“But here I am in July, and why am I thinking about Christmas pudding? Probably because we always pine for what we do not have. The winter seems cozy and romantic in the hell of summer, but hot beaches and sunlight are what we yearn for all winter.” ― Joanna Franklin Bell
July Dates of Interest:
- Sunday, July 3 - Dog Days of Summer begin
- Wednesday, July 13 - Full Buck Moon @ 11:37am
- Thursday, July 14 - Bastille Day
- Thursday, July 28 - New Moon in Leo @ 10:54 am
- Friday, July 29 - S.0.S. Lammas Ritual - Celebrate the Lore and Magick! @ 8:00pm
- Friday, July 29 - Islamic New Year
- Sunday, July 31 - Harry Potter's Birthday!
Musings from the desk of.... Priestess Laurelinn
My first ritual as High Priestess
By: Priestess Laurelinn
The First Harvest approaches, bringing with it sweet memories of my first circle as High Priestess....
The year was 1999. I was recently initiated as a First Degree Gardnarian Priestess, and my turn preciding over an official Sabbat Ritual was finally at hand. My Sabbat was to be Lughnasadh - the First of the three Harvest Festivals.
It's quite exciting preparing for your first ring as HPS! My Working Partner was to be my HP, and the other various parts were handed out to other members of my class.
The ritual was held on Mt. Charleston, at Upper-Macks Canyon; a hard to reach - but worth the hassle, remote camping area.
Those days Sabbats were usually weekend camping trips. It was the perfect way to reconnect with nature and we looked forward to those weekends with great anticipation. The usual timeline was - arrive on Friday afternoon, set up camp, prepare the ring site Saturday, followed by the ritual that night. After the ring we had what I called, Bardic Circle time, full of bawdy songs and "I remember when" stories! Finally, we wrapped things up with a communal Sunday breakfast before cleaning the site, packing up and heading back to town.
Part of the Lughnasadh ritual is the 'Corn Dance' performed by the HPS with the Bread of Life. For this dance you get to choose your music - for me I knew it had to be the music in Igraine's dance scene in the movie Excalibur. It's very exciting! Listen here:
I also wanted to embody the Goddess as fully as possible, so I had a friend weave flowers and ferns all through my hair. It's a good thing the temperatures are lower on the mountain, otherwise I would have been dying from the heat of my hair!
My last personal detail was baking my own 'Bread of Life' for the ritual. Putting your own touches on ritual brings it to a more personal and intimate connection with the Goddess; it's something I never tire of.
This year, try to spend time out in nature. Feel the Earth, talk to the trees, listen to the wind. Think of what you have 'sown' in your life over the past few months. What has grown and flourished, and what withered away? Now is the time to take stock, decide what will be sacrificed and what will be kept, sowing again and be reborn in the coming Spring.
I look forward to spending Lammas with you on July 29th, and celebrating the blessings of the Goddess on First Harvest ~
In Love and Light,
Priestess Laurelinn
Corn rigs, an barley rigs, an corn rigs are bonnie; I'll ne'er forget that happy night, Amang the rigs wi' Annie - Robert Burns ~ It was upon a Lammas Night~
Image by Priestess Laurelinn; Lammas Altar 2021
“Long has paled that sunny sky: Echoes fade and memories die: Autumn frosts have slain July. Still she haunts me, phantomwise, Alice moving under skies Never seen by waking eyes.” ― Lewis Carroll
Midsummer Measure
by: Jezibell Anat
Hear my song, fair Queen of Summer
Now you smile in your lavish garden
Where the lilies bloom in beauty
Let me be your loyal bard
Yours the realm of growth and bounty
Green the trees in graceful splendor
The earth is rich in golden grains
The land sustained by rain and wind
Breathe in the scent of rose and jasmine
Hear the doves softly cooing
Taste the melons and the cherries
See the sky of boundless blue
I shall sing of fleeting pleasure
This peak of glory starts the fading
Let us linger in the brilliance
Sliding slowly towards the shade
Your merry reign will soon be waning
Flowers wither, you’ll be frowning
As grain is gathered for the harvest
Green and gold will turn to brown
But now we’ll dance across the meadow
While the days are warm and shining
Love still beckons in the moonlight
Raise the chalice, drain the wine
Raise the chalice, drain the wine
Raise the chalice, drain the wine
Lughnasadh Artwork
Image from: Shutterstock
“I drifted into a summer-nap under the hot shade of July, serenaded by a cicada lullaby, to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder.” ― Terri Guillemets
~ July Spotlight ~
Behold the Full Buck Supermoon!
July’s full Buck Moon is coming up. This will be the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year! July’s full Buck Moon will rise on Wednesday, July 13, reaching peak illumination at 11:38 A.M. Pacific Time. It will be below the horizon at that time, so plan to look towards the southeast after sunset to watch it rise into the sky.
July’s full Buck Moon orbits closer to Earth than any other full Moon this year, making it the biggest and brightest supermoon of 2022! At its nearest point, the Buck Moon will be 222,089.3 miles (357,418 km) from Earth so it just edges out June’s Strawberry Moon by 200km.
While a supermoon is technically bigger and brighter than a regular full Moon, it only appears about 7% larger—which can be an imperceptible difference to the human eye, depending on other conditions. Nonetheless, it’s fun to know that the full Moon you’re looking at is the closest, biggest, and brightest of the year.
The July 2022 supermoon also appears slightly farther south, so lower in the sky than a month before; when a Moon is lower in the sky or nearer the horizon, it can also appear bigger.
The full Moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by.
ALTERNATIVE JULY MOON NAMES
Other names for this month’s Moon also reference animals, including
- Feather Molting Moon (Cree)
- Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested.
Plants and weather also feature prominently in July’s Moon names. Some of our favorites are:
- Berry Moon (Anishinaabe)
- Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota)
- Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee)
- Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe)
- Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki)
- Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe)
A moon-flooded prairie; a straying Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying Of far away watching dogs; a dreaming Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming Of fireflies eddying nigh, and that is July! ~James N. Matthews
JULY MOON FACTS:
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon. He also placed the U.S. flag there.
On July 31, 1999, the ashes of astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker were deposited on the Moon.
Adapted From The Farmer's Almanac July Full Moon
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Julys's Full Moon Magic
July Blessing Moon
Wigington, Patti. "Blessing Moon." Learn Religions, Feb. 8, 2021, learnreligions.com/blessing-moon-2562386.
July's full moon is known as the Blessing Moon, although it's also called the Meadow Moon. July was originally called Quintilus but was later renamed in honor of Julius Caesar. Falling in the heat of the middle of summer, this moon phase takes place when we're all feeling a bit lazy and sluggish - after all, going outside can seem like a chore as the heat index climbs. Physically, we're often a bit slower than usual in July, which is why this is a good time of the year to focus on meditation and dream work.
This is indeed a season of blessings - if you've got a garden growing, July is when you're starting to see fat tomatoes form on the vine, plump peppers, watermelons, and the beginnings of squash for later harvesting. Your flowers are blooming, and corn stalks are on their way to being tall and bountiful. If you have herbs growing, now is the perfect season to start thinking about harvesting and drying them for later magical use.
Correspondences:
- Colors: Green, silver, blue-gray
- Gemstones: Moonstone, white agate, opals or pearls
- Trees: Ash and oak
- Gods: Juno, Venus, Cerridwen, Athena, Nephthys, Lugh
- Herbs: Mugwort, hyssop, lemon balm
- Element: Water
Blessing Moon Magic:
This is a great time to do divination and dreamwork. For a bit of moon magic divination, consider doing some full moon water scrying.
If you've ever thought about creating a dream journal, this month is a good time to start one. Dreams can be prophetic, in that they may tell us of things yet to come, or they can be therapeutic, a way of our subconscious acknowledging problems that have to be resolved. Write down your dreams so you can try to interpret their messages later, and see how they'll apply to your life in the coming months.
Find a way to incorporate the watery energy of the Blessing Moon into your spell crafting and ritual. Enjoy the relaxing feeling of July's full moon and use it in your personal meditation. If you garden, get outside and do some weeding. Turn it into a meditative exercise, pulling weeds as a way of getting rid of the emotional and spiritual clutter that may be stifling your happiness.
July Full Moon Journal Prompts:
- Take a moment to congratulate yourself on any achievements you’ve had recently! Make a list and bask in the happiness and pride in your hard work.
- Write about how July’s Blessing Moon makes you feel. What are your favorite ways to celebrate?
- Name a book or movie you’d like to read or watch before the year ends. Why?
- How can you be more intentional with your time?
- What are some magical spaces in your local area you love to explore? Go visit this space and write about it in detail.
- Keep a journal next to your bed to record your dreams. This will be a wonderful reference for you to refer back to and interpret later on.
“Drink in the moon as though you might die of thirst.” ― Sanober Khan
John Barleycorn
Let me tell a tale of my father's kin
For his blood runs through my veins
No man's been born that could best John Barleycorn
For he's suffered many pains
He's suffered many pains
We've buried him well beneath the ground
And they've covered over his head
And these men from the west did solemnly attest
John Barleycorn was dead
John Barleycorn was dead
But the warm spring rains came a-pouring down
And John Barleycorn arose
And upon that ground he stood without a sound
Till he began to grow
Till he began to grow
They've hired a man with a knife so sharp
For to cut him through the knees
And they've pitched Barleycorn and tied him down with thorn
And served him barbarously
They've served him barbarously
And they've hired some men with crabtree sticks
For to beat him high and low
And the skin on his back they then began to smack
Till the place began to blow
The place began to blow
And they've ground his bones in between two stones
And they've served him worse than that
For they've tossed him into an oaken mashing bin
And sealed him in a vat
They've sealed him in a vat
But John Barleycorn proved the stoutest man
Though they did all that they could
So raise up your horn and praise to Barleycorn
And we shall drink his blood
Yes, we shall drink his blood!
Music and Lyrics by: Heather Alexander/Alexander James Adams
Book and Artwork by: Mary Azarian
~The Kitchen Witch's Cauldron~
Lammas Spiral Bread with Pesto & Garlic
No Lammas custom is more traditional than a hand-kneaded loaf of bread at the center of the hearth and home. This one incorporates fresh, late-summer herbs from the garden, farm-raised eggs and rich, hand-whipped butter for a flaky, moist, pull-apart style bread. Its double spiral shape symbolizes the universal cosmic life force and the inward journey of the spirit. ~ Moody Moons
There are fantastic step-by-step instructions with pictures on Moody Moons website. Follow the link below to find it!
Lammas Lughnasadh
First Harvest Celebration
August 1
By Priestess Novaembre
In August the days grow visibly shorter. The astrological point of the change is when the sun is at 15 degrees Leo, but tradition sets August 1 as the day this change in the seasons is celebrated. This date is a power point of the Zodiac and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the four fixed signs of the Zodiac. The Lion denotes strength and nobility, but also generosity and mercifulness.
Modern Pagans call this holiday Lammas, or sometimes Lughnasadh. It is one of the eight sabbats, or spokes, in what is called the Wheel of the Year. Four of the sabbats are solar observations based upon the stations of the sun. These are the two solstices, Yule, the longest night and shortest day, and Midsummer, the longest day and shortest night, and the spring and autumn equinoxes when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. The other four sabbats observe the seasons of the Earth and all bear difficult to spell and pronounce Gaelic names: Samhain, Imbolg, Beltane, and Lammas or Lughnasadh. These are not human made holidays, they don’t commemorate any historical event. They existed before humans - they are as old as Earth herself.
In the lands of northwest Europe, Lammas was the first of three harvests before winter was upon them. Lammas is the beginning of fall and the ending of summer.
Lammas was the medieval name for the holiday in northern Europe, and in Saxon it means “loaf-mas,” or “celebration of bread” because this was the day that loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest. The word comes from the Old English “hlaf” meaning “loaf” and “maesse” meaning “feast.”
In Irish Gaelic, the festival was called “Lugnasadh” and was said to be a Celtic feast to commemorate the funeral games of the Irish sun god Lugh - but this is confusing as Lugh, the god of light, does not really die, at least mythically, until the Autumn Equinox. Digging deeper, it seems that it is not Lugh’s death that is commemorated, but that of his foster mother, who died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. In addition to being a solar deity, Lugh symbolized the grain that is sacrificed with the harvest only to be reborn in the new shoots of spring.
Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies shall be reborn. Corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls shall rise again.
This time of year was also celebrated in ancient Egypt. The days between July 24 and August 24 are called the Dog Days of summer - I thought it was because dogs lay panting in the heat, - but actually it is because at that time Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, or large dog, thus it is called the Dog Star, appeared. This is the brightest star in the sky except for the sun. Sirius appeared just before the Nile flooded, so was a watchdog for the Egyptians, telling them to expect the annual inundation which made possible the planting of crops and the continuance of life. This was the Egyptian New Year, and August 1, was the first day of the Egyptian calendar. It was a time of feasting, drinking and merry making.
Festivals at this time of year were found throughout the northern hemisphere - and they have similar meanings. This is when the first crops are cut in the fields, the harvesting of the grain. The grain dies so that the people might live. Eating this bread, this sacred gift, gives us life. Grain has always been associated with deities who die and are then resurrected from the underworld by the Goddess. This was the story of Ishtar and Tammuz, Inanna and Dumuzi, Aphrodite and Adonis, and Isis and Osiris. It is the story of Demeter and Persephone - it is the cycle of the death and rebirth of the grain. When the sacred grain, the gift of the Goddess, has been gathered, when it has been threshed by the flail and winnowed to separate the wheat from the chaff, when it has been ground to a fine flour between the stones of a mill, then mixed with water, the fluid of life, and with a little magic added in the yeast, then baked in a womb like oven, then the sacred loaf will be broken and shared at the Lammas feast. So sacred is the ancient process and the grain it involves, that it was once presided over only by Priestesses.
Bread has long been thought to be the one essential food, the bare necessity, along with water, for survival. It has been the sustenance of prisoners and penitents, sinners and saints. Bread has come to symbolize food itself.
As a symbol for life, bread represented and was revered as the body of the deity whose gift it was. When the development of agriculture heralded the birth of the Neolithic, it was the body of the Goddess that was commemorated in this way.
The sabbats, or spokes, on the Pagan Wheel of the Year, are liminal times, times of change, when one has not quite left one season and not quite entered another.
The mental and emotional indications of the changing season are more visible at Lammas than are the physical ones. Change is in the air. There is anticipation - anticipation of the coming autumn, of going back to school, of cooler weather to come. Anticipation of the fall holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Yule. And because of this anticipation, there is a surge of energy.
It is a time to look back over the preceding year, especially the time since Yule, but not just that. It is a time to examine your life. You are even now reaping what you have sown. What are you harvesting at this time? What seeds have you planted that are sprouting? It is time to look within ourselves. If you like it, how do you continue it? If you don’t like it, then what needs to be done to change it - how can you cultivate positive words, deeds and emotions for the future? How can you rid yourself of words, deeds, and emotions that produced an ineffective harvest? Now is the time to replace them with ones that will bring success, happiness, health and joy into your life and the lives of those around us. May the good that we have spread be increased and may the pain we have caused be diminished.
“Die tonight to be reborn again in the fire of Lugh” ― Anujj Elviis
~ Crafty Corner ~
Lammas Corn Husk Dolls
Corn Husk Dolls (or Corn Dollies) are a great craft for Lammas. They are often made to honor Mother Earth and the bountiful harvest that she has provided. Many corn dollies are also talismans for protection, abundance, and success through the winter.
Research ties the corn doll to many cultures, spanning thousands of years. Depending on the region, wheat, oats, or barley were braided to craft them as well. You can find our favorite detailed instructions for crafting a corn dolly here:
Good Book or Bad Book?
A monthly Book Review section!
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” ― George R.R. Martin
The Burning Time
By Robin Morgan
Reviewed by: Priestess Laurelinn
The Burning Time is a fictionalized novel drawn upon medieval court records to relate the life of Lady Alyce Kyteler, the unconventional mistress of Kyteler Manor near Kilkenny, Ireland. The pope sent an emissary, Bishop Richard Ledrede, to Ireland with the mission of rooting out and punishing heretics. The story follows two main characters; the noblewoman, Lady Alyce Kyteler, and her serving woman Petronilla.
Lady Alyce was a woman ahead of her time, one who put aside the airs of nobility. Alyce treated her serfs with dignity, developed her skills as a healer, followed the ancient calendar, and led celebrations of holidays such as Lammas and Samhain. When the Bishop visited her offering to restore her to the church and save her soul, she strongly rebuffed him. The confrontations between Alyce and the bishop are exciting - the two play a wicked chess game with the lives of many people hanging in the balance. This enemy is complex - the bishop despises the way the nobility (and especially a woman) stride through the world, crushing everything in their path. It makes their duel all that more interesting. Bad things happen here, to be sure; Dame Kyteler doesn't win one hundred percent - but at the end, I had a sense of both a great woman who's generally unknown, and a heroine who rose above a dark time.
This is a book that should be required reading, not just to inform of the past but to warn of a future that seems to be taking shape. To forget history is too often repeat it. The Inquisitions were undoubtedly the Church's darkest moments and no good ever came of it. I can't help but make comparisons to the attempts of the current Conservative Church, in its ambition to take control of the Government, and to relegate women back to the home. The herbalists and midwives of yesterday, are the scientists and doctors of today.
Happy reading!
Priestess Laurelinn
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ― Stephen King
July Laughs:
Write for Goddess Speak!
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