First Harvest - Lughnasadh/Lammas

First Harvest - Lughnasadh/Lammas

Blessed Lughnasadh! Blessed Lammas! I hope you experience all of the blessings of this first harvest on both the spiritual and mundane levels. What have you planted that is coming to fruition? Are you growing a garden? Seeking a new job? Building a relationship? Doing the hard work of healing? 

Last night Rhodes and I spent time out doors tending to our gardens, weeding and watering and caring for our little bit of land. The pumpkins and squash are doing well, and the lavender bed is thriving. Yard trimmings of all sort go to the mulch pile under the cedar in the back yard, and the grounds of the Cottage are so fertile that even that messy pile is happy. 

The processes that I use for healing and for coping with chronic illness sometimes include random physical and mental wanderings. There is comfort and inspiration in well-worn rituals and favorite places, and I am fortunate that my wanderings set my feet on familiar paths. I was able to navigate the twists and turns that led me back to the spiritual and self-care traditions that ground me. The work of healing can require complicated processes, but it can also happen with the simplest things. 

Dinner tonight will include a good hearty grain bread and other seasonal harvest items. This is just one small way to celebrate the grain harvest and the turning of the Wheel of the Year. I also use this Harvest Sabbat as a reminder to begin preparations for for the cold months that are coming faster than you think by starting some Eye of Newt....

Just kidding. Kitchen witching yesterday and today, mixed in with everyday cooking. These are cherries in an alcohol base, getting a head start on elderberry elixir. (See separate blog post for elixir and syrup recipes!) Another two quarts of cherries are pitted and in the freezer, to use for making homemade cough medicine or for baking. Corn and peaches are also going into the freezer today. Summer flavors in winter have their own special magic.

May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. ~ Teresa of Ávila 

Peace out, people, and blessed be.

~sb