Tonight is when it is traditional to celebrate Lammas, and to conduct rites that unite this tide with the Work in which we do. It is a time referred to as First Harvest, and it is the first of three harvest festivals marked upon the Witch’s calendar.
To seize the full potential bounty, spiritually speaking, from our work then the nature of the Harvest, and furthermore the nature of First Harvest, needs to be understood. In such a moment of understanding the knowledgeable Witch with the will and courage to do so can reap the Sun from their Heart Vessel. The Witch will be as is their spiritual center, the same universal naval that permeates the whole of all existences.
As I have said before, the inherent nature of the cycle, transience, is the only permanence. This, however, is not the whole story of the truth. The very nature of continuous transformation has certain qualities; one of which is a harvest that never ends. Likewise, the land, that which is the upholder of the transient, that which appears to come, go, age, die, and be born, is also eternal. The landscape is simply that which is manifested in this very moment from the potentiality of all the yet to come. Part of what the Craft is designed to do is to ensure that this landscape is sustaining, nurturing, fulfilling, and able to feed the whole of the Kingdom.
Tonight marks the point upon the Wheel in which we honor the first reaping. Note that Lammas is not until tomorrow. You see, tradition dictates that the Tide of Lammas is born from the womb of the night before. First Harvest is all about being mindful of the now. Death looms for us all, however, now is the time of sitting and seeing the fruits of labor. It is sitting in the knowing, intimate heart knowing, not head knowing, that the harvest that begun in the now will not only sustain but is everlasting. In fact, the harvest is the first sign, first omen if you were, of the continuation of this cycle.
First Harvest is also a time of sacrifice. The crops must be reaped in order to be of benefit. There is much labor and work to be done to keep the harvest from dying in the field or soiling improperly prepared. The Work is worth it though. In the end, the spiritual fields and landscape will be cleared revealing in this moment to the eye of the Witch that which the crops have obscured. Admiring this view, the Witch sits and prepares the next harvest in their feast of sacrifice. It is a feast of false-self consumption, a feast that will keep during the winter, and it is a feast that will reveal the Sun.
Harvest, eat, and celebrate; Lammas-tide is here!
Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
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