Vol. IV Issue VII
August 1, 2002
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SerpentStone Gatherings
Future Family Gatherings are listed at the SerpentStone Gatherings Page. You will note that Imbolc has no gathering, simply because it's toooo cold. Imbolc typically is celebrated by the individual Covens, Sanctuaries, Circles, Groves, & Temples of the SerpentStone Family.
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For more information or pre-registration contact SerpentStone, PO Box 9296, Knoxville, TN 37940. Email serpentstn@aol.com or mortir@aol.com. |
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Lammas: The Loaf Mass and the Transformation of Abundance by P. B. Owl
As Pagans, we typically talk about Lammas as the first of our two or three Harvest festivals (depending on whether or not you count the culling of animals at Samhain as a Harvest). Frequently this comes out in conversation or in practice as Bread Thanksgiving, to be followed in the fullness of time by Fruit and Vegetables Thanksgiving, Meat and Dead Relatives Thanksgiving, and finally Turkey and Football Thanksgiving which we've borrowed from our
neighbors. This may sound a little flippant, but it is fairly close to the truth unless we actively work to make it more than this. And Lammas especially has the potential to be so much more for us in our practice and as a marking point on the Wheel of the Year.
Think about Lammas for the moment, and how it is essentially different from the Harvest qualities of either Mabon or Samhain. At Mabon we pick vegetables, fruit, and nuts. We can store them or use them in a variety of ways, but we don't really change them very much from the original forms in which we harvest them. At Samhain we cull our herds of animals unlikely to make it through the winter months. We skin and gut them, but really, the flesh of our animals remains meat, and we really don't change this very much either. But Lammas is different.
If you go to the fields and cut down your wheat, what do you really have at this point? You have a field of stubble and a lot of very tall brown grass stalks that might look tasty to your cows or goats but really doesn't appeal to you very much at all. So you separate the wheat kernels from their stalks, the material we then call chaff. And then you pull off at least some of the husk from the wheat kernels. Are you done yet? Of course not; try to eat that and you wouldn't enjoy it very much at all, and more importantly, you'd break your teeth trying. The wheat must be broken by something far stronger than our teeth. It is ground, and frequently milled after grinding. Water is added, then soda or yeast. This mixture must be kneaded and pressed. And then it has to be set aside to rise on its own. Only then is
it ready to baked and made into the bread which sustains us. And it is within this sequence of Mysteries that we find the lesson of Lammas.
And the lesson is this: Many of our most precious, necessary, and life-affirming gifts must be transformed if we are going to be able to use them. Yes, Deity provides. We are given those things that we need to sustain us, physically and spiritually. But, we don't always receive them in
a form that nourishes without work from us. First we must recognize the value in things that might appear to be useless or worthless. To do this, we need to look at the blessings of Deity with discernment, humility, and patience in order to perceive their true value to us. Then, we must be willing to place our own thought, energy, hard work, and time into aiding the transformation of the abundance we have been blessed with. Finally, we must allow these transformations to happen, and to understand that the will of Deity is at work here, not just our own.
Grain is cut down. So are we. Grain is stripped, broken, and pounded. So are we. But grain is also cared for, comforted by the tears of the Mother, allowed to rise, and then transformed into its final form which serves and nurtures. Remember, as we celebrate Lammas, that we also are transformed, that we can rise to any occasion, that we can comfort, serve, and nurture. Blessed be.
References and Suggested Reading:
Lammas: Celebrating the Fruits of the First Harvest, by Anna Franklin and Paul Mason.
Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
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Calendar
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Rites of Passage
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At this past Litha Gathering at DragonHills, Georgia,
Obsidian Silverleaf was brought into her Rite of Passage into the Mother aspect of the Goddess. The rite was led by Lady Rhiannon of SerpentStone.
Lady & Lord Bless Lady Obsidian |
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Special Events
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At this past Litha gathering July 21st - 23rd there was a lot to be had and going on. And again new faces too. There were a good number of vendors with goodies too. Again, Lord Senthor and Lord Amergyn were there to sooth our ears with their musical wit.
The following workshops were presented as well:
We also had a Sweat Lodge w/ Chief RedArrow of the Bird Clan of East Central Alabama a recognized tribe of the Free Cherokee. The following Kitchen Witches assisted with their culinary magick to sooth folk's taste buds. And they include: The entire Coven of the 9 Woods w/ Lady Sophia, Hearthkeeper, Rhiannon, Mau, Robyn, Nightfall, Owl and others from Wyndragon. Kitchen Clean up crews for the Holiday weekend include (along with other folks whose names I wasn't able to fully retrieve this past Litha 2002): Magda, Kell Contfer, Ocean, Stonecat, Obsidian, Buddy, Thomas Kapp, Jenny, Jody, Moonbeam, Moonhawk, Cornwoman and Greyfix. The Main Litha holiday Ritual headed by Lady HearthKeeper & Lord LaughingBear was a delightful designed ritual that dealt with the Summer garden of life. In other words no plant or flower was better than the next one, they all have equal fairness in the eyes of the Lady & Lord. Even if someone was the High Priestess of the Circle of Flit-o-Rama it didn't matter. Everyone was and is equal in their sight. Thus, everyone did the work Deity has for them.
Lady Obsidian Silverleaf |
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Knitted items, Stained Glass, Wire Sculpted Jewelry, Candle Crafting information & other goodies…. In Columbia, South Carolina Contact FoxIvy@sc.rr.com Proprietor: Obsidian Silverleaf If you would like to place an ad in our newsletter, please submit your ad to Obsidian or Bean si. |
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| Blessed Be and Farewell, | |
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Lady Obsidian and I would like to thank you, the readers, for your time and effort. We would appreciate all input from those of you who have taken the time to read our work. Any comments, questions, or submissions of material for the next newsletter should be directed to Lady Obsidian. Her address is Obsidian Silverleaf, 1118 Bob Brook Ct., Columbia, SC, 29210. You may also be able to reach her by phone at 803-772-2991. If anyone needs to contact both of us they can do so by this E-mail address: SerpentsVoice@serpentstone.org. If you don't have email access, please contact Lady Obsidian and she will pass it on to me. Thanks again!!!!
Good Journeys, Lady Obsidian Silverleaf and Lady Bean si Blessed Be |
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| Deadline for Submissions |
| The next issue will be out in time for the Mabon celebration. If anyone is interested in submitting articles or ads for any section of our newsletter, please direct them to either Obsidian Silverleaf or Bean Si shortly after the Lughnasadh gathering of August 2002. |
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May the Lord and Lady Bless and keep you each and every day. Walk in their light and you will always be safe. Lady Bean Si & Lady Obsidian Silverleaf Blessed Be |
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