Harvest Season

Harvest Season (Solia Seasonal post Fall 2017)

In the Northern Hemisphere it's now come to the Harvest Season. Many that celebrate the Wheel of the Year and Sabbats may celebrate this as a time of reaping in what the summer has sown, letting waste away that which is not needed, and preparing for winter. Present themes at hand include: Thanksgiving for what's been received, letting go of that which is not beneficial, transition from the light half of the year into the dark, transformation, death, and the deceased just to name a few. 

Here's a brief summary of the Sabbats and a few ideas on celebrating them. 

Lammas/Lughnasadh

This cross-quarter holiday is the First Harvest of the year, grains especially. The summer has been at its height and there is hope for a little reprieve, perhaps a bit of rain, so the crops will continue to be bountiful well into autumn instead of drying up under the scorching heat of the sun. The days begin to wane as the nights wax and respectively the reign of the God and Goddess. 

Lammas vs. Lughnasadh
Though both acknowledge the seasonal aspects of the holiday, Lughnasadh has associations with Lugh and his foster mother Tailtiu (Irish deities), athletic competitions, and related festivities. 

Established Date: August 1st

Colors: Gold, Yellow, Green, Gray 

Foods: Breads and anything made from grain, wines, blueberries 

Celebration ideas: 

• Visit or hold festivities by favored wells and hilltops
• Hold competitions that display skill and/or strength
• Communing with Gods and Goddesses of abundance and prosperity
• Baking: Of any kind, Blueberry pies/muffins/breads/cookies, Homemade breads of any type
• Crafts related to wheat and grains: Corn dollies, mobiles, weaving, baskets

Mabon/Autumn Equinox

The Second Harvest is the Autumn Equinox, also called Mabon: A harvest of apples, grapes, and late-harvest foods. Once again day and night are at equal lengths, the God and Goddess pause in their dance. It is a time of Thanksgiving and rest and meditation. The God prepares for his journey into the Underworld and the Goddess prepares herself too the approaching dark half of the year.

Date: Fall Equinox, usually around September 21st 

Colors: Orange, Red, Yellow, Maroon, Browns

Foods: Wines, Apples, Squash, Wild Game, Autumn harvest foods, Stews

Celebration Ideas: 

• Feasting
• Apple or grape picking
• Visiting orchards and vineyards
• Giving Thanks
• Reflection and meditation
• Baking: Anything and everything to do with apples- sauce, jam, butter, pies, breads, cookies, cider
• Crafts: Anything apple themed, Cornucopia themed - Recently we've started a tradition where my daughter and I will make a Cornucopia by paper weaving some construction paper and then rolling/shaping it into a cone and adding other pretty decorations. We also make different fruits and vegetables out of construction paper and put them in a bag or tray next to our Cornucopias. Then, between Mabon and Samhain we will write down something we are thankful for on one of the paper pieces of food and fill our Cornucopias here and there. I personally aimed for doing this daily but didn't want to push my daughter and it become more of a chore.

Samhain/Halloween

The Third and Final Harvest, also a cross-quarter holiday, is observed by some as the Celtic New Year and renewal of the Wheel of the Year. The God dies and will remain in the Underworld or Land of the Dead until reborn at Yule. The Crone Goddess mourns His death and so the weather turns colder and darker. It is a time of dark and shadow and when the veil between worlds is thin. The deceased are honored by Feasts of the Dead and offerings are made. 

Established Date: October 31st

Colors: Black and Orange 

Foods: Apples, red wines, red meats, root and vine vegetables like beets, garlic, onion, turnips, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin to name some. 

Celebration Ideas: 

• Bonfires and jumping them (cautiously)
• Carving or painting pumpkin or turnip lanterns
• Holding a Mute Supper or Feast of the Dead
• Communing with those passed
• Visiting graveyards of those passed
• Divination of all types
• Self reflection and setting new goals
• Baking: Apple and pumpkin pies, cakes, breads, cookies ect.
• Craft ideas: Pumpkin and apple crafts, letters to the dead, collages and shadow boxes for the dead, making a Samhain/ancestor tree and ornaments for it. Skull and bones crafts and art like mobiles and painting on bones.

30 D.o.P. | Day 8: Holidays

If you're a follower of my blog or have scanned through my posts, I'm sure you've noticed that a good portion of my posts are about my holiday celebrations.

I celebrate all of the Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. I do though, somewhat separate them into two categories; The solstices and equinoxes and then the others. The solstices and equinoxes I find that I focus more on seasonal topics. My celebrations are very nature based. Where as the others (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, and Lughnasadh) do have the seasonal elements to them, but there also tends to be more focus on deity, self reflection, and spiritual pathworking.

Samhain has always been the biggest holiday for me. I also would say it was my favorite but in recent years there has been another one that has went from a close second favorite to being in an even tie with Samhain as my favorite. I always learn or re-learn an important lesson during this time. Not to mention fall is my favorite season so just the atmosphere around that time tends to set my heart a flutter. Although, I cannot say I've had the most enjoyable experiences celebrating this sabbat. In fact, most of my experiences celebrating this holiday have been very much somber, sobering, and a couple times almost spiritually traumatic. So why then is it tied with another as my favorite? Mostly for that fact that I make it through the night more grateful to see the morning light so to speak. It always renews me and I am reborn. Which is suiting at such a time.

Yule is always a joyous holiday for me. I find it particularly fun to now celebrate with Tater Tot. I can already tell that this sabbat will be a very good one for making our own little family traditions. I also find it interesting that while I usually do not make a conscious effort to stay up or get up early enough to watch the sunrise I almost always wind up doing just that.

Imbolc is close to my heart for both the seasonal aspects and its association with Brigid. Brigid was one of the first goddesses to actually come to me without calling on her and it is probably for that reason that she is so dear to me. She has always been there whenever I have needed her most. Not to mention, I am typically in the thralls of cabin fever come the end of January so seeing the first signs of Spring always uplifts me.

By the time Ostara/Spring equinox rolls around I am usually more than ready for it. Spring always brings about a number of emotions and stirrings in me. As is appropriate, I always feel most feminine at this time. This usually does me quite a bit of good.

Bealtaine/Beltane/However you like to spell it, is always an interesting Sabbat for me. When I was younger it would be a lie to say that this holiday wasn't mostly about the more well known sexual aspects surrounding it. It wasn't all about sex but... well, there was a great deal of the subject at the forefront of my celebrations.  Which I do not regret as it is an appropriate time for such things however, in the most recent years of celebrating this holiday I have come to experience other aspects of the holiday that have given me new insights that are most refreshing and welcome.

Midsummer or Litha, can someone vary for me. It usually depends on how hot it is at the time. I do rather like a nice lazy summer day however, I'm afraid I do not fare so well in high humidity. It makes for a very grumpy Dalhanahue. I do however, really like just the sense of magic that seems to take hold of twilight and the nights especially this time of the year. It's a curious energy, somewhat playful and very much alive.

And then the wheel turns to Lugnasadh or Lammas if you prefer. For me it is most definitely "Lushnasadh." I have had a growing fondness for Lugh now for some time. He has played many roles in our relationship. I further enjoy the holiday though, simply for the associations with the Sun and being the first harvest. I'm an Autumn person so the beginning of the harvest sabbats rather delights my spirit.This holiday and Samhain are tied as my two favorite holidays.

Mabon/Autumn equinox is just such a joyous holiday for me. Especially if nature is cooperating in it's appearance with early autumn. The first signs of leaves changing their colors and the smell of apples and dirt in the air just rocks my socks hard core. Not to mention the equinoxes just have their own synergies about them that I find very intriguing and interesting.

So, yup. Just a few quick little notes about which holidays I celebrate and my own thoughts on them. 

Lughnasadh (Belated Post)

So I'm finally getting around to writing about Lughnasadh, or Lammas depending on you're preference.

First off I'd like to mention that starting out I actually first celebrated this holiday as Lammas. It was a nice way to get introduced into the sabbat I think as it primarily focused on the general notions of thanksgiving and first of the three harvests as well as honoring the Sun god and the aging deities. It made for a simple but very pleasant experience when first diving into celebrating the sabbats.  It wasn't until I really tried on and found that I connect best with the Irish deities that I started celebrating it as Lughnasadh.

I've read a few sources that seem to imply that Lughnasadh and Lammas are just two interchangeable terms for the exact same holiday celebrations, insinuating that they are nothing more than completely matching synonyms. While there are the same notions of it being the time for the first harvest and all that incorporates, Lughnasadh differs in that it was also declared by Lugh as a festival in honor of his foster-mother Tailtu. I've come across slightly different stories in reference to Tailtu. In both of them, she gave her life clearing plains in Ireland for farming. One version implies that it was multiple fields scattered through out the land where as another says that it was specifically the forest of Breg in the County Meath she cleared. (I've seen more of the second version though than I have the first.) At any rate, games and contests were held on this day, as well as it is also a time for handfasting ceremonies.

So, while there is the element of harvesting and agriculture, especially with Tailtu laying down her life to make the land fertile, there is also recognizably more association with specific deities with Lughnasadh.

Over the years, I've developed a soft spot for and a good relationship with Lugh. Sadbh will always be my patron deity I do believe but Lugh is very high up on the list. He always seems to know and give exactly what I need when I need it as well as make me feel like he is genuinely pleased with my offerings. Not to say that other deities are not, but with him over time there has developed a slightly more informal, friendly, and perhaps even paternal relationship. There's an added sense of excitement with Lugh when I make offerings. Kind of along the lines of, "Oh, what goodies have you brought me this time my child?" along with just a general notion of simply being happy to visit.

Our last encounter at Lughnasadh, that particular message resounded with in our meeting loud and clear. I had been feeling like doing something special for this particular sabbat this year for quite sometime but didn't know exactly what or if I would have opportunity too. I wanted to go all out and be a tad more ceremonial than I usually tend to be. That did not happen but I none the less did make the time to do something. And that something was just what I needed.

As far as rituals go it was very basic and simple. The results though were astounding. I was first amazed at how easy and fast it was for me to cast circle as I haven't in some time. Truth be told, over the years, I've come to feel that a circle is not always necessary and it's rather become more of an amenity for me. So, much to my surprise, the feeling the circle brought about came almost instantaneously as soon as I began.

Then there was my encounter with Lugh himself. As usual, it was warm and inviting but this time there was an air of pride from him. At the beginning, I was not sure as to why this feeling was present. To my knowledge I had not done anything all to spectacular lately in my day to day or on a spiritual level. Until I felt his warm embrace. A cradling hug that invoked an epiphany.

I think I was taken so off guard because normally Samhain is when I get smacked in the face with lessons I've already learned but may have not been paying much heed to or had an a epiphany that reaffirmed my faith in my beliefs and in myself. This year it came at Lughnasadh for me. I had taken the time do something I really wanted for myself. For nothing more than the joy of celebration and communing with the elements and deity. I made time for a simple but sincere joy in my life, practicing my faith and spirituality.

Since my daughter's birth I know I've often pushed things off for myself saying, "I'll get around to it sometime." and then if I actually do, I always feel rushed rand guilty to get right back to my motherly duties. This sabbat was different though, I took the time and fully lost myself in it with out guilt. This is something everyone needs to do at some point I think. Everyone needs a break sometime. To reconnect with themselves if only for a short time and then return to other duties.

That message hit home and I felt the same pride for myself that Lugh felt for me. Once again I reminded how the simplest acts can bring about significant change. I, of course, will not be abandoning my responsibilities of  being a mother, and I'm sure there will still be a notion of, "I'll get around to doing something for myself later." However, I am going to attempt to make sure that "Later" does eventually come around and sooner than it has in the past if it did at all. I need that, as everyone needs that from time to time. Sometimes we just need a gentle nudge or uplifting experience to be reminded of it. I am most grateful for how I was reminded of this.