HARVEST
HOME, Māori
Lughnasa 2014, CO1
The first cultivation of food
plants, or what we think of as farming, came into being about twelve thousand
years ago. The ability to grow food products had a dramatic impact on the human
way of life. Farming meant clans and tribes could settle in one area, creating
communities and commerce. Rather than living a nomadic life of stalking herds
of edible animals, people could settle in one place and venture out of their
growing communities to forage only when hunting and the gathering of non-farm
plants were needed.
These settled communities
grew fast. Our ancestors discovered that this was an excellent arrangement for
raising children, teaching survival skills, sharing work, and—most
importantly—sharing food during the long winter months.
On the first or second day of
August, Pagans and other rural people celebrate the harvest of the first
grains; they have a variety of names for this festival. The most common in the
English speaking west are Lammas and Lughnasadh. Lammas literally means "loaf
mass”. And Lughnasa is Irish for the
month of August, although many believe the word originally meant "Lugh's
wedding." Lugh was a solar and fire deity, and Lughnasadh linked his Godly
attributes to the archetype of mother earth's harvest bounty.
Native Americans in eastern
North America celebrated the Festival of the Green Corn as a grain festival in
honor of the Corn Grandmother. In ancient Rome the first harvest was known as
Ceresalia, named for the grain Goddess Ceres, from whose name the English
"cereal" is derived.
Many traditions from ancient
celebrations have been preserved. Making small dolls or poppet out of dried
grain is a common practice even now in the twenty-first century. These are kept
as talismans of the harvest, treated like sacred objects, and then are usually
burned when the winter and the risk of starvation has passed.
When the heart is torn from
the flax bush where will the Bellbird sing?
You ask me what is the
greatest thing on Earth, my reply is this:
It is people, it is the
people
Altar Devotions
This
is the journey of sacred footsteps - journeyed about the earth, journeyed about
the heavens. The journey of the
ancestral gods who ascended into the heavens where they found the parentless
source
From
there they retrieved the baskets of knowledge.
These were distributed and implanted about the earth. From which came human life, growing from dim
light to full light - there was life.
Call Quarters
Lend
your traits of wisdom, grounding, and patience.
The
Flesh of life, the Strength of life, it moves from thee to me
May
you be blessed and smile upon this rite. Hail and welcome!
Spirits
of Air, We call to you.
Lend
your traits of intelligence, psychic development, and innocence.
The
Breath of life, the Knowledge of life, it blows from thee to me.
May
you be blessed and smile upon this rite. Hail and welcome!
Spirits
of Fire, We call to you.
Lend
your traits of compassion, intuition, and empathy.
The
Heat of life, the Will of life, it burns from thee to me.
May
you be blessed and smile upon this rite. Hail and welcome!
Spirits
of Water, We call to you.
Lend
your traits of passion, inspiration, and creativity.
The
Blood of life, the Passion of life, it flows from thee to me
May
you be blessed and smile upon this rite. Hail and welcome!
Cast Circle
Three
times round this Circle’s bound.
The
first is a Circle of Protection - as we ask Rangi, Father Sky to cast a
protective eye upon all who dwell within these walls.
The
second is a Circle of Hope – as we understand that all who pass through these
doors will find hope in themselves and in their futures.
The
Third is a Circle of Love – as we know that Papa, Mother Earth shines the light
of her love upon all who gather here beneath this roof.
Three
times round this Circle’s bound. East, then South, then West and North from
edge to edge this Circle is cast. So
Mote It Be.
Anoint
A
hongi is a traditional Māori greeting in New Zealand. It is done by pressing
one's nose and forehead (at the same time) to another person at an encounter.
The head is regarded by Maori as tapu, the most sacred part of the body. The
hongi is used at traditional meetings among Māori people and on major
ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake. In the hongi,
the ha (or breath of life), is exchanged and intermingled. The breath of life
can also be interpreted as the sharing of both party's souls.
Unite energies
Welcome
all welcome. Bring forth your love to the Marae. Good health to everyone here. Bring forth
your love to the Marae - Good health
Invocation
Cease
the winds from the west, Cease the winds from the south, Let the breeze blow
over the land, Let the breeze blow over the ocean, Let the red-tipped dawn come
with a sharpened air - A touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day.
Greetings
to the sky father, Rangi, the great heavens, the expansive heavens - the
heavenly winds, the life-giving winds, the winds that caress the skin of all
people.
Greetings
to the earth mother, Papa, extending beyond the visible land and beyond the
visible heavens - the earth mother trampled by our ancestors, the earth mother
left in heritage by the ancient ones.
Name the Working
Personal
Space
You
cannot see it but it is there. We view
our space as a part of us, its part of what we call our self. It gives us a feeling of security and allows
us the 'space' to breathe. It keeps
others away from us, keeps them at a distance. Yet is also welcomes those we
love and trust.
It
is our invisible 'comfort zone'
It
is ours and aligned individually to us
It
has breadth and capacity but no substance
It
gives a margin to keep things out and away from us
It
defines our own personal territory
It
can expand or contract according to the situation
It
is our final refuge when all other barriers are down
Cakes and Ale
Welcome
the gifts of food, from the sacred forests, from the cultivated gardens, from
the sea, from the fresh waters. We
acknowledge Rangi who is above us, Papa who lies beneath us. Let this be our commitment to all! Draw together and Blessed Be!
Thank Spirit
Draw
on, draw on, and draw on the supreme sacredness -To clear, to free the heart,
the body and the spirit of mankind. Rongi, suspended high above us, Papa,
resting below us - Draw together and Blessed Be!
Release Quarters
Spirits
of Water, we thank you.
The
Blood of life, the Passion of life, it flows from me to thee
Your
gift of healing we will know, we give you thanks and bid you go.
Hail
and farewell.
Spirits
of Fire, we thank you.
The
Heat of life, the Will of life, it burns from me to thee
Your
gift of passion we will know, we give you thanks and bid you go.
Hail
and farewell.
Spirits
of Air, we thank you.
The
Breath of life, the Knowledge of life, it blows from me to thee
Your
gift of wisdom we will know, we give you thanks and bid you go.
Hail
and farewell.
Spirits
of Earth, we thank you.
The
Flesh of life, the Strength of life, it moves from me to thee
Your
gift of power we will know, we give you thanks and bid you go.
Hail
and farewell. Blessed be.
Open Circle
May
those who guide us with their light, protect us in the dark and walk beside us
on the roads traveled - This Circle is open but unbroken. Merry Meet, Merry Part and may we Merry Meet
Again.
Feast
Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives
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