The seed and the fruit.

What did we plant at Imbolc? As the wheel turns and the year moves past the height of summer we begin our journey towards the time of death and rest. Nature is our constant reminder of the way things are.

Its easy to take to the garden and look at the fruit you need to collect, as it grew you watched it and nurtured it until it become ripe, ready to be harvested. This time of year has us looking at our lives in a similar fashion, but trying to figure out exactly what needs harvesting can be difficult when it isn’t a thing that we can pick up and hold in our palm. Our lives aren’t so simple and are much bigger than that. But I dunno......... maybe harvest is the wrong word to use.

I wonder if winnowing might be a better way to look at it. Grain for example, gets harvested and is then processed (by winnowing) so the individual grains are separated from the rest of the plant  ready to be used. It’s all about removing the husks or useless things to expose the grain or useful things, getting the rubbish out of the way.

Ohh well it’s all wonderful when you use an analogy but how the hell does this bloody process of winnowing help me with my job, or my debt, or my millions of other worldly responsibilities?!?!........... To be completely honest applying this to a life isn’t that hard. When we have problems or issues the best way to get past them is to remove as many complications as possible, once the problem is made simpler a solution can be found faster.

Lughnasadh is the first harvest of the year, it is predominantly a grain harvest and is about exposing the truth of what you have so you can begin to reap the rewards that you have worked towards all year. It’s also about preparing for the winter by saving that which you will need for the spring, how much of this harvest's reward can cover next seasons cost? It’s the celebration of hard work and achievement but a reminder of what follows a harvest............ We all need time to recover before planting again.

Lughnasadh is a festival of harvest. A time of separating the wheat from the chaff, but we do this all year round in our lives. When we celebrate the esbat or when we cleanse our tools for Magick. We look to our cards and our runes to show the way through the chaff of life to the truth of a matter. But you must always remember to leave a little bit, just a little bit for planting next time.


*Words of Expression*
If your looking for ideas of what you can do to honour Lughnasadh I would suggest baking something to share with others, clearing away any of your old unused tools or herbs and resins to make way for new ........... if your anything like me, more in date ones hahaha. You could also make corn dollies as poppets for further magick later on(just make sure you can find a grain to use and that you aren't stealing from a farmer). Take the time to tie up loose ends on projects before it is too late to reap the rewards. Or for a much simpler act to acknowledge the season why not have a ritual candle lit bath, remove all of the chaff from your body so that you can step forward refreshed and ready for the coming Autumn.

Have a wonderful Lughnasadh blessed by your gods and the spirits and guided by your ancestors.