Lughnasadh

Earth my body

Water my blood

Air my breath and

Fire my Spirit!

The meaning of Lughnasadh is the start of the harvest of the fruits and grains. Lughnasadh was named for the God Lugh, that began as a festival in honor of his Earth Goddess, Tailten. During the festival of Lugh, there were games, meetings, trading of goods and a large feast from the newly harvested crops and livestock. Around the world, many of the celebrations not only celebrate the harvest, but renewal, giving thanks, and making sacrifices. The essense of Lughnasadh is the joy of life under the knowledge that darker times are moving in. Let us take in the warming rays of the sun and store their power for the times that are coming.

Guided meditation:

“Imagine you are walking along a path that winds around and up a great rounded hill. It is just pre-dawn and the light is a pale purple band along the horizon. You feel the cool refreshing mist on your skin and you are eager to join the procession of celebrants making their way up the Tor. You are thrilled because the wise elders have told you the stories of the ancients and how they created this hill especially for this ceremony. It feels very sacred to be walking on the same path that they trod so long ago. Carrying a basket of the first fruits from your orchards and a loaf of bread baked from the very first grain that has ripened on your land, you make your way up the spiraling path. As you smile silently to your neighbors, your community, you see that each has a similar basket in their arms and you feel a shiver of anticipation. There will be a great festival of rejoicing today, but first you are all winding your way up this sacred hill to greet the sun.

People have left a bit of space between themselves, so you take your place in the procession, deep into your own thoughts.

As you walk up the path, think at what is fulfilling in your life.

Is it the fruits of your labor, the gifts of abundance from the Goddess, the love of friends and family?

You picture everything and anything you are grateful for in your life, as you walk silently around the gently ascending pathway, feeling gratitude.

Standing on the top of the hill, you enter the great circle of community; you set your basket down and walk over to the Priestess. She offers you a piece of juicy, ripe fruit. You bite into the gift of the Earth Mother, this first fruit of the harvest, enjoying the sweet and tangy flavor. This is the Mother’s labor of love.

Taking your place in the circle, you feel the energy of the life force coursing through your body. You feel the sacred pulse within and around you. You feel at One with the Goddess.

In the silence before the sun rises, you listen to Her voice within you. She offers you images, words, songs and feelings.

As the purple light of dawn gives way to the reds and oranges of the rising sun, the whole community turns towards the East with a gasp of wonder.

“My song is my prayer; I send the voice of gratitude; We pray for peace, we pray for love, we pray for life and the life of this planet. Teach us to live in harmony, teach us to live as one.”

We have come to understand that healing is an evolutionary process. The difficulties in our lives such as disease, pain and suffering ~ be they mental, emotional or physical in nature ~ contain the very seeds of our evolution. In working with and through these challenging energies we heal, and in doing this we evolve our human family. I don’t know how to heal the world alone. I’ve come up against an immense degree of hate and pain and I have no idea how to respond alone. Healing the world is not only my job, is everyone’s job, we can all do our part. We can all add more love. I have to begin with me. I want to reassert my boundaries as a response to what is happening in our world, and I want to reas

sert openness and find a channel through which to pour all this love inside me out into a world that is in pain. I want to send love to the people who are hurt, love to those who are filled with hate, and I want to remind myself how much love I have for myself, too.”

Ember Dragonfly

Blessed Be and Welcome August!