Lughnasah Rememberances (in a time of No Remembering)

Leaves are changing already and the air is cool.
What happened to endless summer, to the glorious light of Lugh?
Dew lays thick on the land, damp through the afternoon.

Harvesting what we can. Some are still not yet ripe.

There is always a longing.
The look to the unknown or what is no longer here.

Where are we now,
running headlong into Autumn,
without yet languished in summer.
The trick
is Summer is
already ending
when we first celebrate it's arrival.

As if the Zenith is all there is. 

This time of Lughnasa has been the beginning of Chapter 2.
Starting gently to venture forth.
Much bad news from the world each day worse.
Still we go forward.
The ending is not yet written.
We are allowed to have enough for the coming Winter,
enough to get us through to Spring,
enough but not more than we can manage.

We approach the time of balance and re-balance.
May it rain where there are fires
and may the land and trees withstand winds and flooding.
May gentle truth and simple faith guide us
and may our fiercest love protect us.
May our positive and wonderful dreams inspire our waking life.
May our sorrows be bearable
and may our bears be tolerable.

My notes from then are sparse and my pictures from then show me how much the light has changed.
Next week is the Autumnal Equinox.
One foot in front of the other
one day at a time
seems to be how it is now.

beef fat smoothie and sunflowers

 

"Max and the Skunk" pencil on canvas with coating by Bryan
worn as coating by Bryan

the fire always says so much

popping wood sparking cheese

"A perfect day for a ritual, a really good ritual."

strong heat of summer
short hot fire made from the branches of our maple
downed in the recent hurricane
lit with Lugh's candle
lit to light a smudge from Hawaii
for purification
for setting apart.

mugwort and womyn and masks
grounded and grounding

one door closes
another opens

 

Hear and answer us we pray

pulling our omens

our omens

from our Honored Dead: Kenaz- the Torch. The torch is a tool, it can be light,
it can be burning, it crafts and shapes.
from the Spirits of Nature and Place: Eihwaz or the Spindle. The spindle is these
inter-generational connections, the merry-go-round, the world-tree.
from the Gods & Goddesses: Ehwaz or the Horse. The horse is a domesticated animal and we use it like a tool but it is a partnership with another being, what we combine with
to get to where we are going.
for the Season of Lughnasah: Uruz the Aurox, the Primal Ox. The Ox is strength
and is the wild primordial powerhouse.

 

KEEU!

use it all

this season has been full but fleeting,
may your light stay within us
until we cycle around again.

Lughnasa notes and musings -part 2

Daylight is so much less now. 

Frantically rushing towards darkness, the spiral of weeks moves onward.

Lughnasa is such a tipping point.

We think of the Equinoxes as fulcrums, but these holidays before them really alter the trajectory.

And I do not morn the waning summer, nor do I look to hasten the wintertime.

I am an August baby, the bugs have only recently started their non-stop 24 hour buzz, 

fruit processing time has begun.
It feels like the summer should begin now. I am almost finally ready.

We have spent so much of this season doing and praying.

Working on health and sanity and schedules.
Lughnasa was the first time to rest, to look around at this blessed bounty of our life,
welcoming the time of the shining heart.

I couldn't take any notes at the time because there was a satiety that I needed to sit with,
even knowing that the moment and memory would ebb like the endless days.

Sometimes it feels like the spirit lingers longer when I don't try to capture it.

Then was after dropping off art, after being interviewed as artists, after the extended family time
and before the birthdays.

 we started the fire in the morning, just us. 

  

  clippings of cedar and juniper, flower stalks from the garden, our sweetgrass braids

she was supposed to come early, but all things on summertime time, 

and everyone arriving at once 

as it happens 

the peonies from last season, the uneaten sweets, herbs and beer.

I kept searching my pockets for more to sacrifice, there are so many prayers to be said,

so much gratitude to share, never enough simple time or words.

I remember the grounding meditation of earth and breath and birdsong.

I remember his steady quiet drumbeat.

I remember us 3 women circling as we do.

I remember the kid smiling. 

and especially sending out our thoughts and prayers, our song and healing to our brother

           

the fire is always like dancing spirits
especially in photos 

 Our Omens

from the ancestors: Berkanu or beginning

from the Spirits of Nature & Place: Tir or that directional movement upwards

from the Gods & Godesses: Daguz or day 

for the Season: Mannaz or man

ONWARD 

 the light in the center coming forth

and now tomorrow there is to be a total solar eclipse,
an owl called just outside the window in the almost dark.