August Moon
August Full Moon~Barley Moon
This Moon is also known by the following names
Moon of the Green Corn, Sturgeon Moon, Dog Day Moon (Colonial American Name), Harvest Moon (Chinese), Fruit Moon (Cherokee), Women's Moon (Choctaw), Moon When All Things Ripen (Dakota Sioux), Dispute Moon (Celtic), Corn Moon (English Medieval), Lightning Moon (Neo Pagan),
The Barley Moon also signifies harvest, but Her message is much different than that of the Wort Moon: It heralds the reaping of grain fields. This is important to the Witch because grain holds the mysteries and cycles of life, death, and rebirth within its core. Each kernel is the product of the first grain ever grown. And yet this life renews itself every year to lend its energy and nourish our bodies. There is little else on Earth more ancient or powerful.
In celebrating the Barley Moon, remember that we have much in common with the grain. We are each descended from the first pair of human beings, and their blood still courses through our veins. It sustains and energizes us. It gives us life. Remember, too, that we--each and every one of us--are products of this ancient and fertile life force. And that even though personal ancestry plays a part in our individual identities, we are all related, one to each other, and bound together for all of eternity. Simply put, we each form a link in the chain of eternal life.
Barley Moon Ideas
Dress in shades of yellow-gold, tan, and warm brown to honor the grain harvest.
Use yellow-gold candles and burn Full Moon Incense or Patchouli incense.
Decorate the altar with paper chains, ancestor photos or belongings, sheaves of wheat, and other grains of the season.
Serve oatmeal cookies or sweet bread, and either alcholic or non-alcoholic malt beverages for libation.
Asperge the Circle with a sheaf of grain. After Circle, place it on top of the outdoor libation spot and leave it for the birds.
Write a thank you note to one of your ancestors and burn it in incense, letting the smoke carry your message to its recipient.
Set aside some time to meditate on the chain of life and Universal connection. This is especially important if there are people in your life whom you don't like right now. Then make an effort to mend any relationships gone awry. If you need help taking the first step, say the following prayer to the Mother Goddess.
Gracious Goddess
Who are Maiden, Mother, and Crone,
Celebrated be Your Name.
Help me to live in peace
Upon Your Earth
And grant me safety in Your arms.
Guide me along my chosen path
And show me Your great eternal love
As I strive to be kind to those
Who don't understand Our ways
And lead me safely to Your Cauldron of Rebirth
For it is Your Spirit that lives within me
And protects me
Forever and ever
So mote it be.
Magical Efforts
Because the eneryg of the Barley Moon brings eternal connectivity to the forefront, it provides an excellent time to work on issues that invoilve immediate personal rebirths and endings. It's also an ideal time to mend relationships. Efforts involving new partnerships or relationships, both business and personal, come to fruition easily now too, as do legal matters that revolve around wills, legacies, and inheritances. This is also a good time to give thanks. Start with the Ancients, but don't forget the ancestors whose blood runs through your veins.
Sample Barley Moon Invocation
O Mother of All, O Queen of Connection
I ask to become a perfect reflection
Of Your warmth and Your beauty, Your nuturing love
As You course through my Spirit, keep me mindful of
Those who came before me-whose blood in my veins
Has molded and shaped me-whose traits I retain
And form me to be who You now envision
A connection devised of Your perfect precision
Barley Moon Circle Ideas
Wear shades of yellow, gold and tan to symbolize the grain harvest.
Cover the altar with a yellow cloth and decorate with photos of loved ones, ears of corn, bundles of wheat and sheaves of grain.
Use yellow candles and burn patchouli as incense.
Serve oatmeal cookies and beer or a nonalcoholic malt beverage.
The Craft: A Witch's Book of Shadows Dorothy Morrison
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