The Wine Moon

The waxing crescent should just be visible tonight in the sign of libra. The next two days are auspicious for performing magic in connection with the arts, justice, partnerships, emotional balance, peace and love.

This new moon is the wine moon which was believed to be the moon blessed by the Gods and under which, after consuming copius amounts of wine, the Celts practised various methods of divination.

Raise a glass of rich red tonight and toast Dionysus.

Season of Fire

We are entering the last month of the season of fire before the mellower times of autumn come into play.

Fire comes to us in many forms during our earthly journey. From the power of the mighty sun, to the gentle flicker of a candle flame, from the explosive nature of the volcanoe to the warmth of a winter fire and from the fury of a lightning storm to the magical effect of fire through water which provides the beauty of a rainbow.

These last days of summer encourage us to weave our magic in connection with job offers, career, new projects, law making, or indeed anything which requires passion and commitment for fire denotes change and speeds its arrival.

Fire

In flickering flames I flirt, flambyant, fleeting, gone.

In lava lakes I lie, languid, lambent, waiting.

In boiling blood I bide, boundless, bellicose, fervent.

All taken from 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Elements'

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.