Lammas 8/12/17 Co1
LAMMAS: The
First Harvest. Lammas is traditionally celebrated as the 1st harvest of the
season. It’s the grain harvest - still the most important harvest, because most
of the world uses grain as 90% of their diet. A bad harvest means starvation. A
good harvest means survival. For many the festival of Lammas marks the end of
summer and the beginning of fall. Here in Florida, it simply means we've
reached some of the hottest, most uncomfortable days of the year.
'Lammas' was the medieval Christian name for the
holiday and it means 'loaf-mass', for this was the day on which loaves of bread
were baked from the first grain harvest and laid on the church altars as
offerings.
Lammastide was also the traditional time of year
for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of
their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and
ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and
dances for the entranced onlookers.
Here in Florida, we have a unique situation. This
isn't a time of harvest for us. This is the time when nothing grows. In the
scorching heat only the strongest can survive. This is our winter when it comes
to crops and food sources. The ‘lazy days of summer’ is an old phrase that
aptly describes us now - not many want to expend much energy outside. For us
it’s a time of looking inward, and moving inside. Air-conditioning is such a
wonderful thing, isn’t it?!
Looking inward – seeing the small things that gift
our lives - every day there are so many treasures that brighten our lives that
we simply just aren’t aware of. Life affirmations we simply ignore, gifts of
hope we take for granted, memories carelessly forgotten, simply because many of
us walk through life blinded by our sight. For many of us we rely on our sight
so much that we don’t experience many of the gifts we receive from the universe
all around us.
Tonight, we’re going to explore our senses a bit.
Many scientists say we actually have nine senses - sight, sound, taste, touch,
smell - pain, balance, thirst, and hunger. Hearing, sight, taste, touch, and
smell are known as our external senses. They provide information about the
outside world. Pain, balance, thirst, and hunger are considered to be our
internal senses. They provide information about the body and its needs. Tonight,
we’re going to work with only four – sound, taste, touch and smell. Tonight,
I’m going to ask you to keep your eyes closed during ritual. The goal is not
meant to blind you, only make you more aware of how much we all rely on our
sight. Tonight, we’re going to give our eyes a rest and play a little bit with
our other senses.
Altar Devotions
Let what I feel, fill me but not consume me;
Let me follow what I feel, but not be forced;
Let me become the kind of soul, who never clings
too hard,
Who let’s go and yet loves;
Let me imagine better worlds, yet work in this
one;
Let me touch, and treasure, even people I can
never hold,
And let me learn from all my losses;
Let me out and let me in, Let me see and let me
be,
A window - maybe broken - but through which
A bit of air and sunlight comes.
Call Quarters
NORTH: Essence
of the North, we bid you welcome. We ask you to join us in our Circle this
night. Bring to us your gentle touch that gives life and encourages growth in
all as we share these moments with our friends and family. We welcome you with
a solid sense of touch and joy in our hearts for this celebration. Blessed Be.
EAST: Essence
of the East, we bid you welcome. We ask you to join us in our Circle this
night. Bring with you the aromas that remind us of the past as we share these
moments with our friends and family. We welcome you with an intuitive sense of
smell and joy in our minds for this celebration. Blessed Be.
SOUTH: Essence
of the south, we bid you welcome. We ask you to join us in our Circle this
night. Entice us with the flavors that warm and excite our lives as we share
these moments with our friends and family. We welcome you with an imaginative
sense of taste and joy in our souls for this celebration. Blessed Be.
WEST: Essence
of the West, we bid you welcome. We ask you to join us in our Circle this
night. Send to us the vibrations that create the sounds of our lives as we
share these moments with our friends and family. We welcome you with a loving
sense of hearing and joy in our bodies for this celebration. Blessed Be.
Anoint
(Greet each person, anoint
with something to treat the sense of smell)
You are the sense of Smell, we invite you to
experience Smell and in so doing heighten and renew your own senses.
Cast Circle
Tonight, we’ll cast our circle hand to hand - a
circle of Community, Friends and Family. As you receive the gift from your
neighbor to the right, take a moment to experience the sense before passing it
on to your neighbor on the left. Three times round this Circle’s bound.
(Walk the Circle with
something to treat the sense of taste)
You are the sense of Taste, we invite you to
experience Taste and in so doing heighten and renew your own senses. The first
is a Circle of Protection - as we ask Father Sky to cast a protective eye upon
all who dwell within these walls.
(Walk the Circle with
something to treat the sense of hearing)
You are the sense of Sound, we invite you to
experience Sound and in so doing heighten and renew your own senses. 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.
(Walk the Circle with
something to treat the sense of touch)
You are the sense of Touch, we invite you to
experience Touch and in so doing heighten and renew your own senses. The Third
is a Circle of Love – as we know that 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.
Unite energies
(Have everyone stand
quietly, listening to each other’s breathing for a moment)
Invocation
We call forth the Goddess, Mother of the Moon, to
witness this rite. Because of You the night is filled with illuminations, help
us to become enlightened also. Instill in us the sight of those things that
remain unseen.
We call forth the God, Sun King, to witness this
rite. Your light and brightness warm the Earth, help us to grow also. Enable us
to see the wonders of the mundane world around us.
Together, you are the sense of Sight, of things
both seen and unseen, we invite you to heighten and renew our own senses and in
doing so experience Sight.
Name the Working
Perform the Work
Raise Power
With malice towards no-one, and harm to none.
If Spirit so desires it, then let it be done.
Wish Box, Sacred Space
Cakes and Ale
From the Golden rays of the Sun, to the fertile
Earth, to the healthy grains, to bread - May you never hunger.
From the Silver beams of the Moon, to the quiet
Earth, to the fruits, to wine - May you never thirst.
Thanking Spirit
Tonight, we thank the Goddess of the Moon and the
God of the Sun for joining us. Shade and Shadow, Dark and Light, you are two
halves of a perfect whole. We welcome you to walk beside us as we return to the
mundane world. Guide our minds, our tongues and our hearts. Blessed Be.
Open Circle
This Circle has served us well. It has protected
and aided us. It has stood as a boundary between time and space. I now open
this Circle. Essence of the West, South, East, and North, thank you for your
presence here tonight. We appreciate those gifts you have chosen to bestow upon
us. For now, we bid you pleasant parting, know that you are always welcome in
this place.
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
