Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for All ... - reading...

Book III: W heel of the Year 225
blown centuries long between the stones
In still silence, hear the tomes
The granite-carven words that tell
The story of the Horned One
I am Lugh, the twin staff wielder;
I am Lugh, the Green Man’s killer!
I am son of the Forest Mother
Grown in the barley
Dark Brigit’s lover
I am the master, the craftsman, the father
At Danaan’s door I cried
‘I am he that brings grey dawn
On harp and pipe’
I furrow, and sow
And I harvest the ripe
I reap of the mountain to fire the forge
Of iron and spirit I fashion the scythe.
I am Cernunnos, the torc giver
Wind brother, husband of the river
Bran I am, and Robin in the Hood,
Master of the craggy woods.
all with staff and sword I stand
I am Llew of the steady hand
Seek not to harm me on sea or strand
On horse, in house, or on green heathered land
Of Gwydion’s magic was I sired,
Husband am I to the Maid of Flowers.
I am Osprey, I am Wren, as Crow I jest
I am suckled and nurtured in Gaia’s green breast
I am born anew in the spirit of Death
And the harvest skies I crest.
So rings the tale in ancient stone
Of the two-fold Hunter, the horned one
Silently the words are borne
In the dark still breeze of twilight.
Lughnasadh Bread
By Lezlie Kinyon
And the maidens, browned, scythes in
hand
Naked in twilight’s red softness stand
Hold to the North sky the grainy stalks
And sing the offering of care, and thought
Of seasons, of years, of death and birth,
Of flowing waters and snow dewed Earth;
“Mother, three colored, ‘neath the ancient
spires
Accept the first grain offered to the fires.”
—Kenny Klein
216. Lammas Hymn
Harvest Lady, Horned Lord
Thanks we give upon this day
For the wheat and golden corn
Bountiful has come our way.
Corn and grain in ripening fields
Soon we’ll bring our harvest home
Then with friends and kin we’ll feast
For nothing is just ours alone.
Winter cold will soon be here
Snow and dark and fearful night
But we’ll rest safe within your care
And wait for the returning light.
Mother Goddess of the Earth
Now descending into rest
To sleep until the Sun’s rebirth
The dying god’s eternal quest.
Harvest Lady, Harvest Lord
Thanks we give upon this day
For what has been and what shall be
Our hearts are filled with love today.
—BellaDonna Oya, 2002
Lammas or Lughnasadh (Lugh’s Wake) is an old holiday from Celtic countries celebrating
the harvest and the making of bread, ales, and whiskey. In some places, the first harvest of
the grain was seen as “John Barleycorn,” and as the wake for Lugh the Sun in others. In
Scotland, a cattle fair was also traditionally held at Lammastide. Today, this fair is often held
in conjunction with music and arts festivals.
In early summer I grow a little barley and wheat in the back yard or in a pot. It’s easy to
grow, and tasty too. It looks pretty with cornflowers and tall sunflowers in a “mailbox garden”
or an herb garden. If you don’t have room to grow it, you can usually find whole
barleycorn in the bulk section of any natural foods market.