Jenny Heston

Claim Your Power and Step Into Your Magick

Lammas

What is Lammas and an Abundance Ritual!

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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!

Minions, Memories, Grief and The New Moon.

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Happy Magnificent, Magickal, Moody, Melancholy, Manifesting Monday!  Here we are in Leo Season with a New Moon on Thursday.  

This is a longer post as we have  a couple of things to explore this week, two sides of the coin so to speak.   Thus, if you aren’t willing to come and play in the messiness of human life, which can be real and raw, I highly suggest you skip this section.  We are melding Grief, Memories and Lughnasadh (aka as Lammas) – which is about abundance and harvest, and the New Moon.  

Yup I did say Grief out loud, something that is often classified as “taboo” in our Western Culture.  As most people don’t know how to deal with it. 

Let’s be honest, over the last few years with the lovely pandemic, war and massive climate upheaval, many people have experienced loss on so many levels including people transitioning and them not being able to be there when it happened.  

Which got me thinking a lot about how we’re all just muddling through life.  Honestly, it’s a wonder that any of us have the energy to reach out to others when we all have such complicated dramas playing out in our own lives.  Add in the overwhelming stress of losing someone we love, and the volume gets turned all the way up.

The trouble, of course, is that as humans we’re not meant to be isolated.  We are built for community, so even though it would be easier to wrap ourselves in cotton wool (or perhaps a duvet) and hide when we’re hurting, the real healing happens in relation to other people.  This has been a huge challenge for many of us and this is something that I do struggle with in the month of July.  

Three years ago I spent the month of July in the UK helping my big sister and best friend Fi to die.  It was the toughest thing I have ever had to do so far in my life. 

To watch someone you love so dearly in pain and being given one drug so the body will digest food, another drug so that the body will evacuate, another drug, another drug – it was inhumane and heart breaking. 

To be with her 24×7 in the last week and witness the physical body shutting down and to hear the death rattle was almost more than I could bear.  

Fi was one of my touchstones and I soooooooo didn’t want her to leave at all, but she did.  It was transformative, painful and powerful all at the same time.  And it fucking sucked!!!

When I returned back to Canada, numb and empty I struggled as all I wanted was to be alone.  It felt primal.  I wanted to wear soft clothing that felt cosy against my skin, I didn’t want to talk.  I wanted to sleep and curl up, eat comforting food and drink hot tea.  As after all it is difficult to be our most raw, broken selves in public.  

Grief, to me, felt like having a limb chopped off.  How was it possible that my sister – my best friend – was gone from the world in such an irreversible way?  The shock of her absence followed me around for months, like an empty space where my shadow should have been. 

And dealing with other people!  Oh my Goddess – I had to remind myself that other people were trying their best.   Even when they seemed to say or do precisely the wrong thing.  

So when the first July came around I didn’t realise how it would gut me.  To remember that on her birthday, July 28th, she started leaving us and died 3 days later.  Staying with her 24×7, the candles, the music, the stories that I would tell her in the hopes that she would open her eyes and would be totally fine.  It knocked me for seven to be honest.

The second year wasn’t much better, although being a bit wiser I made sure to clear space and time to feel all the feels and take myself off into the woods and be alone. 

This year I’ve been handling July – okayish so far, but I can feel it all burbling and needing honouring.  So I’ve been asking myself if being alone to mark her birthday and her “death day” (as I’m not too sure what to call it) is the only way, or could I hold the space for others?  

So I am striking a compromise.  On her birthday 28th, (New Moon), I am going to play, take time out and pause, invite her to the ocean, into the woods and into a lovely Leo New Moon ritual, as she was always telling me – pause, breathe, check in and set your intention.  

So with the Leo New Moon being one of the sweetest New Moons we have experienced in a while, that makes total sense.

This Leo New Moon carries the vibration of abundance, joy, and creativity. It is a beautiful New Moon for checking in with the flow of our lives and if we are where we want to be.

Some days, life tends to pass in a blur. We get caught up in the rush and swept up in the flow of our past actions and beliefs. But July’s New Moon is a good time to pause and consider the direction of our lives.

Are we moving in a direction that feels good? Are we taking actions each day that fill us with joy and inspiration, or are we living merely out of habit?

To really make the most of this energy, bring your attention to your heart centre under this New Moon. Listen to your heart, what whispers does it share?

One powerful and quick exercise you can do to connect with your heart is to close your eyes. Take three deep breaths, and then place your hand over your heart. From this place, ask your heart what it needs the most right now, and then trust the feeling or message that arises.

Yes, grief does lessen – in other words it doesn’t walk with you every day, but when it floods up it is as intense as it ever was.  

Then on Sunday – her death day – I’m going to hold a wee celebration of life with my family and close friends, instead of running to the woods on my own.  It will be hosted in the garden, there will be Minions (as she loved, loved the minions), cake and tea, great music, bubbles, stories and wee little origami boxes with ladybirds – to be released into the garden, each carrying a blessing.

  All the things she would have loved.  I’m trusting I will keep it together lol.

And as a gift to all you wonderful beasties, on Thursday (if you are part of our email community) and in honour of my most magickal, wise, amazing sister there will be a glorious Lughnasadh bundle available for free.  Why?

On August 1st (Monday) Lughnasadh or Lammas happens, it is the first of three harvest festivals.  A time of appreciation, gratitude, abundance and  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. 

I love Lammas as it’s such a glorious celebration of food, first harvest and gathering.  All things that Fi loved and understood.  

You may not think you have anything you are harvesting in your life. You may not be able to name what, exactly, you’ve been growing & tending this year. BUT I PROMISE YOU, simply being a human being living through the uncertainties & upheaval has caused you to stretch & grow in ways you may not realise yet. And that growth is GOING TO bear fruit in some way.

One of the most beautiful lessons Lughnasa/Lammas teaches us is to TRUST.

So make sure you snag the Lammas bundle when it’s released this coming week.  It is filled with lore, stories, rituals and glorious things to make and do to honour YOU.  (Yes You!)  And how wonderful you are and all the ups and downs, the hiccups and the accomplishments you have experienced.  

Now enough chuntering from me, let’s crack on with the reading.   When I went to the cards to ask who would like to be present this week it made my heart smile to see who showed up.  The amazing Faery Blessing guides were most adamant.  As after all, who doesn’t need a Blessing?

Now if these guides are new to you, please let me introduce them as it would be rude not to.

Faeries are present in every droplet of water, every blade of grass – they are everywhere there is a trace of nature – thus every field, flower, and forest is theirs.  They inhabit the wild rainforests and the old castles; they dance within standing stones and burial mounds; they are on the top of mountains and within the grove deep in the valley; and they appear in the cracks in the pavement and beneath the cities in the old, tangled tree roots.  Faeries are part of this world, and they were here before we were born into this world, and they know us better than we know ourselves.  

For humans, many of us have lost our sense of play, our sense of relationship with nature, our courage to be ourselves – as well as our hope, creativity, and personal power.  We have looked outside of ourselves and nature and the sacred ones for answers, and in doing so, we have become quite lost.  The blessings of the faeries can bring us back into relationship with ourselves, back into relationship with the elements and the elementals, so that we can become more at home within the world, while creating a personal world which supports our dreams, our wishes, and our purpose.  

Yes!  Positively perfect!

So gorgeous one take a breath.  Just a normal breath and then as you carry on breathing allow it to slow down.  Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Allow in your mind’s eye a gorgeous rainbow swirl to form, this pattern is made of loss and abundance.  It holds any grief you may feel about a person, place, situation or thing and it melds with the abundance and appreciation of who you are.  As you breathe just let it swirl, you don’t have to control it.  

Then with this energy pick the card or cards that call to you.  What Blessing is for you this week?

Did you remember to pick?

Shall we go look?

A BLESSING FROM QUEEN MAB

The Faery Gift of Being the Ruler of Your Own World

With this faery gift from the formidable and enchanting faery queen, Queen Mab, comes the blessing of being the owner of your own life.  This is a powerful blessing indeed, for with this blessing comes the most precious gift of all, that of knowing that your life is yours to live.  

With this blessing, let you now take up the reins of your life, let you decide what it is you do, and who it is you are, and who you are now becoming.  It is your life, this wild and sweet thing, to be lived only once, and it is rare and priceless.  You shall no longer be owned, nor forced, nor pushed, nor pulled, for with her gift comes the solidity of determining your own fate – for you are a being who has often been pressured to give away the crown that declares that you are the sovereign.  With this blessing, it is returned to you.

Let yourself be a queen, a king, and know your world is as great as any other person’s.  Your life is a jewel, and no more shall you spend it pleasing others.  When this blessing comes to you, all who you know you will love and support you, and you will now take back the power that you gave away.  You will climb the stairs to your throne and look upon your world and know that you will be a strong leader of your own soul.  And you will inspire others to do the same.

With this gift from Queen Mab will come the sure knowledge of what is wise for you to do, and what would be foolish, and to know the difference between pleasing others and doing what is in the very best interest of the path of your soul.

You faery friend, are a magnificent being, and your life, your world, and your very being are royal.  Be most loyal to your ownself, and know now the gift of great and deep self-respect, and of choosing what is right for you.

Blessings of the great and good Queen Mab to you, friend.

BLESSED BE

A BLESSING OF A FAERY GUARDIAN

A Faery Gift of Magickal Protection and Lifelong, True Loving Care.

At your birth into this world, human child, a faery came to you and offered you the blessings of your soul.  For each of us, this blessing will be unique, created especially for the journey we are destined to take in this lifetime.  So, with this blessing, may you know again the beauty and sweetness of your own faery godmother, your faery guardian.  For she is still with you, helping to ease the way and remind you, as often as she is able to pierce the veil, that you are her charge, and she will remain with you all the days of this life.

May you now feel the presence of her love; may you feel that sense of being looked out for, that there is one being from the elemental world who works with your soul and helps you at all times.  

When this blessing comes, tune in to her presence and know that all about you there is comfort, and goodness, and a way to move through all difficulties.  Yoru faery guardian has always been with you this lifetime, and will remain until you have journeyed on.  Know you are her most precious charge, and when times become troubled, and life seems bleak, know there is a being whose duty it is to bring you back to hope, to optimism, to the sense that you are a gifted, cherished being.  Feel now the love of the faery guardian, your own faery godmother, and believe again in your own blessedness.  

BLESSED BE

A BLESSING OF CLEAR FORESIGHT

The Faery Gift of Knowing what is likely to come from the dimension we humans call the future.

A gift is given this day to you, a blessing of the faeries true.  This gift is that of the long vision, the ability to see the consequences of actions taken in the present and, indeed, the outcome of decisions of the past.  With this blessing of clear foresight, may you be blessed with the ability to see the lasting influence of what it is you choose to do – what will you be granting to the future of this world, to the children, to the ones who come after.

May you understand, therefore, what would be best for you to do, not only for your own self – though it is good and right for you to think of yourself – but of what is best for those  you love and for those who come after us all.  For the faeries love long, and see many a human unable to contemplate beyond their own needs – and, in that moment, unthinking of consequences, create a future they do not wish to inhabit fully.  With this amazing faery gift, this enchanted ability to see further into the dimension of time, you will make the best decision for yourself now and for the future and the future of others.  Time unfurls before you, a green scroll unwritten upon, but one upon which you can see what could come.  

Take this blessing and use it wisely, for the fae, for the human children, and for the betterment of your own precious self.  

Faery blessings of the long foresight to you, friend.

BLESSED BE

And so it is.  May your week be filled with Blessings galore.  If you are walking with Grief, please know that you are not alone – I see you, I hear you and you are so loved.  I won’t tell you it will pass, as it doesn’t – but the gap where your shadow would be does lessen.  To celebrate you and the fact that you are here, muddling through life and doing your best, do make sure to grab the Lammas bundle when it comes out on Thursday.  Happy New Moon and Huge Blessings and I will see you in two weeks as I’m taking my time to feel all the feels and not dumb it down.    

Grief, Lammas and Blessings

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Happy Magnificent, Magickal, Moody, Melancholy, Manifesting Monday!  How are you feeling with the energy of the Aquarius Full Moon swirling around? 

This is a longer post as we have  a couple of things to explore this week, two sides of the coin so to speak.   Thus, if you aren’t willing to come and play in the messiness of human life, which can be real and raw, I highly suggest you skip this section.  We are melding Grief and Lughnasadh (aka as Lammas) – which is about abundance and harvest.  

Yup I did say Grief and and often classified as “taboo” in our Western Culture.  As most people don’t know how to deal with it.  Let’s be honest, over the last year and a half with the lovely pandemic many people have experienced loss on so many levels including people transitioning and not being able to be there when it happened.  

Which got me thinking a lot about how we’re all just muddling through life.  Honestly, it’s a wonder that any of us have the energy to reach out to others when we all have such complicated dramas playing out in our own lives.  Add in the overwhelming stress of losing someone we love, and the volume gets turned all the way up.

The trouble, of course, is that as humans we’re not meant to be isolated.  We are built for community, so even though it would be easier to wrap ourselves in cotton wool (or perhaps a duvet) and hide when we’re hurting, the real healing happens in relation to other people.  This has been a huge challenge in the pandemic and this was something that I struggled with for a long time two years ago.  

Two years ago I spent the month of July in the UK helping my big sister and best friend Fi to die.  It was the toughest thing I have ever had to do so far in my life, she was one of my touchstones and I didn’t want her to leave at all, but she did.  It was transformative, painful and powerful all at the same time.  And fucking sucked!!!

When I returned back to Canada, numb and empty I struggled as all I wanted was to be alone.  It felt primal.  I wanted to wear soft clothing that felt cosy against my skin, I didn’t want to talk.  I wanted to sleep and curl up, eat comforting food and drink hot tea.  As after all it is difficult to be our most raw, broken selves in public.  Grief, to me, felt like having a limb chopped off.  How was it possible that my sister – my best friend – was gone from the world in such an irreversible way?  The shock of her absence followed me around for months, like an empty space where my shadow should have been.  And dealing with other people!  Oh my Goddess – I had to remind myself that other people were trying their best.   Even when they seemed to say or do precisely the wrong thing.  

So last year when July came around I didn’t realise how it would gut me.  To remember that on her birthday, July 28th, she started leaving us and died 3 days later.  Staying with her 24×7, the candles, the music, the stories that I would tell her in the hopes that she would open her eyes and would be totally fine.  It knocked me for seven to be honest.

Two years later I am a bit wiser and made sure to clear space and time to feel the feels.  Yes, grief does lessen – in other words it doesn’t walk with you every day, but when it floods up it is as intense as it ever was.  Thus, on Wednesday I am going to fully celebrate Fi’s birthday and do all the things she loved to do and make glorious lemon lavender loaves (as she liked a nice piece of cake and a cuppa).  Then on Saturday – her death day (still not too sure what to call it) – I’m going to go sit and chat with her and be alone as to be honest – it feels raw and if another daft person says “It’s been two years”, I can’t guarantee that I will be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.  

And as a gift to all you wonderful beasties, on Wednesday (if you are part of our email community) and in honour of my most magickal, wise, amazing sister there will be a glorious Lughnasadh bundle available for free.  Why?

On August 1st (Sunday) Lughnasadh or Lammas happens, it is the first of three harvest festivals.  A time of appreciation, gratitude, abundance and  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. 

I love Lammas as it’s such a glorious celebration of food, first harvest and gathering.  All things that Fi loved and understood.  

You may not think you have anything you are harvesting in your life. You may not be able to name what, exactly, you’ve been growing & tending this year. BUT I PROMISE YOU, simply being a human being living through the uncertainties & upheaval has caused you to stretch & grow in ways you may not realize yet. And that growth is GOING TO bear fruit in some way.

One of the most beautiful lessons Lughnasa teaches us is to TRUST.

So make sure you snag the Lammas bundle when it’s released this coming week.  It is filled with lore, stories, rituals and glorious things to make and do to honour YOU.  (Yes You!)  And how wonderful you are and all the ups and downs, the hiccups and the accomplishments you have experienced.  There is also going to be a delicious guided visualisation for you for this time.  

Now enough chuntering from me, let’s crack on with the reading.   When I went to the cards to ask who would like to be present this week it made my heart smile to see who showed up.  The amazing Faery Blessing guides were most adamant.  As after all, who doesn’t need a Blessing?

Now if these guides are new to you, please let me introduce them as it would be rude not to.

Faeries are present in every droplet of water, every blade of grass – they are everywhere there is a trace of nature – thus every field, flower, and forest is theirs.  They inhabit the wild rainforests and the old castles; they dance within standing stones and burial mounds; they are on the top of mountains and within the grove deep in the valley; and they appear in the cracks in the pavement and beneath the cities in the old, tangled tree roots.  Faeries are part of this world, and they were here before we were born into this world, and they know us better than we know ourselves.  

For humans, many of us have lost our sense of play, our sense of relationship with nature, our courage to be ourselves – as well as our hope, creativity, and personal power.  We have looked outside of ourselves and nature and the sacred ones for answers, and in doing so, we have become quite lost.  The blessings of the faeries can bring us back into relationship with ourselves, back into relationship with the elements and the elementals, so that we can become more at home within the world, while creating a personal world which supports our dreams, our wishes, and our purpose.  

Yes!  Positively perfect!

So gorgeous one take a breath.  Just a normal breath and then as you carry on breathing allow it to slow down.  Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Allow in your mind’s eye a gorgeous rainbow swirl to form, this pattern is made of loss and abundance.  It holds any grief you may feel about a person, place, situation or thing and it melds with the abundance and appreciation of who you are.  As you breathe just let it swirl, you don’t have to control it.  

Then with this energy pick the card or cards that call to you.  What Blessing is for you this week?

Did you remember to pick?

Shall we go look?

A BLESSING FROM QUEEN MAB

The Faery Gift of Being the Ruler of Your Own World

With this faery gift from the formidable and enchanting faery queen, Queen Mab, comes the blessing of being the owner of your own life.  This is a powerful blessing indeed, for with this blessing comes the most precious gift of all, that of knowing that your life is yours to live.  

With this blessing, let you now take up the reins of your life, let you decide what it is you do, and who it is you are, and who you are now becoming.  It is your life, this wild and sweet thing, to be lived only once, and it is rare and priceless.  You shall no longer be owned, nor forced, nor pushed, nor pulled, for with her gift comes the solidity of determining your own fate – for you are a being who has often been pressured to give away the crown that declares that you are the sovereign.  With this blessing, it is returned to you.

Let yourself be a queen, a king, and know your world is as great as any other person’s.  Your life is a jewel, and no more shall you spend it pleasing others.  When this blessing comes to you, all who you know you will love and support you, and you will now take back the power that you gave away.  You will climb the stairs to your throne and look upon your world and know that you will be a strong leader of your own soul.  And you will inspire others to do the same.

With this gift from Queen Mab will come the sure knowledge of what is wise for you to do, and what would be foolish, and to know the difference between pleasing others and doing what is in the very best interest of the path of your soul.

You faery friend, are a magnificent being, and your life, your world, and your very being are royal.  Be most loyal to your ownself, and know now the gift of great and deep self-respect, and of choosing what is right for you.

Blessings of the great and good Queen Mab to you, friend.

BLESSED BE

A BLESSING OF A FAERY GUARDIAN

A Faery Gift of Magickal Protection and Lifelong, True Loving Care.

At your birth into this world, human child, a faery came to you and offered you the blessings of your soul.  For each of us, this blessing will be unique, created especially for the journey we are destined to take in this lifetime.  So, with this blessing, may you know again the beauty and sweetness of your own faery godmother, your faery guardian.  For she is still with you, helping to ease the way and remind you, as often as she is able to pierce the veil, that you are her charge, and she will remain with you all the days of this life.

May you now feel the presence of her love; may you feel that sense of being looked out for, that there is one being from the elemental world who works with your soul and helps you at all times.  

When this blessing comes, tune in to her presence and know that all about you there is comfort, and goodness, and a way to move through all difficulties.  Yoru faery guardian has always been with you this lifetime, and will remain until you have journeyed on.  Know you are her most precious charge, and when times become troubled, and life seems bleak, know there is a being whose duty it is to bring you back to hope, to optimism, to the sense that you are a gifted, cherished being.  Feel now the love of the faery guardian, your own faery godmother, and believe again in your own blessedness.  

BLESSED BE

A BLESSING OF CLEAR FORESIGHT

The Faery Gift of Knowing what is likely to come from the dimension we humans call the future.

A gift is given this day to you, a blessing of the faeries true.  This gift is that of the long vision, the ability to see the consequences of actions taken in the present and, indeed, the outcome of decisions of the past.  With this blessing of clear foresight, may you be blessed with the ability to see the lasting influence of what it is you choose to do – what will you be granting to the future of this world, to the children, to the ones who come after.

May you understand, therefore, what would be best for you to do, not only for your own self – though it is good and right for you to think of yourself – but of what is best for those  you love and for those who come after us all.  For the faeries love long, and see many a human unable to contemplate beyond their own needs – and, in that moment, unthinking of consequences, create a future they do not wish to inhabit fully.  With this amazing faery gift, this enchanted ability to see further into the dimension of time, you will make the best decision for yourself now and for the future and the future of others.  Time unfurls before you, a green scroll unwritten upon, but one upon which you can see what could come.  

Take this blessing and use it wisely, for the fae, for the human children, and for the betterment of your own precious self.  

Faery blessings of the long foresight to you, friend.

BLESSED BE

And so it is.  May your week be filled with Blessings galore.  If you are walking with Grief, please know that you are not alone – I see you, I hear you and you are so loved.  I won’t tell you it will pass, as it doesn’t – but the gap where your shadow would be does lessen.  To celebrate you and the fact that you are here, muddling through life and doing your best, do make sure to grab the Lammas bundle when it comes out on Wednesday.  Huge Blessings and I will see you in two weeks as it’s a long weekend coming up here in Canada. 

 

The Eclipse is Past and Lammas is coming!

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Happy Magnificent, Magickal Monday!  How are you feeling with the Full Lunar Eclipse just having happened?  Remember this energy isn’t just for that one day, it will be burbling along for a couple of months (yes, I did say months).  So remember to continually come back to your intention and to watch where your thoughts go. If you find your mind wandering down the dark alleyway of fear and limiting beliefs, entice it back out into the open with a cooling ice cream!  Yes?

We have had unrelenting heat for the last 2 months and I have to admit it is getting a bit wearing.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun, but when it’s 100F day in, day out it makes it draining to do things out doors (and that makes me grumbly and grumply lol).  Although, yesterday I did spend 8 hours putting sheathing up on the workshop I’m building (which is looking like a tiny home) and figuring out the roof pitch and rafter cuts, so that was quite satisfying.  However, with the heat I was a puddle of a person with gobs of sawdust stuck all over me, so a cooling shower and an iced glass of lemonade was quite refreshing.

August is rapidly approaching which means on Wednesday we get to welcome in and celebrate Lammas!  Whoot! Whoot! (Note I said Lammas and not Llamas, although if you feel inclined to celebrate Llamas go for it).  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. I love Lammas as it’s such a glorious celebration of food, first harvest and gathering.  If you have no clue what I am talking about and what to find out more and learn an easy abundance charm for this time, I have you covered here.

Now enough chuntering from me, let’s crack on with the reading.  With the Eclipse just past and all of us in this time of transformation and change, it was no surprise to see that the Oracle of Shadows and Light were adamant to come out to play.  Now, if you have never encountered these gorgeous, quirky guides before let me share with you. These lovely guides ask you to step out from the shadows, to no longer hide your light away, and to consult with an oracle that acknowledges your individuality and strange genius!

The crystals that chose to join us are:- Black Moonstone, Shadow Quartz and Mystic Merlinite.

So let’s get comfie in our bodies and present.  Take some nice deep breaths, slowly in through your nose and exhale out through your mouth.  Bring to the forefront of your being any question that you would like support with, whether it is pertaining to yourself, a situation, a dream or a desire.  Then breathe into it for a few more breaths and then pick the card or cards that resonate for you.

Did you remember to pick?

Let’s go have a look shall we?

A CLOCKWORK PUMPKIN

Notice the bright bulb inside this Clockwork Pumpkin – you are about to have an amazing moment, a brilliant insight, and a very illuminating idea! Action must be taken immediately, while the idea is fresh and new. No more procrastination – follow the ah moment with action, and watch amazing change in the form of abundance, creativity, and satisfaction take place in your life!

I may look a strange muse, a clockwork pumpkin accompanied by a beautiful girl, but have no doubt:  I am the new idea, the epiphany, the moment of clarity when the seeming chaos of life suddenly rearranges itself into a brilliant opportunity.  You are about to be presented with such a golden idea that I want you to be ready. It may come from within you, or it may come from outside of you, but you have drawn it to you with the power of attraction and manifestation, and it is an idea that will bring you great riches of the body, mind and spirit.  It is time to activate your own brilliant abilities and become the abundant, enriched being you were born to be!

We are so pleased to have found you – we have waited for exactly the right being to take on this idea and bring it to life within the world.  It has evolved out of time, out of space, and is perfect for you. It may be a song, a project, a new job, a relationship – its form is fluid, but its time is now, and you are the person chosen to bring it through.  Cosmic duty it may be, but joy and love it will bring, as well as abundance and true happiness!

LADY WITH A BOSCH EGG

The Lady with the Bosch Egg is the one in this lifetime who has been chosen to keep safe, and sometimes keep secret, deep esoteric knowledge.  Through history’s most troubled times, there have always been courageous beings ensuring that sacred knowledge was kept alive. Even though the world may burn, and disasters befall humanity, and wars take down cities, there will always be those brave souls who will take the knowledge, represented by the Bosch egg, camouflage it, and keep it safe so that at a later time, when the world is finally ready, we can all learn.  

I hope you that you understand the history of the knowledge you crave, and respect and acknowledge the freedom of the times you now live in, and do the work yourself.  It may be that at some time you too will find my egg and that you are the person chosen to speak of the knowledge others thought was lost. Or it may be that you too are a guardian of wisdom: if you are, know when to keep silent, know what to keep to yourself, and know that some secretes come to light at the right time.  I bring you now the symbols of the alchemist, the secrets of the Gnostics, and the wisdom of the magicians and the witches and the herbalists….all saved for this time, in this strange form of egg.

It may feel to you that you are receiving wisdom from ancient sources and that some of its energy may feel unfamiliar to you, even dark.  It is likely that you are receiving messages from times when people like you, misfits and mystics, were oppressed and punished for their natural gifts.  Explore at this time something to do with the Renaissance, or medieval times, and understand that the knowledge was brought through to you, a very fortunate being living in very fortunate times.  Learn all you can. Explore esoteric symbology, the history of magick, and spirituality.

CANDY CANE ANGEL

The Candy Cane Angel is in charge of letting you know when it is time for some little luxuries that will reconnect you with your self-love and self-worth.  She, too, holds back from giving to herself, as she is such an earnest and industrious little angel – but her message is always clear; it is time for some fun!

As she says clearly to you “You know what my problem is?  And you know what your problem is? No? Well, let me tell you.  Our problem is that we both feel guilty about giving ourselves pleasure.  See this little treat in my hands? It’s not bad, is it? It’s not evil, is it?  But can I bring myself to just sit down and taste every moment of its sugary sweet delights?  No. I have to wonder if it’s the right time. If I have done enough to earn this treat. To wonder why I should get this when so many do not have a single candy cane for their own selves!  I torment myself with these things – and so do you!

How about we make a deal? Next time you ponder a gift to yourself: a massage, a treat, a spiritual workshop, a delicious meal, time to laugh with a friend, a long rest or nap, meditation time, a space clear…..know that when you energetically tell yourself “I am way too busy for that indulgence,” you are really saying, ‘I do not deserve that!’  Well, let’s decide that you do! I am about to have my treat. I now charge you with the same quest. Give yourself that which you have been denying yourself. You do deserve it!”

Do not rationalise or talk yourself out of it any longer.  Step out of the consciousness of lack and into the consciousness of “I deserve,” and grant yourself this lovely moment of luxury.  It’s time for some joie de vivre and enjoyment to restage a grand entrance into your life!

I love it!  Action, Learning and Treating Yourself!  So delicious lovely I wish for you a marvelous week, remember to take a moment on Wednesday (Lammas) and give yourself the gift of the Abundance Charm (it’s good fun to do).  Remember too, if you still feel a little off kilter with the eclipse energy, that’s okay. Be gentle with yourself and keep bringing your focus back to your desires, not your fears.  Have a wonderful week, drink water, laugh tons and take time daily just for you. Huge hugs and squeezes.

What, Why and How to Celebrate Lammas.

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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 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.

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 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!

 

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