Happy Lammas, Y'all

In honor of today being the euro-pagan day of Lammas (well, it was when I wrote this, some five-weeks ago,on Aug 1st), I am going to focus on the wheel of the year, and what this time of year means to many of us. Watching the earth through the pagan year's holy days is one way to see ourselves connected to a recurrent cycle of birth, growth, diminishment, death, rest and rebirth. Today is Lammas, which is the half-way point between Beltaine and Samhain. This is the first celebration after the summer solstice, when the year is at its peak of solar energy-- the god at his zenith of power. This marks the god's
aging, and as John Barleycorn, he is cut down in the gathering of the grains.

Let's pause for a moment and look at this in context-- how the year's cycle and changing of the seasons can be told in one story or myth:

Lammas is celebrated August 1st. It is the festival of the first harvests. It is a very opportune time to assess what you are manifesting, how is it coming in? What do you need to prune, adjust, reshape? This is the time that the god grows older, waning in energy,
while the goddess as mother harvests the seeds and nurtures the god growing within her, awaiting his re-birth.

The next turning point is Mabon, or Fall Equinox, a time to celebrate balance. Projects and goals that were dreamed in the winter and started in the spring come to fruition. It is a time to give thanks for what has come into your life and to prepare for the more introspective times ahead. The god, old now, rests after harvest-- preparing for his death.

The last turn of the year is Samhain, better known in this country as Halloween. This is a time of dreaming, of communion with the dead, and those spiritual allies that are not incarnate. The veil separating this physical world from the land of the dead and the faery grows the
thinnest at this time of year, making it a great time to gain advice and contemplate visions to guide you through this dark and introspective time. The god dies on this day, and old year passes
away. The world lies fallow, resting until the god's rebirth.

And the re-birth happens at the Winter Solstice. The new year, full of hope and potential as it stretches out ahead of us. It is time to do deep introspective work to make clear your own intentions and goals to your own self. As the new sun grows in strength, what aspirations
do we want to grow into reality? What can we do to give strength to that new world that has justice, love and laughter at its core?

Next comes Imbolc. Traditionally, this involves a feast dedicated to Brigid, on February 1st or 2nd. This is the beginning of spring, as the lambs are born, and signs of life begin to appear in earnest, giving hope that the greening of the year is getting under way. This
is a time of beginnings, and initiation. The god is still in infancy, but gaining strength, the goddess rests after birth, readying herself for the Rites of Spring, celebrated at the next turning point.

Ostara, aka the Spring Equinox—the Rites of Spring. This is a time to celebrate the fertility of the goddess in her Maiden role, and the god grows well into his youth. This is a time to nurture and feed what we have started, and see what else needs to be manifested in our lives.
This is the time of the planting—laying tangible foundations for your ideas and projects.

Beltaine is a celebration of sexuality, and the year turns to early summer. Traditionally celebrated by erecting a Maypole, and dancing during the day, giving way to bonfires and sex at night. This is the time that the god becomes a man through his union with the goddess.
As the poem goes: "Hooray! Hooray! for the 1st of May, Outdoor fucking begins today!"
Alright, it's probably not an ancient poem, but I have to say, I like the sentiment.

Then we move into Summer Solstice, or Midsummer, which was the last holy day before today. This is the time of the god enjoying the apex of his power. A time of great expansive energy and celebration. This is the time to focus your power to give your dreams "lift off". Play
hard. Think of the energy as a drum circle reaches that fevered frenzied climax. Manifest!!!

Which brings us back to today.

I thought it important to look at the full year, as often people ask me how they can strengthen their connection with the earth, how can they feel more like they are a part of that big cycle. To me, one of the best ways to do this is to go out into a place during each of these turning points and to observe the changes, season by season. It doesn't matter if that spot is in a forest, a park, or your yard-- what matters is that you spend a little time, at least every six weeks, getting to know it. Watching how the plants change, which birds are there-- how the place sounds and smells, what the vibe is, through out the year, and how those changes relate to your own life.

So a little more about Lammas. As I mentioned, it is the celebration of the first harvests – the cutting of the grains and the corn. This is a holy day of transformation, for after the grains are cut, they are milled into flour and turned into bread to give us all sustenance. In a more mythic take, the god's sacrifice is seen through the personification of the grain into John Barleycorn, and his sacrifice. Another way to see it is that the bounty of solar energy is embodied in the grains now ripe for harvest, and it is time to prepare for the leaner months, which lie just ahead.

For people interested in holding a simple ceremony to mark this day, a great way to do it is to bake bread. While you are kneeding the dough you can focus on the connections within your community/ friends and family-- those with whom you will be eating the bread with later. Kneed thanks into the bread for the harvests, for sustenance, and for the love and connections in your life.

Invite loved ones over to eat this bread with you-- reflect on how much you have accomplished this year, and what more you need to do to feel satisfied. It is the holiday to assess how you can best adopt, adapt and improve your plans. While sharing the bread, don't forget to toss a chunk out for spirit-- making offerings is another way to experience deeper connections.

You can decorate your table with stalks of grains, and ask yourself and others what you need and how to support one another through the coming winter. Are there sacrifices that you need to make now to be reaped in the future?

You can braid those stalks of grains and keep them through the winter to keep the spirit of the harvest present until the next growing season.

So I want to hear how your year is going-- what are you harvesting, and what do you want from your community? What are you giving to your community? I am also interested in hearing about your celebrations-- what traditions do you keep?

Change Now!

It's my 42nd birthday (rather it was six-weeks ago, when I wrote this on July 18th), and I have very recently returned home from the Oregon Country Fair. As I assess my life at this turning point in my year, I am overall very, very grateful for the community of which I am a part, for love and laughter, for food and shelter, for right livelihood, for the spark of divinity we all share, and for the beauty of the earth surrounding me.

To all of my friends, family, community cohorts--- I thank you for enriching my life.

Let's look for further and deeper ways to create the new world founded in compassion, truth, & beauty. Let's make this week's headlines the impetus to do it now. Why not?

Big news of economic hard times this week-- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in a bad way. Huh, who'da figured? Some people seem surprised, others wryly cynical, but no matter your attitude, in the end we need to strategize a way through the collapse of this system.

But wait, what if this isn't really the big, BIG collapse.... you've heard it before--- people are always crying the end of the world, and all. What about Y2k? The nuclear doomsday clock? It's tiring to live with an impending apocalypse. Still, here is another moment that the old system teeters.... we know, absolutely, that empires fall; they are like a house of cards-- I propose that we withdraw more of our support from this empire's base, and be ready when the house comes down. We know that this system is not sustainable, as no other empire has lasted, neither will this one. So why wait? It does little good to visualize radical transformation of our society and then be unprepared for the moments that are ripe for further transformations to unfold.

So how do we ready ourselves for the transformation? How can we work together to make a new community that is far more self reliant than the community we woke up in today? We don't need external experts, but we do need to be smart about organizing our resources. What networks and support systems can we help to form now? What do we take for granted? How much non-perishable food do you have in your house? What's your access like to fresh produce? Does the food you eat get trucked in from around the globe, heavily dependent on the oil industry to reach your table? What very practical skills do you have that you can share with your community? Can you make medicines? Build shelters? Clothing? Can you entertain, make music, spin stories and create the new myths to weave together our new world? How's your water use going? How are you at gardening & identifying edible foods? Do you know how to preserve foods? If you know how, do you do it?

It's time to put solidarity into action-- being kind to each other is not only pleasant, but will actually increase our viability-- we are stronger together, than alone. We must stand strong together-- lest we be vulnerable to being swept up in xenophobic propaganda. It is crucial that we deeply listen to each other, so that we can actively support one another. To work in solidarity with each other pivots on our basic understanding of each other's issues and needs, and to find how they connect with our own.

How's your consumption lately? I know that I am mending more things than I had been for a while. Remember the WWII jingle: Use it up, wear it out; make it do, or do without-- that certainly has a place now.

On the fourth of July, Cicely Rogers joined me on the talk radio show. She emphasized the importance of doing the work of readying ourselves to take advantage of opportunities to transform. I want to suggest that the time is now, right now, to engage in solidarity. Check in with those around you-- what needs aren't being met? How can you organize people to meet them? Is there a need to care for kids while some work? Is there a need to have help in a garden that folks without land can share? Do people have enough to eat? If not, can you organize feedings? It's time to get down to basics.

Check into our history-- there are brilliant examples of community defense and mutual aid. Check the actual history of the Black Panthers, of the Wobblies and late 19th century anarchists, of the 17th century Diggers. What can we learn and take with us. What do we want to create fully new?

What am I going to do differently, starting today, to help actualize this world? What are you going to do?