Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Summertime Sadness
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Them Summer Days, Those Summer Days
Find out more about my thoughts of summer, only at Cosmic Love, my blog over at Pagan Square.
http://witchesandpagans.com/pagan-culture-blogs/cosmic-love/them-summer-days-those-summer-days.html
Friday, July 31, 2015
Re-Post: "Lammas:
 |
| http://tigerchanter.blogspot.com/2011/08/blessed-lughnasadh.html |
August often seems to bring in the most desperate
days of summer. The sun beats down heavily, school is right around the corner,
and the pace starts to pick up again at work. Everyone tries to squeeze in one
last vacation, one last trip to the mountains, one last trip to the beach, one
last hotdog, one last camping trip, one last barbeque.
In the wheel of the year, August marks the end of
summer and the start of the harvest season. Fruits, herbs and grains are ready
to be harvested and gathered, and summer’s bounty is almost, but not quite,
overripe. Observed on the first of August, Lammas celebrates this time of sun,
heat, harvest, sweat, games and celebration.
Also known as Lughnasa (Loo-nuh-sah or Loo-nah-sah), this Gaelic
holiday with Irish roots observes the funeral games the hero Lugh (Loo) hosted
in honor of his foster mother, Tailtiu. Tailtiu is a grain deity who died from
exhaustion after preparing Ireland for agriculture and cultivation. Her
sacrifice and death mirror other Corn Mother myths throughout the world,
including goddesses from ancient Greece, the American Southwest and Japan. Her
gift of preparing Ireland for planting manifests itself through the harvest
enjoyed during these summer and autumnal months.
The exploits of the hero Lugh and
his games held in honor of his mother are mimicked in our own summer games of
baseball, swimming, soccer, and other outdoors sports. Maybe it’s a
coincidence, but some Pagans feel as if nothing could be more appropriate this
time of year than holding the Olympic Games, a glorious celebration of
accomplishment and human potential.
Though we’re not Olympic
athletes, this is still the perfect time to go outside and do something sweaty,
fun and incredible. Though winter seems to be a lifetime away, the cold will be
here before we know it. For Lammas, share a hearty feast with your friends and
family, partaking of seasonal fruits, vegetables and local dishes.
Summer is a good time of year for
family reunions and gatherings. Like Lugh and Tailtiu, honor your family and the
accomplishments of those close you. Family legacy and memories live on when we
share the stories that make us laugh and beam with pride.
Be sure to boast and brag about
yourself a little, too. We all have a
lot to be proud of because we’ve all done something heroic in one way or
another, so share your accomplishments with those who you care about and who
care about you. As the wheel turns and turns again, one day your exploits will
be talked about, celebrated and remembered during the sweaty, fun-filled
summers to come.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Feeling So Real: Beltane
 |
| http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/beltane |
(originally published in an on-line religion's magazine called Creedible, 2012)
Soon after the celebration of rebirth and resurrection of
Easter, the springtime settles in comfortably. The flowers have bloomed and are
thriving, the birds and animals wake up with the dawn to sing their mating
songs, and though there may still be a chill to the air, it no longer carries
the same bite it did a few weeks ago.
May Day marks the height of spring and takes note of the promise
of the growing warmth. Known as Beltane to the Irish, this is a time to finally
throw off the dark and cold of winter, and to embrace the bright and shining
gifts of summer.
Beltane stands opposite of Samhain (Halloween) on the wheel of the year, and while Samhain marks death, this day celebrates life. Depending
on when and where, celebrations for this holiday can take place any time in the
month of May, though the first day of May is a common date.
German folk stories speak of Walpurgis Night, associated
with Saint Walpurga. Images of this Saint show her holding a stalk of wheat,
similar to old Pagan ideas of a Grain Mother. Her day, April 30, or May Eve,
may have originally been seen as a witch’s holiday, and even Goethe writes
about the witches who fly around the mountains on this night.
Catholics may also remember the crowing of the May Queen,
parades in honor of Mother Mary, and maybe even dancing around the May pole.
These celebrations are transplants from much older Pagan fertility rites. The
May Pole can be seen as a phallic symbol, and the various May Day festivities
are a celebration of the marriage of the God and Goddess. This is worship of
the literal life-force.
To our ancestors, this was a time to bless the fields and
livestock to ensure a good harvest later on in the year. They would light giant
fires and herd their livestock between them, the fire being the spark of passion,
fertility, growth and light. The fire was also seen to be transformative and
purifying, a symbol of hope and good fortune for the lighter half of the year. It
was a good time to choose a lover and to focus on growth and fertility for
oneself and the community.
For modern folk, it’s a good time of year to put focus and
energy into our own harvest – the projects at work that might need a little
extra something, giving love to our families, or returning to our hobbies and
passions that have set dormant over the cold of the winter. Make a wish and light
a candle or even sit around a campfire and celebrate those things and people
you love. Eat some spicy food and fancy chocolate and get your blood going. This
is a season of fertility, after all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)