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EarthLove

Sacred Earth And Sky

Harvest Time

August 1, 2022 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

Lammas loaf owl with salt eyes, Wikipedia

“Lammas, or “Loaf Mass,” is the Feast of the First Harvest, the Feast of Bread. This Holy Day honors the women who created agriculture and bred the crops we cultivate, especially the grains, or corn. In the British Isles, celebrants make corn dollies from the last of the newly-harvested wheat. The corn dolly holds the energy of the grain Goddess and, when placed above the door or the mantle, will bring good luck to the household all year.

When we think of corn, we think of succulent cobs of crisp, sweet, buttery yellow or white kernels: immature Zea mays, Indian corn. You know, corn. As in sweet corn, popcorn, blue corn, decorative corn, corn bread and corn chowder. Corn!

But, did you ever wonder why it’s corn? “Korn” is an old Greek word for “grain.” Wheat and oats, barley and even rice, are korn. This usage is preserved in the song “John Barleycorn must die.” When Europeans crossed the Atlantic and were introduced to the beautiful grain the Native Americans grew, they, of course, called it “corn.” And nowadays we think of corn as only that, but corn is Kore (pronounced “core-a”), the Great Mother of us all.

Her name, in its many forms — Ker, Car, Q’re, Kher, Kirn, Kern, Ceres, Core, Kore, Kaur, Kauri, Kali — is the oldest of all Goddess names. From it we derive the English words corn, kernel, carnal, core, and cardiac. “Kern” is Ancient Greek for “sacred womb-vase in which grain is reborn.”

The Goddess of Grain is the mother of civilization, of cultivation, of endless fertility and fecundity. To the Romans she was Ceres, whose name becomes “cereal.” To the Greeks, she was Kore, the daughter, and Demeter (de/dea/goddess/meter/mater/mother) as well. To the peoples of the Americas, she is Corn Mother, she-who-gave-herself-that-the-People-may-live. She is one of the three sister crops: corn, beans and squash. In the British Isles she was celebrated almost to the present day as “Cerealia, the source of all food.”

Honoring grain as the staff of our life dates at least as far back as Ancient Greece. Nearly four thousand years ago, the Eleusinian mysteries, which were regarded as ancient mysteries even then, centered on the sacred corn and the story of Demeter and her daughter Kore or Persephone. Initiates, after many days of ceremony, were at last shown the great mystery: an ear of Korn. Korn dies and is reborn, traditionally after being buried for three days. Corn and grain are magic. The one becomes many. That which dies is reborn.

Many Native American stories repeat this theme of death and rebirth, but with a special twist. In some origin of corn stories a woman is brutally murdered, in others she demands to be killed. No matter. Once she is dead, she is cut into pieces and planted. From her dismembered body, corn grows. Again and again, everywhere around the world, the story of grain is the story of humanity. The sacred symbolism of grain speaks loudly to the human psyche. To the Ancients, the light in our lights is the Kore, the core, the soul, the seed, of each being.

… The green blessings of the grains are special blessings indeed.”

~Susun Weed

🌾

#Harvest
#Lammas
#Lughnasadh
#CyclesandSeasons

🌾

Filed Under: Open to Earth Wisdom and Guidance, Sacred Earth, Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: cycle, gratitude, harvest, Lammas, Lughnasadh, ritual, season, wheel of the year

Harvest Time

August 1, 2021 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

Three-faced God Lugh

Here in the Northern hemisphere, we are entering into the Lughnasa festival days. Lughnasa (or Lughnasadh) is a traditional Celtic celebration time that marks the beginning of the harvest season in the northern hemisphere. Lughnasa was celebrated in early August all over Ireland and Scotland for centuries.

Legend tells us that the ancient Celtic God Lugh created this harvest festival time in honor of his Earth Goddess Mother Tailtiu. Traditional Lughnasa rituals included an offering of the first of the corn, harvest feasts, athletic contests, bull sacrifice, and ritual dancing. The Lughnasa custom of climbing hills and mountains has survived in some areas to this day.

Now is the perfect time to honor the abundance and harvest in your life. Offer up your gratitude to Earth and Sky for the good things that have shown up in your life this year. Honor everything from your garden harvest to new friendships, children’s milestones, new jobs, your health… any and every bit of abundance in your life.

#harvest
#abundance
#gratitude
#Lughnasa

#celebrate

Filed Under: Sacred Earth, Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: abundance, Celtic, harvest, Lugh, Lughnasa, Lughnasadh, mama earth, ritual, sacred, season, wheel of the year

Celebrate Samhain

October 31, 2020 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

And now, the dark half of the year begins in the north.

Ancient Celtic tribes celebrated Samhain (pronounced sow-in) to mark this auspicious time. Samhain, or summer’s end, is a celebration of life. The last of the harvest has been gathered. The bounty of Mama Earth will bless and nourish us all winter.

The Celts believed that the veils between the worlds grow thin at this time of year, making it easier to connect with loved ones who have crossed over into the land of the dead. This is the ideal time to honor and celebrate our ancestors.

As you enter into the dark half of the year, pause. Offer love and gratitude to Mama Earth for the water, food and shelter she provides. Say a prayer for any loved ones who have moved beyond this world.

Celebrate Life.

🎃🍎🌽🥦🍞🎃

Image: Wendy Andrews

Filed Under: Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: ancestors, dark, gratitude, harvest, Samhain, wheel of the year

Harvest Time

August 1, 2020 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

“We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks…”

~Haudenosaunee Tribe Thanksgiving Address excerpt

☀️

Early August is when the first grain is harvested all over the northern hemisphere. And Sun God Lughnasadh gives his name to the harvest festivals that used to take place at this time in the ancient Celtic lands of Northern Europe.

The celebration of Lughnasadh typically involved the ritual cutting of grain and the making of bread. The people also came together to feast, sing and dance in honor of the harvest that would nourish them through the long cold winter ahead.

Take a few moments this weekend to celebrate this time of harvest. Go outside. Express your gratitude to Earth and Sky for creating the nourishing bounty that feeds all life on this planet.

🌎❤️

#WheeloftheYear
#Lughnasadh
#GiveThanks

Filed Under: Sacred Earth, Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: gratitude, harvest, Lugh, Lughnasadh, nurture, sacred, summer, wheel of the year

Into the Dark

November 7, 2019 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

The Wheel of the Year

Today marks the cross-quarter day (halfway point) between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere. The wheel of the year turns and the entire northern half of the planet enters into the dark part of the year. It is the time of year when the Sun drops lower and lower on the horizon, and the dark of night lasts longer and longer.

Ancient Celtic tribes celebrated Samhain (pronounced sow-in) to mark this auspicious time. According to the Celts and other pagan tribes, the veils between the worlds grow thin at this time of year. That means we can more easily connect with loved ones who have crossed over into the land of the dead. It is the perfect time to honor and celebrate our ancestors.

Celtic Samhain is also about celebrating life. The last of the harvest has been gathered up in our fields and orchards. The natural bounty of Mama Earth will bless and nourish us all winter.

As you enter into the dark half of the year, pause for a moment or two. Offer love and gratitude to Mama Earth for the water, food and shelter she provides. Say a prayer for any loved ones who have moved beyond here and now. Express thanks for everything you have harvested in your life this year.

May the Spirit of peace
bring peace to your house
this Samhain night
and all nights to come.

☾☽

Filed Under: Sacred Earth, Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: ancestors, Celtic, cycle, dark, death, gratitude, harvest, rhythm, sacred, Samhain, wheel of the year

Celebrate the Bounty

August 6, 2019 By Nancy L Leave a Comment

The Golden Lions of Lugh

On August 7th, we will reach the halfway point between summer solstice and autumn equinox in the northern hemisphere. This is one of four “cross-quarter” days that occur in our annual trek around the Sun

Many of our ancestors celebrated the harvest at this time of year. The Celtic people in the British Isles paid homage to the Sun God Lugh at this time. The first sheaf of wheat was harvested and ceremoniously ground and baked into bread for the festival of Lughnasadh. Bonfires were lit to honor the fiery energies of the Sun. The fruits of the harvest were celebrated and shared by everyone.

Later in Britain, the festival of Lughnasadh became Lammas Day. The festival of Lammas was held to honor the wheat harvest. The word Lammas comes from the Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas  or  “loaf-mass.”  On the day of Lammas it was customary to bring a loaf of bread made from the new crop to church in celebration and gratitude.

Many centuries before Lugh or Lammas existed, the Goddess Arinna was worshiped by ancient tribes living in the region that is now Turkey (1400 BCE).  Arinna was their main solar deity and her consort was the weather god, Teshub. Arinna was honored for creating the natural abundance of our Earth and making human life possible.

Whether through honoring Arinna, Lugh or Lammas, our ancestors took time to express their gratitude for the bounty of the harvest every year. Their ceremonies were ritualized ways for the community to acknowledge and honor the food that grows when Father Sun unites with Mother Earth. Our ancestors lived closer to the Earth and the cycles of the seasons. They understood that all life on Earth depends on the magical union of sun, seed and earth.

What have you harvested this year? What are you grateful for? During this sacred time, take a few moments to express gratitude for all the abundance in your life.

And take time to thank Mother Earth and Father Sun for life itself.

🌞 🌎

Filed Under: Seasons of the Sun, Share Ideas and Practices Tagged With: abundance, cross-quarter, harvest, Lammas, Lugh, Lughnasadh, summer, sun, wheel of the year

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