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Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on February 2, 2014 at 7:23pm

The Old Crones Corner

Lammas Oil ☽○☾

2 Tablespoons of Hazelnut Oil
3 drops of Cinnamon Oil
2 drops of Clove Oil
2 drops of Sandalwood Oil
1 drop of Rose Oil
1 small Frankincense pearl

Drop the pearl of Frankincense into your bottle and add the oils. Blend your oils together in an amber or dark bottle. When blending, don't shake your bottle...give it a little swirl around to blend the oils together. Label and date your bottle and store in a cool dry place.

Use to anoint your altar and candles or yourself.

☽○☾

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on January 31, 2014 at 8:17pm

~ Simple Ritual Ideas for Lammas ~

From the Sage Goddess
(http://www.sagegoddess.com/simple-ritual-ideas-for-lammas-or-first-...)

August 1 in the northern hemisphere marks the great First Harvest, known as Lammas or Lughnasadh in Celtic traditions (down in the southern hem, you lovelies are celebrating Imbolc, or first hint of spring). You know that I love ritual and ceremony and as a working mother, I also need my rituals to be simple. Let me tell you about the holiday first and then recommend some easy ways to celebrate this special day with friends, fellow magicians, loved ones, or as a solitary practitioner.

Lammas, the festival of light and first harvest, falls technically when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo. This tends to happen on or around August 1, so we use this as a catchall date for celebration. Like all celtic or pagan holidays, this one honors goddesses whose crafts and legends align with the work we’re doing at this time of year. Ceres and Tailtiu (mother of Lugh) are honored now as great forces of agricultural abundance, their blessings manifest in the bounty of food and growth we are about to enjoy in autumn. Our spiritual and emotional crops are ready for first harvest, too – the fruit of those sacred intentions we set in the darkness of winter and early spring.

Lammas is also a holiday of remembrance and releasing, a time of acknowledging the crops that didn’t survive the winter. This day asks us: What do you need to let go of right now so that you can be fully present to the abundance that is ahead of you? We are reminded that not everything survives in the grand cycle of life.

Here are some simple ritual ideas for ways to honor this day, the first turn of the Wheel of the Year toward fall:

1. Gather wheat, stones in colors of the harvest (think oranges, reds, deep umbers) and create a wheel on a round plate or table like you see in the photo. As you place each item, give thanks for what lies ahead. You might offer a few releasing stones as well, like apache or golden obsidian, for those things you are needing to leave behind.

2. The most traditional Lammas practice is the baking of bread (the name Lammas comes from the Old English hlafmaesse or loaf-mass). When we bake bread we use the grain around us to sustain our bodies, honoring and consuming nature’s sacred gifts.

3. Since Lammas is also a festival of light, celebrating the last long days of the year, your ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle. I made one in the shop in shades of yellow, wheat, and white. I recommend you burn a candle in those shades. I hope your Lammas celebration is sacredly simple and deeply reflective of the season’s turn. May it bless you as we give thanks for what lies ahead. So it is.

Text and Image from the Sage Goddess
http://www.sagegoddess.com/simple-ritual-ideas-for-lammas-or-first-...

Zenefertiti

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on January 22, 2014 at 2:52pm

Bre Geier
Bre Geier 11:31in the evenin' Jan 19
Lammas: Let The Harvest Begin

Behold, Behold, the Summer has grown old,
And with the harvest now begun,
Lammastide! Mix work and fun.

To the agrarian societies of medieval Europe, early August signalled
the beginning of the harvest season, the time when the first grains
were harvested and many fruits and vegetables ripened, ready for
picking. A quarter of the annual solar wheel had now turned since the
celebration of Beltane, the time of planting crops and vegetable
gardens. Those crops and gardens planted at Beltane, now poured forth
their bounty proving early August a reason for celebration.

As the month of August begins, the rising and setting positions of the
Sun move noticeably more southward each day. So too, the mid-day peak
elevation of the solar orb begins dropping at a rate evident with the
passing days. As the long, high-sun days of summer come to an end,
August 1 signals the beginning of solar autumn.

Early August, usually the first, is one of the four annual cross-
quarter days -- days at the midway point between the solstice and
equinox. (The other cross-quarter days are known to us as Groundhog Day,
May Day and Halloween but had more significant titles during pre-
industrial times.) While today we take the "official" beginnings of the
seasons to be marked by the solstices and equinoxes in the third week
of December, March, June and September, many people and cultures have
considered the seasons to change at the cross-quarter date. In fact
(see my article on Celebrating May Day for further discussion), the
cross-quarter days can be taken as the start/end dates of the four
solar seasons.

In pagan cultures, the August cross-quarter day was the time to honour
the mighty sun god and the gods of the grain by ritualistically
sacrificing the first grains to ensure the continuity of life. In the
British Isles, the Anglo-Saxon (Lammas), Celtic (Lughnasad), and Irish
(Lughnassadh, (pronounced Lunasa) festivals honoured Lugh, god of light,
and John Barleycorn, personification of barley and other grains -- and
the brews made from them.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on January 22, 2014 at 2:52pm

There are many names by which this day is known, but the most common to
the English-speaking world is Lammas. The name Lammas derives from
"loaf mass" an early Anglo-Saxon feast celebrating the corn (i.e. grain)
harvest through the ritual killing of the corn king. (Through the
ritual re-enactment of the slaying and restoration of John Barleycorn,
he became associated with beer and cider drinking.)

With the advent of Christianity in Britain, pagan rituals were
officially replaced by a Mass in which the first harvested grains were
baked into loaves of bread, taken to church, blessed and then offered
as thanksgiving to God. Over the years as British society turned from
its agricultural roots, the traditions of Lammas faded away across the
kingdom. In 1843 at Morwenstow in Cornwall, England, the Reverend R. S.
Hawker decided to revive the Harvest Festival, urging its celebration
in schools and churches across the nation.

In many agrarian communities, the last harvested sheaf of grain was
treated with special honour, for the farmers believed that with the
cutting of the last sheaf, the corn spirit retreated into the soil.
There in its underground refuge, the corn spirit slept throughout the
Winter until Spring. In the Spring that last sheaf was returned to the
fields when new seed was being sown, so that its spirit would awaken
both seed and land.

One traditional Lammas custom was the construction of the kern-baby,
corn dolly, or corn maiden. This figure, braided into a woman's form
from the last harvested sheaf of grain, represented the Harvest Spirit.
(In America, the tradition is continued in the making of corn husk
dolls.) The doll would be saved until Spring, when it was ploughed into
the field to consecrate the new planting and insure a good harvest. In
other traditions, the corn dolly was fed and watered throughout the
Winter, then burned in the fires at Beltane to insure a continuation of
good growth.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on January 22, 2014 at 2:51pm

Another custom drawn from Lammas relates to fire. Lammas was, to the
Celts, one of four Great Fire Festivals, held on the cross-quarter days.
During Lammas, the custom of lighting bonfires was intended to add
strength to the powers of the waning sun. Afterward, the fire brands
were kept in the home through the Winter as protection against storms,
lightning and fires caused by lightning.

Throughout much of Europe, Lammastide was also a traditional time of
year for craft festivals -- and still is today in many British
communities. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of
their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colours
and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing ceremonial plays and
dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite
similar to those activities displayed at our modern-day Renaissance
Festivals.

In America, the small town or country fair echoes the Lammas tradition.
Their agricultural competitions and midway games resemble the ancient
European festivals at which people gathered to pay homage to the land
and the fruits of their labour and to take part in community reverie.

The recognition of this cross-quarter day is not restricted to the
British Isles and Celtic traditions. Games and contests honouring the
harvest have been an ancient tradition across Europe. For example, in
many Slavic regions, the harvest festival is called Dozynki. Villagers,
who work the fields and harvested the crops, dress in colourful folk
costumes and carry wreaths made of corn, wheat and a variety of flowers
to the owner of the lands. A loaf of bread, baked from the fresh grain,
is presented to the lord and lady of the manor, who then return slices
of the loaf to their guests who had worked hard to make the harvest
possible. During these festivities, the villagers play instruments,
dance and sing in praise of the harvest and their landlord.

With the beginning of solar autumn at Lammastide, the Sun enters its
old age, its golden months. The heat of summer lingers a little longer,
perhaps even bringing in the Dog Days of August. The ripening grains
are followed by the ripening of the fruits of tree and vine. A perfect
time to give thanks to the Earth for its bounty and beauty. Truly,
early August is a time to rejoice and be festive, a time to honour
those among us who still know how to reap the harvest and connect us
with our ancestors.

To close and give my thanks to farmers across the globe who are
providing my daily meals, I quote lines from A Farmer's Song, written
by Canadian folk artist Murray McLaughlin:

"These days when everyone's taking so much,
There's somebody givin' back in....
So, thanks for the meal, here's a song that is real
From a kid from the city to you....
And I hope there's no shortage of rain."

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on January 22, 2014 at 2:42pm

Lammas, or Lughnassad, occurs in late July and early August. It is marks the middle of Summer and the beginning of the harvest. It is the first of three harvest festivals and is usually associated with ripening grain. It heralds the coming of Autumn. The Goddess manifests as Demeter, Ceres, Corn Mother, and other agricultural Goddesses. The God manifests as Lugh, John Barleycorn, and vegetation Gods. Colors are Golden Yellow, Orange, Green, and Light Brown. It is a festival of plenty and prosperity. Have a magical picnic and break bread with friends. Do a meditation in which you visualize yourself completing a project you have already begun. Make a corn dolly charm out of the first grain you harvest or acquire. Bake a sacred loaf bread and give a portion of it to Mother Earth with a
prayer of appreciation. Make prayers for a good harvest season. Do prosperity magic. Harvest herbs in a sacred way for use in charms and rituals. Kindle a Lammas fire with sacred wood and dried herbs. If you live in or near a farming region, attend a public harvest festival, such as a corn or apple festival.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on July 31, 2013 at 8:48am

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 3, 2012 at 9:42am

Lammas Hospitality Spell

Lammas has been characterized since prehistory as a time for the sharing of bread.

In the Celtic countries, clan chieftains were obliged to be hospitable to all guests, even their enemies.

The sharing of food bonds people together.

In humanity's deep past, breaking bread together was an offering and acceptance of friendship.

In many ways, eating with others is a very intimate event.

Recall all of your first dates that began by dining out.

Wasn't that the most uncomfortable part of the evening?

Create a grand feast this Lammas, and invite as many as many people as your home can hold.

Be sure to include a few people who don't like you, a few you don't like, and any people who have been quarreling with each other.

For your feast, bring the warm loaves of bread to the table after everything else has been placed.

Announce that you will be passing the loaves so that everyone can break bread.

While the bread is being passed you may tell the story of Celtic hospitality - how the sharing of bread is a symbol of peace and unity.

End your explanation with a simple prayer that will not offend anyone's religious beliefs, or, depending on the size of your feast, allow everyone a chance to also offer a prayer.

The ending of yours might sound something like this:

From the womb of Mother Earth comes bread,
From this gift we all are fed.
Sharing the creator's bounty together,
May generosity and peace be with us forever.

~ Edain McCoy

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 3, 2012 at 9:42am

First Harvest Spell

Color of the day: White
Incense of the day: Lilac

Today is Lammas/Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-na-sa), the first harvest and a day honoring Celtic Sun god Lugh. It's a time to be grateful for what you have and for your opportunities. In modern times, our harvests are often figurative rather than literal. Take some time to list all your accomplishments over the past year, and list your upcoming opportunities. Place the list in a cauldron or large bowl. Fill it with fresh fruit and vegetables and a loaf of bread.

Then say:

"With the first harvest Lugh has filled my cauldron.
I offer thanks for the year's good fortune
My thanks for the harvest, the future to brighten,
I ask for protection for my crops still to ripen."

Use the bounty of fruit, vegetables, and bread from the cauldron in your meals all week.

by Mickie Mueller

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 2, 2012 at 3:03pm

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