Samhain - 31st October

Samhain – pronounced sow-een, or Halloween

Samhain, also known as Halloween is the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It is the time of Hecate, of the Crone and the powers of the dark feminine principle. It is the most important festival Sabbat of the witches’ year.

It is also the Celtic New Year. Traditionally the Celts wore white to welcome the first day of winter and increasing darkness.

Three times a year, the Goddess changes herself. In the spring she is the Maiden, a symbol of new life. In the summer she is the Mother, a mature woman with a family to take care of. Samhain is the end of the season of the Grain Mother as she becomes the Crone and the Sun King is sacrificed back into the land. He becomes a death God and a shaman, able to travel to the inner realms. With the darker nights and longer periods of time spent indoors, it is a time of learning and re-evaluation.

Practically speaking, it is a good time to buy a new broom and sweep your house clean. As well as being good for the house, it is also therapeutic for the mind, clearing the mind of unwanted thoughts and negativity and allowing room in the thoughts for new learning.

Do you like this time of the year? Does it make you want to draw up your chair to the fire and study something new? Do you spent time staring into the embers of your fire and dreaming of the past or maybe the future?

I will be returning to this subject during this period of time.

Star

Mabon

We are coming up to the harvest time and the culmination of the sunny part of the year. I can feel the change in the weather can't you? The wind is blowing stronger and the sun is losing some of its strength. Soon we will be entering the darker part of the year. Already the nights come sooner and the mornings are darker when I rise.



Before we say goodbye to summer we have one last thing to do and that is a celebration. We have one last chance to see the Sun King in all his splendour, adorned with the harvest fruits and flowers in all their abundance. He will leave in a flourish of glory as he hands over to the Oak King who will guard the Goddess through the long winter nights.



This is also the time of the Vine moon and a good time to make binding spells, holding the important things in your life together. Don't be afraid to let go of the old but be ready to embrace the new. A time for collecting up and holding close, a gathering time and a time for cleaning and sweeping your house clear of clutter.

It is also time for me to buy a new broom!

Queen of the Witches

The picture shows an angel and 'The praying hands', symbols of Christianity, but witches believe in angels too and pray to the God and Goddess.

The goddess Diana loved her brother, Lucifer, the god of the Sun and the Moon; the god of Light. One night, Diana changed shape with Lucifer's pet cat in order to seduce him. The product of the union was Aradia, whom we now call Queen of the Witches, after her mother who taught her all about witchcraft and its power. What followed was the both Diana and Lucifer were banished from Paradise and were condemned to spend the rest of their lives as mere mortals.

In 1899 Charles Godfrey Leland wrote a book called "Aradia", or "The Gospel of the Witches" and the sacred text therein has been adopted by modern day Wiccans.

The Gospel of Aradia

When I shall have departed from this world,

Whenever ye have need of anything,

Once in the month, and when the moon is full,

Ye shall assemble in some desert place,

Or in a forest all together join to adore the potent spirit of your queen,

My mother, great Diana.

She who fain would learn all sorcery yet has not won its' deepest secrets,

them my mother will teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown.

And ye shall all be freed from slavery,

And so ye shall be free in everything;

And as the sign that ye are truly free,

Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men and women also:

this shall last until the last of your oppressors shall be dead;

And ye shall make the game of Benevento,

Extinguishing the lights, and after that shall hold your supper thus:

The supper will be described in a different post.

This is but one of the sacred texts that witches use. It was a promise, made by Aradia to help the downtrodden peasants, to learn the wise ways to liberate themselves from their feudal lords.

Lammas

Early Wiccans celebrated "August Eve" on 1st August, now known as Lammas. It is the second of the harvest festivals, Litha being the first on 1st July and Madron, the third, celebrated on 1st September.




In the Wiccan wheel of the year, with an ever changing God, the Corn God is commemorated and sacrificed to make way for the God of the harvest. Corn is considered as an aspect of the Sun God and as such, people have made Corn Dollies in various different patterns to show the passing of this time of the year. It is also a time to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest, namely the grain, which is used to make bread.



The Celtic God Lugh is their deity of light and wisdom and this festival is called Lughnasadh in Ireland in honour of him. In Ireland, it is a time for hand-fasting, a trial marriage, which lasts for a year and a day. If the trial is successful, then the marriage goes ahead and is supposed to last a life-time.



It is a time for bonfires and dancing, a time to ask the Sun God for his blessing on the full harvest to come.

Celtic people have travelled to other parts of the world. For example, in Switzerland, August 1st is a national holiday. They celebrate it with bonfires. It is a practice that can be traced back to the Lughnasadh celebrations of the Helvetii, Celtic people of the Iron Age who lived in what is now Switzerland.


In Northern Italy, Lughnasadh traditions are still incorporated into modern 1st August festivities.

The Christian church has established the ritual of blessing the fields on this day. In days gone by, it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop of wheat. In many parts of England, tenants were bound to present freshly harvested wheat to their landlords on or before the first day of August.

So, what can we do to celebrate Lammas? We could make a harvest loaf and eat it as a sacrifice to the Corn God? We could invite our friends round for an outdoor party, weather permitting, and light a bonfire as a celebration.

We could even build a Wicker Man in the field and sacrifice it to the Sun God, although that would be a bit dangerous, wouldn't it!

Whatever you do to celebrate, have a wonderful August 1st :)

The Blessing Moon

July Full Moon: The Blessing Moon, July 7th.

The Full Moon in July heralds in the time of the thunderstorms and the hottest days of the year, called the “dog days of summer.” In ancient Egypt, the dog star, Sithor, rose with the sun the most extreme heat. This star was considered a second sun, which they believed added to the heat. Egyptians celebrated the “dog days” because, when the star rose with the sun, the Nile’s annual flood would commence and bring life back to the land. In this time, it’s easy to have short tempers and little patience. Under this Thunder Moon, you could work for patience, peace, and, of course, a cooling summer shower.

Under this steamy Thunder Moon so bright,
I call for patience, peace, and calm this night.
May a cooling summer rain come bless the land soon,
Bringing relief, and joy to the earth, like a boon.
For the good of all, with harm to none,
By the Thunder Moon this spell is done!

--Ellen Dugan