redo the family fire pit. The old was was over 2 years old and in bad need of replacing. It was hard for me to replace it tho because my sister Concetta helped to build it for our midsummer ritual 2 years ago. I miss having her here and hearing her drum and sing around our fire.
We let the boys build the pit and this one is much larger than the last one. I told them we would need trees not logs to fill it lol. Of course it has been so hot we haven't even dedicated it yet *sigh*
I am looking foward to the new school year. Since we homeschool, I am always preparing for new learning adventures. I found a GREAT bargin at a yard sale. For $3 I got a big boxful of teacher's books that came from a public school. It has something for all grades as well as both special needs kids (Allison) and gifted kids (David and Daniel)
I also lucked into some encyclopedias and science encyclpedias for free at a library. The first set in on Daniel and Hunter's level and the Science books will be for David.
Also at this library, I got as many National Geographic magazines as I wanted for free, the ones I got date back to the 70's. I even found the one for the month and year I was born!!! And these things are in excellent shape!! (ok I know I'm a geek for getting all excited over old magazines but I don't care)
Oh on a Magickal note, Dewayne and I did a money spell about a week ago. Since the ex isn't paying child support, money is very tight. Two days later he got a call from his lawyer and a lawsuit he got a judgement for is about to pay up and the other day a check came in the mail that was owed to him for an insurance premium he overpaid. Much thanks to the Lord and Lady for blessing us.
In the upcoming weeks, we have a camping trip planned with some Pagan friends. It is always fun to get together with like minded people. Also our Pagan study group will be holding Lammas Ritual (albeit a week late) in a couple of weeks. After ritual we always have a potluck and socialize. I am greatly looking foward to that. (more on Lammas and it's meaning later)
I am also going to try to do a Lammas ritual with the family after the camping trip. I think we will still be campe dout on the actual day of Lammas, but since we will be with other Pagans, perhaps we will do a lil something then?
So that's a quick rundown of life in this Pagan family.
Blessed Be!
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