In the season of waning light

August sunset   photo by seaangel12


Summer seems to be glorious , but I notice the days getting shorter now.  I've been rising at 6 to go out and water the garden, but now it's not quite light at six.

The pagans had words for this:



"As in the bread and wine, so it is with me.
Within all forms is locked a record of the past
And a promise of the future.
I ask that you lay your blessings upon me, Ancient Ones,
That this season of waning light
And increasing darkness may not be heavy.
So Mote It Be!"

-  Faille, Lammas Ritual  

"Blessed be the Harvest,
Blessed be the Corn Mother,
Blessed be the Grain God,
For together they nourish both body and soul.
Many blessings I have been given,
I count them now by this bread.
Guardian of the East, I pray for your indulgence.
Hear me now as I request your aid in the cycle of life.
As your winds blow through fields of ripened grain,
Carry loosened seeds upon your back
That they may fall amidst the soil
That is our Mother Earth."
-  Lammas Ritual   




"'Lughnassad' means 'the funeral games of Lugh', referring to Lugh, the Irish sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother Tailte.  For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time.  As autumn begins, the Sun God enters his old age, but is not yet dead.  It is also a celebration of the first harvest. The Christian religion adopted this theme and called it 'Lammas', meaning 'loaf-mass', a time when newly baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar.  An alternative date around August 5 (Old Lammas), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo..."

-   Wiccan Holidays, Lughnassad (July 31 - August Eve)