Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Sabbat Lammas


Sabbat Lammas

Lammas, also called Lughnasadh, falls at the beginning of the harvest season.  Apples are ready and grain is beginning to ripen.  A day also for Ancestors.  The word Lammas derives from the Old English phrase hlaf-mas, which translates to loaf mass.  It is the first of the three autumn harvest festivals, the other two being the autumn equinox and Samhain.  In early Christian times, the first loaves of the season were blessed by the Church.  The loaf was blessed and in England it might be employed afterwards to work magic: A book of Anglo-Saxon charms directed that the Lammas bread be broken into four bits, which were to be placed at the four corners of the barn, to protect the garnered grain.

 


Lammas in Norse is compared to Freyfaxi, or Freyr Fest, marking the beginning of the harvest.  As a fertility deity Freyr would be intimately tied to the land and the food grown upon it.  It was a time for celebration with horse races and a feast for God Freyr.  Thor was also honored as is his wife Sif, whose golden hair reminds us the wheat fields.  Traditionally, three stalks of the first grains are bound together into a sheaf and kept as an amulet of fortune.  Sometimes it was also left in the field for Odin’s horse Sleipnir.

 

Activities: Baking Bread, Gathering First Fruits and Herbs, Astrology, Picnic, Making Corn Dollies, Offering to Ancestors, Help Community Garden 

Animals: Roosters, Calves, Stag, Squirrel

Attunement Teas(Individually or Blended): Alfalfa, Cornsilk, Golden Seal

Colors: Red, Gold, Yellow, Green, Orange, Citrine

Deities: Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, Earth Goddess

Foods: Breads, Corn, Cider, Berry Pies, Potatoes, All First Harvest Foods

Goddesses: Alphito (Irish), Freya (Norse), Persephone (Greek), Selu (Cherokee), Tailltiu (Welsh-Scottish), Tuaret (Egyptian), Sif (Norse), Demeter (Greek), Libera (Roman), Mama Alpa (Incan), Pirua (South American), Qocha Mana (Hopi), Taillte (Irish), Zytniamatka (Teutonic)

Gods: Bes (Egyptian), Liber (Roman), Llew (Welsh),Thor (Norse), Athtar (Phoenician), Bran (Welsh), Ebisu (Japanese), Howtu (Chinese), Lono (Polynesian), Lugh (Irish), Odin (Norse)

Key Action: Receive, Harvest, Blessings

Meaning: Honoring the Parent Deities, Gratitude, Honoring the Sun Gods, Celebrating First Harvest, Abundance

Mythical Creatures: Phoenix, Griffins, Basilisk, Centaurs, Speaking Skull

Other Names: Lammas, Lughnasa, Festival of Green Corn, First Harvest, Ceresalia, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas

Plants: Corn, Rice, Wheat, Ginseng, Rye, Apple, Oak, Cornflower

Ritual Oils: Eucalyptus, Corn, Safflower

Stones: Yellow Diamond, Peridot, Carnelian, Citrine, Gold

Symbols: Corn, All Grains, Bread, Full Moon, Wheat

Taboos: Not Sharing Food

 

Hail to the Day

Hail to the Day,
hail the sons of Day,
hail to the night and daughter of night.
With eyes of kindness
look upon us all,
victory give to us who sit here.

Hail the Aesir,
hail the Asynjur,
hail to the Earth so fruitful and wide.
Fair speech and counsel
give to us glorious ones,
and healing hands as long as we live.

~ Michaela Macha

 

The Hungry Golden God

My hungry Golden God,
Delight of Gerda´s body,
Ever hard, ever desirous
of Your fierce and mighty bride,
You come with the pulsing, pounding rhythms
of the seed fighting for light
through the resistant body
of the rich and sultry earth.
Mighty and proud,
You wooed and won
The fiercest of Gymir´s get.
You filled Her with light, as She enveloped You with darkness.
You are fierce in Your love, courageous, the bravest of warriors.
Would Gerda have accepted anything less?

~ Galina Krasskova

 


Prayer to Frey, God of Fertility

Frey, God of fertility, I like to see the plants grow and thrive.
I enjoy animals being around – the blackbird in the garden,
the cat in the yard, the lion on TV.
I know all life procreates, and that for some privileged beings,
the act of procreating feels good –
and I know I can enjoy the good feeling even if I choose not to procreate.
This option is a free gift that came with my body. More so, it is a need you built in.

Perhaps, if I´d had a choice, I´d have built myself otherwise,
but that´s the way I am now.
Teach me to allow myself to feel at ease when I feel lust stirring within me.
Teach me to accept it as natural and a sign of good health,
neither being ashamed of it, nor making too big a fuss of it,
for it is a wonderful and ever-renewing gift from Freya and you.
In fact, enjoying my sexuality can bring me closer to you,
to understanding your ways and the mysteries of life.
Frey, God of body and mind, God of lust and love,
teach me to use your gift wisely.

~ Michaela Macha

 

Sif Golden-Hair

She sleeps, Thor’s wife Golden-Gleaming-Hair,
And Loki evil-heart creeps through the black night;
Sif’s hair spreads out glowing, and none more fair.

He steals her bright tresses glimmering there,
Thor raises his thunder, the white-headed light;
Beautiful was Sif Golden-Gleaming-Hair.

Dark elves live underground in jeweled lairs,
Loki begs them to forge tresses glittering bright;
Sif’s hair sunlight-shining, and none more fair.

Loki hides, and Thor searches everywhere;
Elf-spinning shines in the gods’ astonished sight,
Dark elves love Sif Golden-Gleaming-Hair.

Swiftly grows the gold on Sif’s head white and bare,
All Asgard praises from its silver height;
Skillful was that spinning, and none more fair.

Swart elves plucked and wove sun-fire from the air,
Raise up dark elves from their forges roaring white;
Sif again is Golden-Gleaming-Hair,
Gold-spreading in the skies, and none more fair.

~ Cameron La Follette

 

Ironically, today this is probably the least-honored Wiccan festival.  In our modern world, it's often easy to forget the trials and tribulations our ancestors had to endure. For us, if we need a loaf of bread, we simply drive over to the local grocery store and buy a few bags of prepackaged bread. If we run out, it's no big deal, we just go and get more.

When our ancestors lived, hundreds and thousands of years ago, the harvesting and processing of grain was crucial. If crops were left in the fields too long, or the bread not baked in time, families could starve. Taking care of one's crops meant the difference between life and death. 

As global food production teeters on its delicate framework of agribusiness, cheap oil, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, nuclear irradiation, and now genetically-engineered non-reproductive seeds - not to mention climate change - we would benefit by remembering just how crucial the farmers' harvests are to our continued well-being.

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Monday, July 25, 2016

Njord


Njord (Njördhr, Norþaz, Nirdu):  God of the Oceans and Rivers and Lord of Abundance and Material well-being, and is King among the Vanir. Married to the giantess Skadi, he begat two children: a son, Freyr, and a daughter, Freya. Njord was directly responsible for bringing the primeval war between the Gods to an end, and in establishing peace between the two tribes. Down through the ages, Heathens have remembered him for this monumental feat, and to this day, still call upon him for peace. Norway is named after him (Nojord's way).

In one record, it is written that the fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, while the full goblets were handed across the fire.  And he who made the feast, and was the chief, blessed the full goblets and all the meat of the sacrifice.  First Odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; after that, Njord's and Freyr's goblets for peace and a good season.

And this is just a snippet of what can be found in, 'Who Are Your Divine Friends?'.

 

Correspondences:

Altar: upon cloth set a Scandinavian ship, a net, a basket of fish-shaped cakes, and a metal tankard of mead

Color: sea-blue, blue-green

Day: Thursday

Incense: cedar, vervain

Offerings: give aid to a sailor, the House should together send a package to one who sails the seas and has need of support

Plant: avens, ferns, oak, oak moss, polypody, verbena, seaweed

Pronunciation: 'N-yoard' (Njord)

Rulership: fishing, guarantees oaths, lands, prosperity, sailors, success, wind, wisdom

Runes: Fehu, Ehwaz, Laguz, Mannaz, Othala

Stone: amethyst, aquamarine, tin, turquoise

Symbol: fish, sea, peace, ships, water

 

Ship Herd

The gulls bring word of you who widely fares
To tell the fishes where to find our net;
They´ve flown from Noatun to claim their shares,
Like you at home both in the dry and wet.

Within your waters play the Sisters Nine
Who bask in rising Sunna´s brilliant blush,
As waves frolick in the golden shine
Until the purple nightfall´s gentle hush.

O tranquil Lord of seven surging seas,
Send wind to fill our sails, and grant us all
To pass to our ports with grace and ease
Over the depths of Ran´s and Aegir´s Hall.

And let us in the midst of storms be stout,
Firm as an anchor in the shifting sands
That change and stay the same, tide in, tide out,
Beneath your briny realm that bounds the lands.

~ Michaela Macha

 

Prayer to Njord

Hail to Njord, Master of Ships!
Hail to Njord, Lord of Vanaheim!
Hail to Njord, loving Husband!
Hail to Njord, devoted Father!
God of temperance and even-handed care,
Who nourishes all within His hall,
Nourish our hearts, and minds and spirits,
That we may love You better and more deeply,
As the ocean loves the sand
And the sand hungers for the tide.

~ Galina Krasskova

 


Vanic Invocation

Hail, gods of the Vanir
O gods of the folk, my hail

Hail, wise and beautiful Njord
And hail Frey and Freyja
Your son and daughter, proud beside you

God of the fertile season! Hail Frey!
Goddess of the fruitful Earth! Hail Freyja!
God of the rich and abundant seas! Hail Njord!

Truce bearers, peace makers,
Honored guests in Asgard's rich halls,
Be welcomed now in this my holy, humble stead
Join me now before this harrow
My gifts to relish, my troth to hear.

~ Boar´s Heart

 

Poem for Njord

Flowing locks of murky sage
Glittering teal entwined
Whipping winds of mighty breath
The sun your eye to see

In midst of tumult
A center is still
The holy calm of deep seas
And birds carry your message

Out from shore a sign beheld
Elhaz reach out to the heavens
Serene Van, prosperity's warden
I hear your call and heed.

~ Robert Shawn Rowland

 

The waters of life run through our bodies in our blood, which is as salty as the oceans.  To the ancient Norse, water of all kinds including the ocean, lakes, streams, and rivers were considered a source of wealth and fertility.  The Aegir Gods and Goddesses of the sea both gave and took life - and offered prosperity and fruitfulness. 

His friendship can be gained by doing a favor for a sailor or by aiding in the protection of the ocean.  Njord is said to be a future survivor of Ragnarok in the Poetic Edda.  Njord will return to Vanaheim.  It may also imply that the Vanir of Vanaheim may survive too.

Today, Njord has been the subject of scholarly discussion, often connecting him with Goddess Nerthus, and hero Hadingus.  He is also is one of the incarnated Gods in the New Zealand comedy "The Almighty Johnsons".  And in numerous artistic depictions including Njörd's desire of the Sea and Skade und Niurd. 

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Sunday, July 24, 2016

My Body's Temple


My Body's Temple: Many people have been drawn to Paganism because it affirms the sacredness of their bodies, their sexuality, and their gender expression.  The mystique and glamour of witchcraft is what attracted many wannabe Wiccans to the magical stage.  To be a witch, and acquire all the pretty accoutrements - sexy witch outfit, black cat, pentagrams everywhere… even the hipsters have cottoned on to kraft kool.  No longer do we have to suffer with the hag with warts stereotype when we have sexy ladies like Fiona Horne gracing the spotlight with a brand of white witchcraft that can come across as inconsistent at times, but always glamorous.

 


As we learn more about the craft, of course we realize that there is far more to it than that.  It is a path of self-acceptance, but what does this actually mean?  We know that robes and ritual jewelry have a place in craft practice.  Some seem to enforce that a natural ‘as the Goddess intended’ ascetic lifestyle of no makeup and nudity in circle, arguing that adornments can impact magical practice.  Others feel that their clothing, tattoos, piercings, eyeliner etc, has personal spiritual significance, and this is reflected in historical cultural Paganism where ritual body modification was often used - the ancient Egyptians and their use of kohl and perfumes is one example.

The oldest, the most profound, the most universal of all symbols is the human body.  The Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, and Hindus considered a philosophical analysis of man's triune nature to be an indispensable part of ethical and religious training.  The mysteries of every nation taught that the laws, elements, and powers of the universe were epitomized in the human constitution; that everything which existed outside of man had its analogue within man.

The early priests placed the statue of a human in the sanctuary of the temple.  This human figure symbolized the Divine Power in all its intricate manifestations.  Thus the priests of antiquity accepted man as their textbook, and through the study of him learned to understand the greater and more abstruse mysteries of the celestial scheme of which they were a part.  It was that this mysterious figure standing over the primitive altars was made in the nature of a manikin and was covered with either carved or painted hieroglyphs.

Using man's body as the measuring rule of the universe, the philosophers declared that all things resemble in constitution - if not in form - the human body.  The Greeks, for example, declared Delphi to be the navel of the earth, for the physical planet was looked upon as a gigantic human being twisted into the form of a ball.  In contradistinction to the belief of Christendom that the earth is an inanimate thing, the Pagans considered not only the earth but also all the sidereal bodies as individual creatures possessing individual intelligences.  They even went so far as to view the various kingdoms of Nature as individual entities.  The animal kingdom, for example, was looked upon as one being - a composite of all the creatures composing that kingdom.

From the time of the days of the Roman Empire to the present day, people have indulged themselves in excesses in order to appease their physical appetites.  People started seeing the body as a burden, ascetics throughout the ages have sought to bring the body under subjection to the spirit by physically abusing it using various means such as extreme fasting, self-flagellation, sleeping on wooden boards, and wearing rough apparel.  As people seek further bodily pleasures and an escape from reality, drug abuse has escalated to epidemic proportions with all of its attendant personal and social problems.

In the last few years, as we have been alerted to the health risks of our sedentary lifestyle, more people have begun a regular exercise regimen.  Some carry this to extreme levels and spend vast amounts of time in exercise, attempting to produce a beautifully toned body.  Hence the sculpted body prompts the owner to display it as a status symbol for others to admire.


Many people do not understand the sacred nature of their bodies.  To understand the sacredness of our bodies as temples, it is useful to compare the temple building with the temple body.  When the Kirtland Saints built the temple, it was constructed with high-quality materials.  The sisters donated their china, which was ground and put into the exterior stucco finish to make the walls sparkle and look beautiful.  The exterior of the temple building was beautiful, and the grounds were immaculately kept.

Similarly, we should use the best materials to build our bodies.  We should also be involved in appropriate physical exercise to maintain our health and keep our bodies functioning so that we can feel invigorated and able to fulfill our mission here on earth.  When we do not eat well or exercise regularly, we feel lethargic and our spirit has to deal with a dulled body, which can result in a dulling of our spirit, thus hampering our effectiveness.

 

I do believe my body is a temple.  I’m not a particular fan of reincarnation so I plan on living a long time and getting the most out of my body.  I try to eat healthily and exercise.  I minimize the amount of junk I eat, including meat.  I trim away my split ends and I don’t use hot tools or too much product on my hair.  Often, I put on a bit of makeup for some rituals and sometimes I wear none at all.

Remember, consider your discipline as a down-payment on a healthy and active life down the line as well as in this moment.



 












 


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