August 1, celebrated by some on August 2nd, marks the Celtic holyday of Lughnasadh (named in honor of the Celtic Sun God Lugh), the first harvest festival of the year where the abundance of grains is celebrated. (Mabon, or Autumn Equinox, is the Second Harvest of Fruit and Vegetables; Samhain, or All Hallow's Eve, is the Third Harvest of Nuts and Meats.) Each of these Harvest festivals is a time for gathering, celebrating, and giving thanks. This holyday is a result of the union of Lugh and the Earth Mother Gaia at Beltane, manifested in the growth of crops.
Lughnasadh (or the Christianized observance of Lammas meaning "loaf mass") was a major celebration for an agricultural society that had labored for months to reach the beginning of the harvest. It was a natural occasion to celebrate and to give thanks to the Earth for Her gifts. Grains included wheat, barley, rye, oats, and corn, which were harvested into bread, whiskey, and beer, all integral to the celebration of the harvest. Feasting, market fairs, games, bonfires, and circle dancing were popular community celebrations. (photo is of a Ukrainian woman wearing a harvest crown)
This first harvest is supremely important, producing the first (and best) seed as well as an assurance of future harvests. It emphasizes Nature’s circle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.
Lughnasadh celebrates the tradition of giving thanks for the food to feed the community through the winter, and within that harvest is the seed of next year’s rebirth, regeneration, and harvest. The Grain Mother is ripe and full; heavily pregnant, she carries the seed of the Sun God. There is also death here as Lugh (also known as the Green Man or John Barleycorn), who is considered the living Spirit of the grain, surrenders his life with the cutting of the grain so that the life of the community can continue. Bread was made from the new grain and thanks given to the Sun's life-giving energy reborn as life-giving bread. The Sun might say, “Eat this in remembrance of me.”
Bread in all of its forms is sacred all over the world, in all cultures. “Breaking bread together” is universally considered nurturing not only to the body but also to the spirit. The Jews baked unleavened bread before their exodus from Egypt. Christ divided seven loaves to feed thousands.
What harvest are you celebrating at this time of year?
Is this the result of the seeds you planted in the spring?
What “volunteer” seeds – or unexpected gifts – have you reaped?
At this time of year, the Mother Goddess Demeter (Greek goddess of Grain and Fertility) as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of this year's harvest and Her daughter Persephone represents the grain — the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, reappearing as spring's new growth. This is the heart of Lughnasadh: the fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest already holds at its very core the seed of all future harvests.
As we reap what we've sown, please take some time to be gentle with yourself. Women have been trained to be self-critical with an emphasis on perfectionism, always taking care of others before ourselves, and having responsibility without authority. This has resulted in a constant inner dialog revolving around "I shouldn't (feel this way/do this/take time for myself/argue/stand my ground/etc.)". You know what I'm talking about.
And our current world is in such a state of chaos, criticism, and blame. It stuns me the criticisms I see posted on social media by strangers to strangers! It stuns me to read all the blame in the media. And it saddens me to see how easily women accept (and are assigned) blame. We're women, for heaven's sake! We are the only ones who can birth and nurture life! We are walking miracles!
There are all sorts of forms of resistance: joy, play, kindness, speaking one's truth, gathering in protest, writing letters, etc. Another radical form of resistance is self-kindness. Be kind to yourself! You deserve it! We all deserve it! Life can be hard!
I love this poem by Emory Hall:
Make peace with all the women you once were.
Lay flowers at their feet.
Offer them incense and honey and forgiveness.
Honor them and give them your silence.
Listen.
Bless them and let them be.
For they are the bones of the temple you sit in now.
For they are the rivers of wisdom leading you toward the sea.
