WW – Lammas 2016

Lammas 2016 is almost here! Here’s a little blurb about the holiday from The Goddess & The Green Man –

At Lammas the Goddess is in Her aspect as Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, Harvest Queen, Earth Mother, Ceres and Demeter. Demeter, as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of this year’s harvest and Her daughter Kore/Persephone represents the grain – the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth. This is the deep core meaning of Lammas and comes in different guises: it is about the fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest holding at its heart the seed of all future harvest. (It is a fact that a pregnant woman carrying her as yet unborn daughter is also already carrying the ovary containing all the eggs her daughter will ever release – she is already both mother, grandmother and beyond, embodying the great Motherline – pure magic and mystery.)

So as the grain harvest is gathered in, there is 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 new year’s Sun God within her. There is tension here. For the Sun God, the God of the Harvest, the Green Man, or John Barleycorn, surrenders his life with the cutting of the corn.

Here’s the first of my graphics, using a picture I took last year of our landlord’s amazing garden –

Here’s the second one, that I actually put together for last Lammas after I was inspired to try painting bread –

Bright Lammas Blessings to all!

Lammas, August 1st, 2016. Lammas comes from the Old English words “half” (loaf) and “maesse” (feast), a celebration of the first loaves of bread baked from newly harvested grain. Colors – orange, gold, purple. Symbols – sunflowers, grain, bread, corn dollies. Ritual work – lightwork, protection, remembrance, harvesting, abundance, bread baking. Lammas Painted Bread. Start with your favorite bread recipe (Google “Alexandra’s Kitchen My Mother’s Peasant Bread” for one of my favorites). While it’s baking, gather together: One-eighth of a teaspoon of purple gel food coloring; One or two drops of hot water; Small glass bowl (like an oyster cup); Small paint brush. Mix the food coloring together with the water until it’s dissolved and looks like slightly thick watercolor paint water. When the bread is fresh out of the oven, use the paintbrush to draw runes related to the holiday (like Prosperity and Protection). Put the loaves back in the still-warm oven for about five minutes to set the paint.

Lammas 2016. However, if you want transition words, you can finally find them here. Lammas 2016. Furthermore, they are here too.