Lughnasah-Trials & Tribulations

this season has been so full,
there is not enough laughter nor enough tears
to describe or understand
it all.

the late season colors
of tawny burnt orange grasses,
goldenrod and asters,
purple thistles gone to seed,
fading green leaves
as they begin to turn
autumnal.

days notably shorter 
and cooler
already where did the summer go?

we are never ready
and yet
somehow
always here.

change is in the air,
breathe deeply 
and slowly.
please and thank you
and 
I am sorry
are powerful spirits,
listen to your heart
and the trees
connect.

Some notes and pics and memories
from our fine Lughnasah ritual 

hummingbirds & woodpecker
Max meowing & meowing
baby mouse
all the flowers in bloom
everything alive
turquoise & greens
all dressed up

 Lughnasa 

 people's passions & life obsessions
let's talk about death
cause we are all going to become
ancestors

 

LUCCP- the original Ancestor

if you're looking for forgiveness
Lugh is not your guy

safe and productive harvest

smudge & our cherries
directionally

cicadas & presence

connections

crying with the mullein

let it go 

 Lughnasadh 

Magical Synchronicities
the frogs & the crickets
& the lightening bugs
are working on the same timing

rhythmic panting dog
putting his whole head
into the waters

to be free

to breathe clean air
to be safe and to have clean water
and proper rain

sharing our food harvests

lots of garlic
last year's heads 
for the Ancestors
stalks for the Spirits
(and flowers & a pluot)
flowerhead seeds for the Gods & Goddesses
nest of stalks for the Season

Protection
Healing
Strength

Lughnasah

tell us the stories of Lugh
dark clouds threaten Lugh and the Lightning 
and honoring Tlaitu

endless stories of Lugh
before getting to Lugh
but what about Lugh?

sitting down ease
settle in
we start now

 people were cancelling
 and it seemed like
it would only be a few of us
but folks did come
11 humans, some older some younger, 
1 very silly medium sized dog
full but gentle & easy
no busy or stressed

 

3 stunned or dead mice
fresh & dried flowers

yummy breads
fruits & sweets/cheeses & salads
& flower chicken & foraged mushroom risotto
not a full table
but a most delicious feast

bring what you can
keep it simple & slow
"all is as it is"
focused balanced
straight back

an untended fire can burn
the house down
strong and gentle
everything is love

ancestors as everyone
that deceased human force
spirits are everything-living and not human
the Gods & Goddesses with their great gifts,
shining ones some of whom
we worship

 

the Well
then the Fire
then the Tree

the assembly
everyone was nice
& dressed up nice
& looked nice
& seemed well

there was a calmness
timelessness
the no space or time 
of being honorific and respectful

short opening and closing 
meditation
in ritual you are not just doing
the actions 
let go

knowing what you need
allowing what you need
doing it.

Humility & Peace
who's the Champ
pushed into contests of our own choosing
Time & Space
are the inbreath and outbreath

putting out there what you mean
what you dream about
what you want and need
creates a quantum wave

dropping the ripe peach
letting go
the release of samsara 
through the fully ripe cucumber

THE FIRE HAD ITS OWN ENERGY
beyond what we were
feeding it

 

our Omens: 

from our Beloved Dead: Daguz- day, high noon, 
vantage point, to be able to see all around,
Awakening

from the Spirits of Nature & Place: Thuriz- thorn, protection, guarding, challenges,
Courage

from the Gods & Goddesses: Ehwaz- the horse (and rider), vehicle, how we get where we are going,
Partnership

for the Season and for Lugh and Tlaitu: Uruz- the Aurochs, the Primordial Ox, primal strength,
Vitality
 

remembering Lughansahs past
not fearing what is
doing what you can
big hugs

there is a force that is beyond time & space
and it is all of us

EARTH ON WHICH EVERYTHING GROWS
QUIET REVERENCE

the kids' table is no table
cause the elders' claimed the table first

family trauma transforming
for good compost
directional
cycle
guided by prayer
supported through breath
without fear

REAP WHAT YOU SOW 

 

The Greening of The May- Beltanetide

 

 May begins as it always does:
fixing and adding ribbons 
gathering flowers from the trees
and adorning the crown
of the Pole,
uncovering and making offerings 
to the hole
the egg balanced from Equinox
into the Earth Mother.

Bless us with good planting, growth and harvests,
may our creativity thrive,
may beauty and joy surround us
even
or especially
during these times
of great sorrow, grief and chaos and destruction.

Though there has been a bit of intense heat this month,
rapid forcing blooming,
this slow cool and gentle season
has been a great blessing.
Everything is in full green, nonetheless.

There is no stopping
the cycle of seasons
the cycle of life
and death.

Some irises bloom for only a day, 
some for maybe a week
before weighed down with flowers
they fold.

 

May we always be weighed down with flowers.

Hummingbirds arrived right on time,
even though chilly nights
close to frost
hold bees still 
till long after sunrise
now wonderfully early.

Everything is alive now,
right now,
this moment,
the long Winter
of silence and cold
barely a vague remembrance of a dream.

Welcome Summer,
ready or not,
here I come.

some random notes and pictures from our ritual 
-in no real order but memory-
nothing conveys the actual 
but only invokes inspiration

"Cal is in Charge"
letting go of hosting and doing
in order to center and ground

the heavy wait/weight
left in its wake
a timeless blank
empty and open
focusing on the self
without it being all about you

in one door and
out the other

Wondrous permeating quality of Nature
all interconnected
inside of us and outside of our form
just being in our body

the energy of shining forth

lipstick stories
in the kitchen

just being 

using what you have
and going with where you at

 

old citrus for the directions
tossed
without standing up
without hitting people 

after honoring the directions
Bryan read his transcription
of the Druid Peace Prayer

let my light radiate from me

grounded simplicity 
of existence

willow leaf aspersion
from the Well
that which goes down deep
and from which we draw up  

Sacrifice for our Beloved Bridget

 

high winds
fire warnings
being safe

for this moment, this time
we are in sacred space

I want to invoke protection
I want to pray for peace and justice
 yet all I can do 
is say thanks

the drum and the gong
wind chimes and bird song

 

we do have more 
control of our inside weird than we think
and it's good to have 
these outside spirits
to help

comfortable
&
comforting

 chiming of chimes
crackling of fire
and rattling of runes 

 Our Omens

from our Honored Dead: Othala- Sacred Enclosure, a legacy passed down from our Ancestors
from the Nature Spirits: Ansuz/OS (mouth)- the Voice 
on the Wind, Odin's Wisdom communicating ecstasy, 
Odin's Cape flapping in the woods, Peacemaker
from the Gods & Goddesses: Ingwaz- Being and Doing, 
being in the present, becoming in the future,
evolving from the past, active & alive, potential
for the Season: Raido- Communication, the Completed Circuit, radio radio, progression forward
 
OANGR 

 giving the vegetable world
its spiritual due

 last year's mullein and sunflower stalk
burning in the air 

 we have never been in control

thank you Winter
for not killing us
thank you Winter
for passing
thank you Winter for the snow

Welcome Summer
we give thanks for you
for your fruitfulness
for your flowers
for your opportunity 

Guramahagat- singular thanks
Guramahageeve- thanks to the many

open to possibilities
creation of sacred and safe space

trying to rescue the trapped ribbon
with a long forked stick 
we made do with an uneven number of ribbons
but an abundance of silliness and joy

ask for support and folks gratefully provide

 a great and bounteous feast for all

a circle of Cernunnos triangle cookies 

fire safety first

14 humans and a whipped cream loving dog

May ends as it always does
(this year with a full Blue Moon hidden behind clouds but felt)
putting away the Maypole for another year
Gods willing we will dance it again.