The Harvest Moon

Today welcomes the new 'Harvest Moon' , the moon under which the remainder of the corn and the beginning of the vegetable harvests took and indeed still take place.
This is the time when our Mother Earth allows us to take from her belly the very food that will fill our own and so it is a moon beneath which we should give thanks.
For the Celts this moon signified a time of magic, healing and wisdom and many late summer evenings would be spent around the fire chanting healing charms and listening to old tales of magic and mystery.
Enjoy these golden days of summer as the bountiful Goddess shares her gifts with Her children.
Read more - 'Mrs Darley's Moon Mysteries'

Bidding Farewell to the God

Lughnasadh is upon us. It begins at sunset tonight (1st) and ends at sunset tomorrow. The word itself derives from the Irish Celtic God Lugh, who, in actual fact had very little to do with the corn harvest, but was a popular and heroic God often referred to as the shinning one and for whatever reason gradually became associated with the sacrificial aspect of the God.

Lughnasadh celebrates the beginning of the corn harvest, the last sheaf of which was thought to contain the spirit of the corn God. As such, the reaper who cut it down was considered to have taken the life of the God and it was not therefore an auspicious act to participate in. It therefore became general practice that when everything was cut except the final sheaf, that all the reapers would stand blindfolded in a semi circle and hurl their sickles at it, thus no one would know who had taken the Corn God's life.

Once cut however, the sheaf took on a different aspect altogether and was taken home by one of the reapers to be 'dressed', i.e. made into a human shape or tied with red ribbons and took pride of place at the harvest supper, sitting next to 'the master'. It was often known as a 'kern baby' and is where our term 'corn dolly' derives.

Simple corn dollies can be made at home and are still used by farmers today to bring fertility to their cattle. Fertility and abundance can however come in many different ways and should you decide to make your own dolly, even if it is simply tying together a few pieces of corn with a ribbon, make sure you hang it by the hearth until the spring equinox, at which point the seeds should be scattered on the earth to bring you abundance for the summer.

Over the next couple of days give a moment of thanks to the Goddess for the corn which sustains us and to the God as his blood is spilled upon the earth to bring us fertility for the year to come.

Plough Monday

The Monday following Twelfth Night was known as 'Plough Monday', as this was the time that farmers returned to work and the winter ploughing began. In actual fact very little ploughing was done and instead, the plough was dressed in ribbons and dragged around the streets, accompanied by people dressed up as goblins and witches and a man dressed as a woman who was referred to as a Betsy, Molly or Bessie.

The owners of the plough would ask for money from passers by and anyone who refused to donate would be at risk of having their garden ploughed up. Before the time of the reformation the money collected, was used to purchase a large candle known as the 'Plough Light', which burned on the church altar in order to bring good ploughing weather, a fruitful harvest and protection for the farmers.

These traditions stem back to Pagan times where sacrifices were made to the old Gods in exchange for a blessing before the new agricultural season began.

The Harvest Festival

The harvest season began of course back in August with the harvesting of the corn at which point we gave thanks to our Celtic ancestors for the festival of Lughnasadh (see earlier blog). The later Saxons brought with them the festival of Hlaefmass meaning 'loaf festival' where the loaf made from the first cut of the corn was crumbled and placed in the four corners of the barn to ensure a fruitful harvest in the year to come and to protect the gathered crops.

When Christianity came to these islands the festival soon died out as it was seen as having nothing to do with the life of Christ. Therefore the church remained without such a festival until the year 1843 when the Reverend Hawker, the eccentric Vicar of Morwenstowe church high up on the North Cornish coast, reinstated the festival following a fruitful harvest after several years of failed crops, in order to give thanks to God.

As we sit down at our tables laden with food this autumn consider offering a silent word of thanks not only to our Celtic and Saxon ancestors but also to the Reverend Hawker for reinstating an ancient and worthwhile festival

The Autumn Equinox

The equinox arrived along with the full moon yesterday (23rd) at 10.17 BST. From now on our world with descend further into darkness whilst the earth begins her period of rest and renewal following the gathering of the final crops.

The equinox is a strange time, it is unpredictable, brings strange weather patterns to our door and often makes us feel unsettled. When this is coupled with the effects of the full moon, be prepared for the unexpected.

'Gather, gather the last fruits of summer

Drink of their sweetness

And bathe in their juice,

Gather, gather the last fruits of summer

For winter is bindingAnd tightening her noose.'

From 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers'

Superstitions of the Corn

In Pagan times the spirit of the Corn God or Lugh was thought to be housed in the last sheaf of wheat left standing in the field and when cut the God's life would be sacrificed, spilling his symbollic blood upon the earth to ensure fertility in the year to come.
Understandably therefore plenty of superstition built up around the cutting of this final sheaf and the reaper responsible for throwing his sickle at it was seen as taking the life of the deity. To avoid this somewhat inauspicious task, the Irish Celts came up with a solution which involved everyone standing around the sheaf blindfolded in a semi circle and hurling their sickles at the wheat. In this way no one would know who was ultimately responsible for the Corn God's demise.
Once cut however, the last sheaf took on a more positive aspect and was taken home by one of the reapers where it was 'dressed' either with a simple red ribbon to represent the blood of the God, or fashioned far more elaborately into a person or shape which became known by a myriad of names according to the region. The name that stuck however was 'kern baby', from which derives the more popular name of 'corn dolly' and has since become a modern day symbol of fertility.
Enjoy this Lammas season and may the year ahead be a fertile and happy one!

The Festival of Lughnasadh or Lammas

Today at sunset (1st Aug) the festival of Lughnasadh (its Celtic name) or the festival of Lammas (its Saxon name) begins and lasts until sunset on the 2nd.

The word Lughnasadh is thought to be named after the Irish Celtic God 'Lugh the Light Bearer' as the word actually means 'the funeral feast of Lugh'. This refers to the fact that the male principal or God in the continuing cycle of the Pagan wheel, lays down his life and spills his blood upon the corn in order that the earth's fertility will be assured over the coming year.

Lammas on the other hand comes from the Saxon word, 'hlaefmass', meaning loaf festival and refers to the fact that the Saxons made a loaf from the gathering of the first grains with which to celebrate the harvest of the first fruits and honour their Gods. With the coming of Christianity this name was adopted by the church. Much folklore and legend abounds with regards to the harvesting of the corn and this will be outlined in further blogs as the week progresses. Meanwhile it may be time to make our own personal sacrifices by perhaps giving up a bad habit, or making donations of goods or time to a needy charity. It is however a time for celebration also, for out of every ending new beginnings always spring and this one heralds future fertility and abundance. So this week, make a corn dolly, bake a loaf or simply invite family and friends to celebrate the good things we all have in our lives. Enjoy!