Tuesday, February 1, 2011

a Blessed Lammas

[sunset, last night at Echo Point. a hot night, softened by a gentle mountains breeze. Katoomba. a power spot of mine]


DRYING HERB BLESSING
grown from the earth with mothers love
fed by water and the sun above
taken for your power true
hung aloft in life anew
let your magick grow so strong
for you’ll be called before too long

Lammas season for me. Instead of trying to do all my little ritual & such in oneday, I am doing it over the month.. makes alot more sense to me - I bet the Cornish ancestors didn't run around trying to fit it all in.. things like: decorating the home with Hollyhock flowers to bring the "good luck" fairies to the village and home. Hollyhock flowers attract money. [The Druid would cut mistletoe with its oak branch to be nurtured on the altar for magical energy until spring when it would be placed back in the oak tree.] or baking oat cakes to share with friends.. [the cook would bake one pretty stone into one cake and the young lady who received that cake by chance would marry well the following year or if married produce a fine baby]
autumn joy... heads of brilliant orange flowers will open during the coming of autumn. Butterflies will clamour for the nectar...flowers will change from orange to rust bringing colour to a winter garden

Lammas is supposed to signify the ending of summer.. which is where I immediately become confused.. February is our hottest month.. and this year is no exception. the first day of February was over 40degC... and today, promises to me not much cooler.. plants are wilting nearly as much as I am. is it eco friendly to have the airconditioner on as much as I do? I think not.

butterflies enjoy the last of the summer lavender and dragonflies flitter two and fro...

The Sun's strength begins to wane and the plants of spring begin to wither [the only thing they are withering from at the moment is the intense heat of February sun] and drop their fruits or seeds for our use, as well as to ensure future crops. [so please God, make it cool]

hydrangeas hanging to dry ~ a kind of harvest

but, I can give thanks for my harvest.. mini capsicums, tiny sweet bite tomatoes[which by the way were self seeded. coming from the compost that i bought with me from Inglewood..] and I have been gathering handfuls each day, basil, cucumbers. Comfrey for the comfrey tea and for my clucky girls..

and I can decorate my altar[s] - with the colours of traditional Lammas.. in doing this I bring myself closer to my ancestors

not very Catholic, I know BUT... you see, I am more than a catholic... an eccentric mix [see my profile above]. it is ok to be me. Mother Mary does approve. I am sure.
[and so for the month of February.. I will continue to observe the ending of summer.. as it happens - year after year - and will share as life goes on..]

13 comments:

Annie Jeffries said...

Hi Robyn. Love the drying hydrangeas. So pretty. How is your Simple Abundance reading going. I've been inspired almost daily by my readings.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Hollyhock flowers attract money, eh? Super! We always have a big bunch of hollyhocks growing in our front flower bed. They attract lovely fat bees too.

mxtodis123 said...

February is a strange month, isn't it? For you, it signifies the ending of summer yet it is your hottest month Here we are celebrating Imbolc which symbolizes the end of winter, but it is our coldest month and already our first storm of the month. Mother Nature has wasted nothing on us this year. In the past few years we've seen hardly any snowfall here in New York, yet this year we are breaking records. I guess she was saving it up. What a lovely sunset! Such a beautiful country. Blessings to you and yours at Lammas.
Mary

gma said...

Thank you for bringing me back down to earth with this beautiful post...It is a wonderful idea to celebrate lammas all month. Although I will make a special ritual for Candlemas...
Oh yes it is more than just OK for you to be you! I am so glad you are!
Love you
xx

rebecca said...

this is so lovely...thank you for lifting me into your beauty and thoughtfulness.
here where snow still begs for attention....

Imogen said...

After all, if Lughnasadh can be celebrated both as a single day and as the month of August (see Brian Friel's lovely play "Dancing at Lughnasadh"), then surely the same goes for all the cross-quarter days? Certainly Imbolc has always seemed to me to be very much still in winter - but with luck, like this year, the snowdrops will be out and the fist little green noses of other plants will be showing...

Lovely sunset picture; so atmospheric...

Fire Byrd said...

Here the wind is blowing and the rain is in the air.The snowdrops in my garden are just about to open, the first sign of the change from winter for me.The days are getting longer is doesn't get dark now till nearly 6pm.Warm weather is a long way off.
xx

Anonymous said...

Dear Robyn,
Love your rituals.
Here I am sorta celebrating Candlemas/Imbolic with lots of candles and pancakes!
Yes, I think Mary approves, I think all you do is lovely and comes from the heart.
Happy Lammas!
Your drying hydrangea look wonderful ~
Hugs))

Cheryl@Gingerbread Crafts said...

I had thought that January was our hottest month, right now February is certainly proving me wrong. I can not wait for the cooler days of Autumn. This summer has been strange, it's either been too hot or too cold, there hasn't been much in between.

Your posting made me realise that I have not been nurturing my spiritual side much recently. I blame the heat and the depression that it brings me, I let it zap my power, I need to take it back into my own hands.

Anonymous said...

I wish you all good fortune with your endeavours.

Have a nice day, Boonie

Anonymous said...

Wow, that really looks great, a happy belated Lammas. I hope you had a wonderful time. We just had our Imbolc celebration. Not looking much like Spring yet though ; ) It is getting lighter in the morning and late in the afternoon, but for now it is still very grey.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Greetings from The Netherlands

C said...

blessings to you at lammas :) enjoy the season and your harvest then time to rest as the year wains. we here in cornwall are just preparing for the start of the season much hard work to come in the garden. have a blessed weekend x x x

laoi gaul~williams said...

belated Oimelc blessings.
we are enering spring here, we have snowdrops in flower and all kinds of new green pushing up through the earth~its wonderful

"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)