Harvest

What is Lammas and an Abundance Ritual!

Happy Lammas! (No, not Llamas, there are no llamas here). Also known as Lughnasadh.

What is Lammas and what relevance does it have in my life you may be asking yourself. Firstly, I will say it is a celebration, and who doesn’t need a glorious reason to celebrate!? Secondly, let’s go explore what it is – so are you sitting comfortably? Have a nice cuppa tea to hand, or a cool glass of water? Then let us begin.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in the wonderful Gaelic mythological story of the Wheel of the Year, the Sun God (Lugh, Celtic God of Light and the son of the Sun) transfers his power into the grain, and is sacrificed when the grain is harvested. So we have a dying, self-sacrificing and resurrecting god of the harvest, who dies for his people so that they may live. Sound familiar?

The power of the sun goes into the grain as it ripens. It is then harvested and made into the first new bread of the season. This is the Saxon hlaef-masse or loaf-mass, now lammas. Seed grain is also saved for planting for next year’s crop, so the sun god may be seen to rise again in Spring with the new green shoots, as the sun also rises in the sky. There are many traditions and customs all over the country that are still carried out at harvest time today.

So Lammas is the first Harvest Festival of the year, it is a time of awareness that the strength of the Sun (Lugh) is beginning to wane and there is a shift and change afoot. Active growth is slowing down and the darker days of winter and reflection are gently and slowly raising their heads. It happens normally anywhere from July 31st – August 2nd, though some will tell you it can happen between August 1st and September 1st.

“ At Lammas the Goddess is in Her aspect as Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, Harvest Queen, Earth Mother, Ceres and Demeter. Demeter, as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of this year’s harvest and Her daughter Kore/Persephone represents the grain – the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth. This is the deep core meaning of Lammas and comes in different guises: it is about the fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest holding at its heart the seed of all future harvest. (It is a fact that a pregnant woman carrying her as yet unborn daughter is also already carrying the ovary containing all the eggs her daughter will ever release – she is already both mother, grandmother and beyond, embodying the great Motherline – pure magic and mystery.)”

So as the grain harvest is gathered in, there is food to feed the community through the winter and within that harvest is the seed of next year’s rebirth, regeneration and harvest. The Grain Mother is ripe and full, heavily pregnant she carries the seed of the new year’s Sun God within her. There is tension here. For the Sun God, the God of the Harvest, the Green Man, or John Barleycorn, surrenders his life with the cutting of the corn.

What are some of the symbols, plants and colours of Lammas you ask?

Green, Gold, Mint and Sunflowers! Mint is one of the revered plants of the Druids and Its magical properties are both protection and healing, and at this stage in the year, its properties of drawing abundance and prosperity, are most appropriate. Why sunflowers? Think about it, we often take sunflowers for granted, yet by this time of year their flower heads are full and heavy with that wonderful spiral of seeds and they spend the whole day gently turning their heads to gaze at the sun. In the Aztec temples of the sun, priestesses carried sunflowers and wore them as crowns. They symbolize the fertility of the Solar Logos.

I found a glorious little ritual for abundance to do on Lammas that you might want to try. (Courtesy of The Goddess and Green Man).

Lammas Charm For Gathering In Abundance

You will need:

A broom or besom. Don’t worry if it isn’t a traditional besom, any broom will do as it is always the intent that is important. If you have no broom, collect a bundle of twigs and tie them at the top with a Lammas ribbon to make a hand broom shape. The besom/broom is a potent symbol of hearth and home, found in some form in almost every household. It is a traditional magical tool useful for everyday charms as it has the imprint of its owner firmly on it. Sweeping is a natural gathering gesture.

Ribbon. A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering) or ribbon in Lammas harvest colours would be equally suitable.

A Sprig of Mint. Ideally a sprig of mint from your garden (but you can get this from any supermarket), or dried mint – put it in a pouch. The mint represents abundance and plenty and is easily accessible to the urban hedgewitch.

Take your broom and tie your ribbon around the stave or top. Tie in your sprig of mint or securely fasten your pouch. Take your broom outside, place both hands on the stave and focus on your intention – gathering in your harvest for winter. Turn slowly three times in a clockwise direction then start to sweep towards your door saying:

“By one, two, three and four, sweep Lammas gifts to my door. May abundance be a constant friend, by my hearth till Winter’s end.”

Repeat this three times, then take your besom/broom back into your house and put it in its usual place. You can leave the ribbon on for as long as you want to, for a lunar month, or until winter is done. If you have made your own broom you can place it where you consider the heart of your home to be. The mint can be returned to the earth with thanks.

If you do not have an outside space you can sweep from your front door inwards to either your kitchen or hearth using the same charm.

So now you know what Lammas means, why it is celebrated and have a fun and easy ritual to perform to honour it, and bring in abundance. So go grab your broom and start sweeping!

Equinox is here! And Changes are Afoot!

Jenny Heston · 1:00 am ·

Happy Miraculous, Majestic, Musical, Merry, Manifesting, Magickal Monday! How are you delicious lovely? How has your week been? Can you feel the shift and change that is coming with Equinox? I certainly can! The leaves are changing and releasing from the trees and there is a different smell in the air, and I have been watching the energies ramp up for me in this last week.

Equinox comes on Tuesday, September 22nd – my birthday! Okay, great Jenn it’s your birthday but why should Equinox matter to me? Ahhhh, good question grasshopper!

Here in the North it’s Mabon, the second harvest festival. And whether you or North or South, what you need to remember is that Equinox is the balance point, the place where there is an equal amount of day and night. This festival is a time to look at the seeds that you sowed in the Spring, on every level, and reflect on how they have manifested. In fact a nickname for this celebration is “Witches Thanksgiving” as there are so many things to be thankful for. Most crops are in and the fields are beginning to look brown and are slowly going to sleep for the winter (unless they are filled with gorgeous orange pumpkins).

While we harvest and celebrate the glorious gifts we are receiving we have to accept that the soil is dying, and release. We have food to eat, but warmth is gently tucking behind us and cold and dark lie ahead. Now if this is making you gulp a little, don’t! Remember you can’t experience light without the dark and vice versa. When the day and night are of equal length, it offers a powerful vibration and harmony between the time of creation (night) and the time of manifestation (day). This allows the flow between creation and manifestation to be more seamless and flows with ease and effortlessness. There are no limits on what you can manifest during an Equinox, it is time to harvest, be thankful, release, let go and prepare for the more inward reflective times ahead.

And on that note, I am so thankful for all the lovely emails I have received about the Equinox Magickal Bundles (also known as MMM and OMM) and how you are going to use some of the rituals on Equinox or close to.

As it’s my birthday on Equinox and a fabulous manifestation time. I am test driving a wee Mini Cooper (bright red of course) and stick shift as I think they are so cute and quite fabulous! Then I will be heading to the beach and conjuring up a few spells methinks, whilst giving huge gratitude for all that I am, the people in my life and the changing of the seasons. How are you going to celebrate and what are you thankful for?

Some changes are afoot. I have been sending out these free weekly readings for nearly 7 years! I have loved, loved, loved sharing these with all of you all, but now I’m being guided to create something deeper, more connected and that will serve at a higher vibration. As you know the doors to Creatrix Circle opened on Wednesday and they will only be open only until the 29th where they close until December at the earliest. I am thrilled with this new venture, as when women gather in a circle there is a deep sharing of stories, a vulnerability and strength that isn’t encountered in many other arenas of life. The support that one receives in a circle is immense and bonds are built that transcend the normal day to day fluff. Which in turn raises the vibration, creates a sacred container and deepens the learning causing massive expansion in one’s own life, community and globally – and we are really being called to step up now as we move through this massive paradigm shift.

Thus, as of the beginning of October I will be sending out one reading a month and the rest will be done within Creatrix Circle, thus enhancing and supporting the growth of whomever needs to be there. I do so hope you join us as some amazing women have already! I’ve made it exceptionally affordable for Founding Members to join as Seer, and receive all sorts of practickal magic lessons and spiritual wellness, and for Sage and Sorceress to access private coaching which me. When the doors reopen in December, the price will be higher.

Okay, let’s crack on with the reading.

So my darlings with Equinox just around the corner when I went to the cards I grinned a huge grin as the gorgeous guides of The Faery Forest Oracle were adamant to join! Now if these are new guides for you, please let me introduce them as it would be rude not to!

“Let us enter the wild green world together, friend, the faery forests where the great trees speak with us, the moss soft underfoot, the light pure and gentle. The homes of the once Sacred groves of the Celts, the Saxons, and the Vikings…and to the people who were here long before we had names with which to call them to us – the faerie people. May the wild green world and the wondrous beings of this Faery Forest heal us, inspire us and urge us all to become more who we truly are meant to be.”

Perfect guides for this time, especially as Equinox is about the change in seasons, nature and the magick that is there, if your’e willing to see it. When I went to take a photo of the cards, I was tickled to see a wee little rainbow had joined us. Do you see it?

So delicious one, breathe out. Let all that old air leave your lungs and as you take a gorgeous inhale in through your nose and out through your mouth let your shoulders relax. Just BE here for a moment, it doesn’t have to be long. Then as you breathe; invite into your mind’s eye the energy of Equinox, what are you thankful for? What needs to be harvested? Then when you are ready, pick the card or cards that call to your wise self.

Did you remember to pick?

Shall we go look?

BLOODMONTH

There is a time for us all to gather the harvest to us. In order to do so, in the fields, the heads of grain must fall. In our own lives, we must similarly be ready to let go and offer up something of value, in order to make room for the greater good that can then flow into our lives, into our very souls.

When we sacrifice, we make something “sacred” by the very act of giving it up. It is no sacrifice to make an offering that has no value, no meaning to us – and so at this time you are being asked to give, contribute, and offer up something valuable to you in order to receive in return. What you give must be significant as there must be energetic room created in order for significant blessing to flow through to you in return.

These sacrifices do not always come in the form of the material – it is not always a “thing” that we offer or let go of. It can be our pride, our judgement, our human conceits, our petty quarrels and disputes – all of which fill our days with distractions that serve no one.

With Bloodmonth comes the need to make a deep and earnest decision to give up something that we have held dear – even components of our constructed human personality – to give them up to feed the hungry beings of Bloodmonth, who, although terrifying to gaze upon, will clear and free us in so many ways.

Have no doubt. From the offerings you make, the future is born. Now is the time to make that sacred offering.

SIGIL KEEPER

When the Sigil Keeper comes to you, there will be no words. Instead, there will be shapes and signs and messages a-flowing, as tough a language of symbols is being shared with you. When she comes, you are being encouraged to participate in this process by creating and shaping your own magickal symbols and beginning to consciously choose the symbolic language that you are creating and connecting with every single day.

You may wish to find a symbol at this time that represents you and the part of the journey you are exploring at present. You may wish to look around your home and see what “hidden” symbols have worked their way into your life, and you may wish to rearrange these, remove some, replace others with symbols that are consciously chosen to be of greatest magickal support to you at this time.

Look at your clothing, what you wear, and see the symbolic nature of this, and go through your jewellery and consider carefully the energy of its symbols and whether you wish to connect with this

Sigil work is simple but ever so powerful, and this amazing being is a reminder to work with intelligence, and to exercise your choice at all times. You must choose carefully now what symbols you keep about you – for they have shaped you more than you have ever truly considered.

ELVEN TOUCH

There are some who walk among us who have healing capabilities in the Faery Forest; this is known as having the “elven touch”.

You are being offered the assistance of this elven touch – a healing touch of energy that transfers to you some of the gift of immense good health, which aids immediately in your recovery. This transferral of magickal energy from the elves offers you a spark of vitality, that luminous quality that helps us to awaken each day refreshed and ready, with renewed enthusiasm, vigour, and optimism.

The elven ones are now stilling themselves and gathering their energy to send to you when you are ready to receive. To allow this energy to work its healing within your cells, simply find a quiet place to be sometime today. Cast whatever doubts your human mind brings forth aside for a time, and visualise a silver stream of pure energy entering your crown…..

Being touched by elves has always been known to be powerful – they can heal and they can harm, and for you, this transferal of energy brings forth great healing, soothing and a relief from physical pain.

Seek healing treatments that involve touch.

Oh wowzer, you really can’t make this shit up! Offerings, symbols and healing! Frigging perfect for this energetic time. So my delicious lovely, wishing you a stupendous Equinox, I hope you celebrate and do something to harness the energy and mark the changes. Have a glorious week, gather some colourful leaves and remember to be gentle with yourself. With change, whether it’s the Season or the energetics, can come a sense of dis-ease. Breathe, smile and now you are positively fabulous. And come check out Creatrix Circle, as you still have time to join and change this upcoming year for yourself. Big hugs and squeezes!

Post Full Moon, Fall Equinox, Harvest Time and a Mabon Magick gift! Whoot!!

Jenny Heston · 1:01 am ·

Happy Magickal, Marvelous, Memorable, Magnificent, Manifesting Monday delicious lovely! Whoot! Whoot!

How was the watery Harvest Full Moon for you? Did you do some releasing? I found it rather bizarre as on Friday morning I found myself feeling rather emotional and very “tweaky”, so much so that the mantra “Fuck this, I’m not impressed”, was running through me head! As I felt it really start to swell and rise to the surface I pitied anyone that I would encounter lol. Thus, I took myself outside, sat on the grass under a tree and just let it all pour out and become cosmic compost for the huge roots of the tree. Phew! Humanity was safe! So if you found yourself feeling rather emotional and tweaky, don’t fret, and if you still are having remnants of that fluttering around you – go find a lovely strong tree, give it a hug and tell the tree everything and let it wash down into the earth. (Works, trust me!)

This weekend I went to a Mind, Body, Spirit Expo (having never been to one before) and it was quite interesting. There were all types of vendors and workshops going on and you could find everything from crystals to hypnotherapy and body scanning. I was turned off a tad as a gentleman barged up to me as I was browsing and very bluntly said “I bet you don’t know your soul purpose and for $300 I can tell you everything you need to know.” Ummm, hmmmm, well this is a tad presumptuous, so my response was “Actually I have a really good grasp on what my Soul Purpose is thank you and I live it, work with it and embrace it daily.” Cheeky chap! So as I left the Expo it reminded me of the theme of this month “Commitment”. How are you doing with that? Have you decided what you are willing to Commit to for YOU?

Fall Equinox is coming on Monday September 23rd. I love, love, love this Equinox! (Did I say I love this Equinox?) My body responds to the change in the season, the cooler weather and the sense of a reset button and harvesting. I find it quite a magickal time and most certainly practice ritual and give myself time to celebrate and welcome the new energy into my being, my home and my work. I always remember when I was a kid going with my Great Aunts and harvesting flowers, squash, turnips, kale, apples, pears and a myriad of other fruit and veggies which we would then take and decorate the tiny little stone church in our little village in Yorkshire. It was amazing and made the little church look like the cutest and most organised Farmer’s Market you have ever seen!

As my birthday is the day before Mabon I have a gift for you. I want to gift you something to really help you really tap into and harness the energy of Mabon (Fall Equinox) and embrace the energy as we shift into it. Thus, I am putting together some rituals, a spell or two and a lovely guided visualisation which will come to you on Friday. I’m calling it the Mabon Magick Manual lol. (HA! We are working with the letter M again!) So do make sure you are on the email list so that you can receive it!

Okay, let’s crack on with the reading for this week. When I went to the cards and asked who would like to guide and support this week I was tickled to see The Divine Circus Oracle were most adamant as they are clear they have something to share. Now if you have never encountered these lovely guides, please let me introduce you:- “What is life if not a Divine Circus? Life might seem ordinary at times, yet when we look more closely, it is bursting with creative diversity, constantly evolving, pulling rugs out from underneath our feet (usually just at the moment we think we have everything under control) and opening doors we couldn’t even see were right there before us moment earlier. Life is magical, thrilling, sometimes strange and even scary. It can inspire you and touch your soul, inviting you to discover the unique magic within you, to dare to live it, to express it, to play with possibilities and embrace what sets you apart from the crowd.”

Interestingly enough, when I asked the crystals who would like to join in, the shells were very loud and pushy, which if you think about it makes total sense as we are still in the waves of the watery Full Moon in Pisces. So we have some glorious shells to accompany the guides and the nasturtiums in the garden (along with fennel) wanted to add some autumnal feel to it all.

Ready? I invite you to take a moment from the hurly burly of the day and just get present and in your body. Breathe your way back into it fully and as you breathe invite the thought of Harvest into your mind’s eye. What are you willing to harvest this season? What are you willing to release this season to have an abundant harvest? Let this question perk for a bit and just BE with it. There is no right nor wrong answer. Then, when you are ready; pick the card or cards that brush alongside your mind like a warm autumnal breeze.

Did you remember to pick?

Shall we go have a little look see?

RA! RA! RA!

Have you had enough of the dark side of life? Fear doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, frustration and believing that you cannot manifest your dreams are signs you’ve been in the darkness for too long. It’s your time to step out of the darkness and into the light.

It takes a lot of courage to leave darkness behind and embrace the light. To step into the light means that you give up attachment to drama, the stories of suffering and the pain of the past. You don’t deny your struggles or your pain, but you know it is possible to let it go in favour of trust, reassurance, comfort and commitment to what holds meaning for you, again and again and again, for as often as needs be until you are free.

Sometimes the courage of stepping into the light means a willingness to set aside the mental anguish and say, “Today I just choose to trust that everything is going to work out according to a higher and unconditionally-loving divine plan that has my best interests at heart.” It means that you acknowledge what you have gone through without needing to keep score.

Like the sun cracking through the night to bring the dawn of a new day, this is your divine wake-up call. Your dark days are numbered and your time in the divine spotlight is upon you. Be willing to shine your light, even if no-one else around you seems to understand, acknowledge or recognise it at first, or even for a long time!

ALICE

New worlds are calling you forth where the old rules don’t apply. It might seem strange, or freeing, or wild, or even scary at first, but you are meant to explore these new worlds. You will gain so much from the experiences. There’s no need to be afraid.

When your world becomes too small for your spirit, it can feel painful, like trying to walk about in shoes you’ve outgrown. If you do this for too long you can feel crippled with pain and unable to walk at all! You have a spirit that is outgrowing the worlds you’ve known and is yearning to experience new ones. The Universe is responding to your spiritual need to broaden your horizons with new friends, opportunities and communities that are, or soon will, become available to you. You may welcome the unfamiliar, or you may find it intimidating. You may wonder if you belong in those possibly strange new worlds, or you may feel like you’ve come home. No matter whether it is just another world you are meant to pass through on your life adventure, or a return to a true soul family you never knew you had, there is value in this next phase of your life path. It is essential to your overall plan and divine destiny.

Follow that which is novel or unusual, that which seems to take you into new worlds, rather than making do with what already has been. Following those initial inspirations will open doors for you and gain you entry into entirely new and exciting worlds. You are ready for the adventure, whether you know it or not.

JOKER IS WILD

The Universe has a sense of humour, but never at your expense. It is laughing with you, not at you. You’ll see this for yourself as the Joker weaves her magic in your life, bringing you the grace that is beyond all reason, the necessary ingredient to ensure you win with the hand you have been dealt by life. There’s nothing impossible when the Joker appears. Her wild ways can transform a losing streak into a lifelong love affair with Lady Luck.

Strap yourself in and prepare for the ride of a lifetime. The Joker has come to you and the Joker is wild. Unpredictable and brilliant, she brings you a message. You are being empowered to overcome all odds. So you are going to win. No doubts, no dramas, but not necessarily in a way that you expect either! She is sending the best possible situation to you even now. It might startle you, like a sudden light in the middle of the night, but it will be welcome nonetheless.

You probably won’t see it coming. It will probably be in a way that subverts everything you once believed to be true. But it will be a welcome trick by the Universe, a loving joke that opens your heart and helps you realise that this vast impersonal universe personally knows and cares for you, so intimately and with such meticulous care. Just don’t expect to feel in control of the process, for the Joker is wild and moves according to her own genius, but always blesses you with what will work best, beyond compare, now and always.

Yummers! What fabulous cards for this post Full Moon and pre-Mabon! How did your card/s feel for you? I’m so tickly wiggly excited about Equinox coming and putting together your Mabon Magick Manual! Have a wonderful week, breathe in the cooler air, laugh as the leaves start to gently fall to the ground and smile like a big happy faced sunflower! Have a superb week and see you next week. Don’t forget if you know of someone who would benefit from the Mabon Magick Manual, let them know. Huge hugs and big cups of tea!

What, Why and How to Celebrate Lammas.

Jenny Heston · 12:00 pm ·

Happy Lammas! (No, not Llamas, there are no llamas here). Also known as Lughnasadh.

So Lammas is the first Harvest Festival of the year, it is a time of awareness that the strength of the Sun (Lugh) is beginning to wane and there is a shift and change afoot. Active growth is slowing down and the darker days of winter and reflection are gently and slowly raising their heads. It happens normally anywhere from July 31st – August 2nd, though some will tell you it can happen between August 1st and September 1st.

What are some of the symbols, plants and colours of Lammas you ask?

I found a glorious little ritual for abundance to do on Lammas that you might want to try. (Courtesy of The Goddess and Green Man).

Lammas Charm For Gathering In Abundance

You will need:

A broom or besom. Don’t worry if it isn’t a traditional besom, any broom will do as it is always intent that is important. If you have no broom collect a bundle of twigs and tie them at the top with Lammas ribbon to make a hand broom shape. The besom/broom is a potent symbol of hearth and home, found in some form in almost every household. It is a traditional magical tool useful for everyday charms as it has the imprint of its owner firmly on it. Sweeping is a natural gathering gesture.

Ribbon. A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering) or ribbon in Lammas harvest colours would be equally suitable.

A Sprig of Mint. Ideally a sprig of mint from your garden (but you can get this from any supermarket), or dried mint – put it in a pouch. The mint represents abundance and plenty and is easily accessible to the urban hedgewitch.

“By one, two, three and four, sweep Lammas gifts to my door. May abundance be a constant friend, by my hearth till Winter’s end.”

Repeat this three times, then take your besom/broom back into your house and put it in its usual place. You can leave the ribbon on for as long as want to, for a lunar month, or until winter is done. If you have made your own broom you can place it where you consider the heart of your home to be. The mint can be returned to the earth with thanks.

If you do not have an outside space you can sweep from your front door inwards to either your kitchen or hearth using the same charm.

So now you know what Lammas means, why it is celebrated and have a fun and easy ritual to perform to honour it, and bring in abundance. So go grab your broom and start sweeping!

Harvest

jennyheston

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