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| "The wheel of the Year turns on and on,
Blessed be the harvest,
Blessed Be the fruitful Corn Mother
Blessed Be the God of the Harvest.
I partake of the First Harvest,
fruit of the womb of the Goddess.
Blessed Be Mother Earth..."
Place your Wand back in its place on the altar. Spread your hands out over hte harvested foods on the altar and say these words:
" Blessed Be the fruitfull Corn Mother
Blessed Be the God of the Harvest
As I continue my quest,
may these seeds be buried in Mother Earth
and ensure that the birth of Spring will be glorious
I ask that you except my offer of bread and juice
in hopes that you, Mother Earth
will look after all the Fairy's
and the animals in the forest
I make my humble offer to you Mother Earth..."
Now name all the things that you are currently grateful for. With each item that you name, break off a piece of the Cornbread and eat it. Sip from the chalice filed with Apple Cider as well. When finished with the list of blessings, take the small handfull of the Grain from your alter and hold it in your open hand at face level saying:
" My Gueardian of the East please indulge me:
Hear me now for I am in need of a request
Help Mother Earth carry out the duty
of planting and nurtering each and every seed.
Protect them and nourish them on their journey
until next Spring
when they will blossom and bring life anew.
I give thanks to the Great Mother,
Goddess of the fertile land,
of all lakes and air.
Of the blessings I partake and share
Blessed Be this Harvest night!"
Face the alter and assume the Goddess position saying:
"Blessed Be our Mother,
whose womb contains and bears all life
Blessed Be our Father
whose seed plants all life
Blessed Be the Two that are One
From them life flows and flows back again."
Now is the time for meditation and spell workings. If no spell workings are to be done, proceed with the Cakes and Ale ceremony, followed by releasing the Circle LAMMAS
The directions are represented by a single large item on the appropriate side of the fire: Altar Symbol Examples: East: statue of bird
South: large candle in glass container
West: conch shell
North: flower pot filled with rosemary cuttings
Center: the fire
Supplies: grainy type breads or rolls, in basket to be passed out for sharing
matches to light fire
bundle of grain to be burnt
bucket for water to put out fire
flashlight in case it gets dark before cleanup finished
bug repellant
Theme:
This is the beginning of the harvest season, a "start"of the end, which will lead to a new beginning. SMUDGE WHEN READY TO BEGIN. CALL THE DIRECTIONS: (Can be done by one person, or a different person for each direction) Spirits of the East
Aurora, Guardian of the dawn;
Aeolus, Bringer of warm winds;
Let your breezes gently caress all we do,
Let our harvest be plentiful. Blessed Be!
Spirits of the South
Chicomecoatl, Corn Goddess;
Huitzilopochtli, Sun God;
Bestow your light and warmth on our endeavors,
Let our harvest be plentiful. Blessed Be!
Spirits of the West
Oshun, Sparkling headwater of the rivers;
Donar, Source of life giving water;
Be generous with your liquid life,
Let our harvest be plentiful. Blessed Be!
Spirits of the North
Demeter, Mother of the grain;
Neper, Father of the grain;
Share with us the abundance of your good earth,
Let our harvest be plentiful. Blessed Be!
Spirits of the Center
The place of transformation - both within and without,
Join us here today, Mother, Father, Son and Daughter,
We ask you to join us here today in our celebration of the first
harvest as we give thanks for all you have provided. Blessed Be!
LEADER:
On this day we honor the beginning of the harvest, the first fruits of the grain.
It is time to be thankful for the gifts of life we are receiving
The grain that is being harvested now will nourish our bodies and help us to sustain life over the long winter ahead. It is a basic part of life that some things must die so that others may live
The taking of life, even that of the grain, is a sacrificial act that should be surrounded with much awe, thanks, and praise.
Life is never to be taken lightly. Life and death form an endless cycle.
This time of the year is the beginning of the end of this year’s cycle. This is a time of transformation.
Even as the baker takes the grain and transforms it through her work and the heat of her hearth,
so must we take the harvest of our year and transform it by our work and our energy into that which will carry us through the coming winter. PASS THE BREAD AROUND THE CIRCLE, SAYING:
Take and eat this bread of the harvest. READ POEM: Bakerwoman God,
I am your living bread,
Strong, brown Bakerwoman God.
I am your low, soft, and being-shaped loaf.
I am your rising bread, well-kneaded
by some divine and knotty pair of knuckles,
by your warm earth hands.
I am bread well-kneaded. Put me in fire, Bakerwoman God,
put me in your own bright fire. I am warm, warm as you from fire.
I am white and gold, soft and hard, brown and round.
I am so warm from fire. Break me, Bakerwoman God.
I am broken under your caring Word.
Drop me in your special juice in pieces.
Drop me in your blood.
Dunk me in the great red flood.
Self-giving chalices swallow me.
My skin shines in the divine wine.
My face is cup-covered and I drown. I fall up, in a red pool,
in a gold world,
where your warm sunskin hand is there
to catch and hold me.
Bakerwoman God, remake.
LEADER:
Remake.
Transformation
Like the grain, some of which disappears only to reappear next spring, transformed into growing, green plants,
there are things in our lives which may need to disappear for a time so that a transformation can occur in our lives. HELPER PASSES OUT THE STALKS OF GRAIN WHILE LEADER CONTINUES: Take this stalk of grain.
Think of your life.
Let the grain represent something in your life that needs to be transformed by your work, by your energy.
When you are ready, let the fire transform the grain as you will transform your life. START THE CHANT "AIR MOVES US" (repeat 3 times) Air moves us,
Fire transforms us,
Water shapes us,
Earth heals us.
And the balance of the wheel
Goes ‘round and ‘round,
And the balance of the wheel goes ‘round. CAST GRAIN INTO FIRE AND WAIT FOR ALL OTHERS TO DO SO. LEADER READS PRAYER: We give thanks to the Mighty Ones
For the richness and goodness of life.
As there must be rain with the sun,
To make all things good,
So must we suffer pain with our joy,
To know all things.
Our love is ever with the Goddess and the God,
For though we know not their thoughts,
Yet do we know their hearts--
That all is for our good.
Mighty Ones, bless us now.
Keep us faithful in your service.
We thank you for the crops;
For life; for love; for joy.
We thank you for that spark
That brings us together--and to you.
Help us to live with Love
And with Trust between us.
Help us to feel the joy of loving you
And of loving one another. CLOSING COMMENTS: The Spiral Dance moves on and we with it, towards the winter, towards the final harvest.
We carry with us what we have been, what we are, and tonight, we begin the transformation into what we will be. Whatever may come, we know the cycle will continue and the grain will rise again in the green shoots of spring.
Hold fast to this promise of transformation and know that the God and Goddess will help you in your Spiral Dance. Let us close with the chant "Hoof and Horn", after which we will dismiss the directions Hoof and horn, hoof and horn,
All that dies shall be reborn;
Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again. We all come from the Goddess
And to her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain,
Flowing to the ocean. Hoof and horn, hoof and horn,
All that dies shall be reborn;
Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again. We all come from the Sun God
And to Him we shall return,
Like a spark of flame,
Rising to the heavens. Hoof and horn, hoof and horn,
All that dies shall be reborn;
Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again. DISMISS DIRECTIONS: Spirits of the North,
Thank you for sharing your gifts with us today and all the year.
Let us walk in your |
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Solitary Lammas Ritual This ritual is for Lammas night, though you can perform it at any convenient time. Also, you can perform it during the new or full moon. Your altar should face the northern Quarter in honor of the Earth and the Great Harvest. Upon your altar you will need a plate of salt, cup of water and candle or image representing the God and Goddess. You will also need a purple candle (representing the Moon), a yellow candle (representing the Sun) and Quarter candles. Place some spices from your kitchen or garden on your altar. Add some summer flowers and any other emblems you want. Remember to put on the altar those items you wish to consecrate. You might also want to prepare a vegetarian meal for a post-ritual feast. Bread and wine/ale should also be on the altar, along with your ritual tools. The following Lammas herbal mixture aids all magical operations. Finally, bring a gift for the God and Goddess. Use something that you feel is fitting for this time of year, such as a cob of corn or a hand full of rice. Lammas Incense: 2 parts Sandalwood 1 part Cinnamon 1 part Angelica 1 part High John the Conqueror Root 1 part Frankincense (You can use myrrh, I prefer frankincense myself.) Opening the Temple: Pick up your cup of water and hold it high above your purple (Moon) candle. Sprinkle a little Salt into the water, and then walk clockwise about your Circle area saying: I cleanse and purify this Circle with water, the blood of life. So mote it be! Return to the altar and replace the Cup. Light your incense. Pick up the stick or censer and hold it high above your yellow (Sun) candle. Then walk clockwise about your Circle saying: I consecrate and cleanse this Circle with the fire of the heat of day. So mote it be! Return to the altar as before and replace the censer. Stand before the altar and say with all your heart: Today is a day for harvesting the kindness of the great God and Goddess. I stand here as a servant of Mother Nature, to take care of Her as She takes care of me. So do I remind myself, and reaffirm to the Old Ones, that I shall keep close the words of the Law: "Do what thou wilt, as long as it harms none." I shall watch over the Earth, caring for Her creatures as if they were my children. Trace a white circle three times about the Circle area and say: I trace this Circle as a boundary between the realms of Man and the hidden worlds of the gods. This place is hidden in Truth. Here I can practice my rites in safety and power. Assured by the presence of the Old Ones! Invoking the four Quarters: Call the four Quarters, beginning in the east moving clockwise. Be sure that you light your Quarter candles after you call the elementals and extinguish them after the elementals leave. Invocation to the East: Hail creatures of Air, bodies of heat and moisture! Come, oh gentle eastern breath, come here and join my Circle. Bring sounds of joy and laughter, oh sylphs of friendly winds. Stand and watch this eastern Quarter and let no evil come near. So mote it be! Invocation to the South: Hail creatures of Fire, bodies of flame and light! Come, oh gentle warmth, come here and join my Circle. Bring strength and energy, oh salamanders of flame. Stand and watch this southern Quarter and let no evil come near. So mote it be! Invocation to the West: Hail creatures of Water, bodies of crystal blue seas! Come, oh gentle waves of love, come here and join my Circle. Bring compassion and peace, oh undines of calm waters. Stand and watch this western Quarter and let no evil come near. So mote it be! Invocation to the North: Hail creatures of Earth, bodies of gemstone splendor! Come, oh builders of form, come and join my Circle. Bring beauty and fertility, oh gnomes of deep caverns. Stand and watch this northern Quarter and let no evil come near. So mote it be! Relight the incense and be sure your quarter candles are still lit. Walk to the center of your Circle and call forth the God and Goddess in your own words. When you feel their presence, listen to the things they have to say to you. Meditate on the meaning of the Harvest and how you can learn from the act of death and rebirth. Ask of the Goddess that which you desire. Then hold your sacred gift high above your head saying: As I give this gift unto the gods, may they give guidance. As I give this gift of love, may they see that I am healthy. As I give this gift of sacrifice, may they teach me the secret ways. For I give this gift as a symbol of my devotion. So mote it be! Now turn to the east and kneel and say: Blessed be this gift, Oh Sylphs! Kneel in the south and say: Blessed be this gift, Oh Salamanders! Kneel in the west and say: Blessed be this gift, Oh Undines! Kneel in the North and say: Blessed be this gift, Oh Gnomes! Finally move to the altar and set the gift in front of the God and Goddess image/candle. Now perform any other magical work, such as charging your talismans. If you wish, sing, chant or do whatever you feel is appropriate. Afterward, perform the Great Rite and close the Circle. The Great Rite: Raise your cup of wine and say: Blessed be this sacred wine, this womb and cup of life. May it fill my soul, giving me strength of heart and knowledge of my Lady's secret ways. So mote it be! Set down your ritual cup in the center of your altar. Pick up your ritual dagger and pierce the wine and say: As the man is to the woman. So this blade is to the cup! Raise your plate of cakes and say: Blessed be this sacred bread of life! Eat the bread and drink the wine. Dismissing the eastern Quarter: Oh sylphs of peaceful winds, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever and come when I call thee again. So mote it be! Dismissing the southern Quarter: Oh salamanders of glimmering light, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever and come when I call thee again. So mote it be! Dismissing the western Quarter: Oh undines of continual ebb, I thank thee for coming here to my aid work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever and come when I call upon thee again. So mote it be! Dismissing the northern Quarter: Oh gnomes of darkened palaces, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever and come when I call thee again. So mote it be! This concludes the Lammas rite. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again |
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Lammas Ritual
(Scott Cunningham) Place upon the altar sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads, perhaps a loaf fashioned in the figure of the Sun or a man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the goddess, can be present there as well. Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones. Recite the Blessing Chant. Invoke the Goddess and God. Stand before the altar, holding aloft the sheaves of grain, saying these or similar words: Now is the time of the First Harvest,
when bounties of nature give of themselves
so that we may survive.
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain,
grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you
prepare to deliver yourself under the sickle of the
goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.
O Goddess of the Dark Moon,
teach me the secrets of rebirth
as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold. Rub the heads of the wheat with your fingers so that the grains fall onto the altar. Lift a piece of fruit and bit, savouring it flavour, and say: I partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies
with mine that I may continue my quest for the starry
wisdom of perfection.
O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun,
gracious ones before Whom the stars halt their courses,
I offer my thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth.
May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in
the Mothers breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth
of the coming Spring. Consume the rest of the fruit.
Works of magic, if necessary, may follow.
Celebrate the Simple Feast.
The circle is released. *It is appropriate to plant the seeds from the fruit consumed in ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Goddess and God. |
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Lammas Ritual
Lughnassadh, First Harvest, August 1st
Tools:
In addition to your usual Altar tools, you will need: -
Golden Yellow Center Cloth
-
1 Gold Candle
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1 Silver Candle
-
Summer Blend Incense (recipe from Litha Ritual)
-
Harvest Vegetables
-
Golden Stones or other Sun Symbols
-
Cornbread Cupcakes
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Cauldron
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Apple Cider
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Any other personal items of choice
Preparation:
Sweep area moving in a deosil manner. Outline the perimeter of your Circle cornmeal or yellow sand. Place Gold Center cloth on the alter and garnish with Harvest Vegetables, (Corn, Squash, etc), Grains, (Oats, Rice, Wheat, Rye, etc), and Fruits ( Apples, Berries, Cherries, Plums, etc), on the alter. Set the Gold God Candle to the top right of center, and surround with Gold Stones or Sun Symbols. Place the Silver Goddess Candle to the top left of center. Place your (cauldron, if coven) chalice full of Cider in the center and surround with Cornbread Cupcakes. Take a shower or bath or purification. Sit quietly and meditate for a while, the ground and center. When ready, play some soothing music in correspondence with the ritual.
Cast the circle and call Quarters... Pick up your wand with your right hand, face the North with arms stretched out above head, and say:
"What will be is. What was will be.
The Wheel of the Year forever turns.
Dark to light, light to dark,
each season passes with lessons learned.
We plant with love, tend with respect,
and at Harvest time our yields reflect The bounty of our Mother Earth,
ripened by our Father Sun.
Now upon our humble hearth, gifts we offer the Two that are One.
As each day passes, shorter than the last.
May we each be reminded of the seasons that have passed.
The marriage and the seeding of the Goddess back in May,
Her womb swollen with life anew at Summer Solstice Day,
All this time the Father Sun has shone with so much pride.
Rising early, setting late,
and now that he's supplied The warmth and light to bring to bear,
the Goddess and the lands He knows that his death is drawing near,
but this secret he understands,
that with the turning of the wheel, his rebirth has been planned."
Place you wand upon the alter and with both hands gesture to the Harvest Vegetables, Grains, and Fruits you have adorned the alter with.
"Truly blessed are we that receive the bounty of the Harvest,
Blessed be our Mother Earth,
Blessed be our Father Sun,
As he teaches us of life, death, and rebirth.
I honor Thee, The Two that are One."
Pick up one of the Cornbread Cupcakes, and offer up to the God/dess, saying:
"Blessed be the Harvest,
Blessed be the Corn Mother,
Blessed be the Grain God,
For together they nourish both body and soul.
Many blessings I have been given,
I count them now by this bread."
Now name all the things that you are currently grateful for. With each item that you name, break off a piece of the Cornbread Cupcake and eat it. Sip from the chalice filled with Apple Cider as well. When finished with list of blessings, take the a small handful of the Grain from you alter and hold it in you open hand at face level, saying:
"Guardian of the East, I pray for your indulgence.
Hear me now as I request your aid in the cycle of life.
As your winds blow through fields of ripened grain,
Carry loosened seeds upon your back That they may fall amidst the soil
that is our Mother Earth.
She will cover them in times of storm, protecting and nourishing Them until they sprout next Spring, beginning life anew."
Blow gently across your hand as if imitating the wind taking the seeds air-born. Continue:
"I give thanks to the Great Mother,
Goddess of fertile land.
And to the Great Father,
Consort and Provider.
For as their bounty sustains my life,
so does their bounty sustain my brethren;
All living creatures of wood and field,
Of lake and stream, and of air.
Of these blessings I partake And share.
Blessed be this Harvest Night, The Givers and the gift."
Face the alter and assume the Goddess position, saying:
"All things have their season.
Again the wheel has turned and brought us To the season of the First Harvest.
A time when we think about sacrifices and reborn hope,
A time when we reflect on what we have sown by what we reap,
A time when we gather our memories,
And from those lessons that we have learned,
We plan for the future.
Blessed Be our Mother, whose womb contains and bears all life.
Blessed Be our Father, whose seed plants all life.
Blessed Be the Two that are One,
From Them life flows and flows back again."
Now is the time for meditation and spellworkings. If no spellworkings are to be done, proceed with the Cakes and Ale ceremony, followed by releasing the Circle |
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