Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Into Autumn

As the Wheel of the Year turns, so do the Wheels of our lives.  The western world has lost many of the celebrations of special milestones in our lives.  Beyond birthdays, there are the times when we reach a new phase in our life on earth.  Each new phase brings the culmination of experiences, learning, and impact that we have on others and others on us.  As we grow older, we gain insights and wisdom that can be of great value, not only only to ourselves, but also to others.

On September 13, I will be facilitating a Sophia Ceremony.  This ritual and liturgy will center on one beautiful woman's attainment of an age of wisdom.  In Wiccan traditions, this ceremony might be called a "Croning."  This is a celebration of the value of a woman as she embraces the attainment of the status of Elder.  It is a reflection on her spiritual path and growth; a recognition of what she has to offer the Universe during the next phase of her life. This private event is by invitation, hosted, organized, and planned by the individual to be honored with my guidance and assistance.

On the tail of this special ceremony comes the Second Harvest at Autumn Equinox.  The Wiccan name for this spoke on the Wheel is Mabon, named after a legendary Welsh character, Mabon ap Modron.  Some call this the Harvest Home.  It is a time of thanksgiving for and the sharing of the gifts of the earth given for our sustenance through the coming winter.  According to some sources, ancient Autumn Equinox celebrations were replaced by the celebration of Michaelmas, the feast day of the Archangel Michael, which is traditionally on September 29.

St. Brigid in the Desert will acknowledge the Mabon/Michaelmas holy days on Saturday, September 20th this year.  Time and place will be announced once schedules have been synchronized.  Watch for announcements here, on Facebook, and on the website!

Dragonkin by Walter Bruneel - This piece speaks of Sophia to me.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Bread for Lammas

Bread baked for Lammas. Sadly, I admit to cheating. It was a Martha White package of a kind of coffee cake drop biscuits. Tasted good, though. Some crumbs given to the ancestors and the Old Ones. An offering of grain back to the earth. I hope next year to bake real bread. No corn dollies this year, either.  Still, as I crumble bread beneath the tree, I say a prayer for all that there will be good harvests in all the areas of your lives this year!



Friday, August 1, 2014

Blessed Lammas!

Being Inter-Spiritual has the benefit of many celebrations. This weekend is one of them. Smile, the Wheel is turning! The River of God is flowing!

Blessed Lammas! Lammas is a festival celebrating the first fruits of harvest, the fruits of our labours, and seeing the desires that we had at the start of the year unfold.  It's a time for bread-making and corn-dollies.  This time brings memories of making corn-dollies with my children and friends during our Wiccan days, wrapping corn husks for bodies, tying knots, and smoothing soft corn-silk hair.  Thinking of the things we hoped for at the last Samhain, the beginning of the cycle, and reinforced at the calendar New Year, we fashioned corn-people made of our dreams.

Lammas is an early Christian festival, "lammas" means loaf mass and represented the first loaves baked from that years crop. These were taken to church and laid on the altar.  For Pagans, this day might also be called Lughnasadh, and be commemorated as a feast day for the God Lugh, sacrificed when the grain ripened.

Goddesses celebrated around this time include Demeter and Ceres. Trees associated with Lammas are Hazel and Gorse and herbs are Sage and Meadowsweet. Colors associated with lammas are golds, yellows and orange for the God and red for the Goddess as mother. (From website The White Goddess)

There are a few saints who have feast days around this time as well.  In the Antiochian Orthodox tradition, August 5th is the feast day of St. Nonna, the mother of Gregory the Theologian.  She is remembered as a model wife and mother, yet also as a strong woman who lived a life for God and for others without neglecting her other obligations.

Due to schedules and the like, we are not having a gathering this weekend; however, there may be bread-making shenanigans before the end of the weekend. Anyone connected to St. Brigid in the Desert is encouraged to bake away, and share your offerings here!

St. Brigid is an Inter-Spiritual House Church without walls! Anyone who feels a connection to what we are doing here is a part of the virtual St. Brigid in the Desert. Baking bread? Celebrating the gathering of the grains? Brewing beer? Share photos! Blessed Be, my friends!


Photo from:  Book of Mirrors