Happy Lammas Pagan Harvest Fest

Lammas cross-quarter day Pagan Witch Harvest Festival August 1

August 1 is celebrated as one of the 8 spokes of the Turning of the year in the ancient nature calendar. Lammas is a pagan Harvest festival based on the Sun transiting its annual orbit. It marks halfway to the Autumn Equinox usually on September 21st as the Sun sits on the Equator for the second time in the year. 

George Cole (1810-1883) / Public domain

George Cole (1810-1883) [Public domain] Harvest rest

This is the original Burning Man Festival where John Barleycorn the original wheat/corn man was burned as an effigy. It’s traditionally a time of celebration of the harvest. John Barleycorn or a corn man figure symbolizing the sacred grain and most especially a sacred loaf was baked and offered to the four directions and to the earth Mother Ceres/Virgo in gratitude. 

The Goddess CERES/ Demeter is honoured as the giver of abundant grains. Lughnasad is its trad name. We are halfway to AUTUMN Equinox now. It is an Air element festival traditionally celebrated as the wake of the Sun KING, who is a star,  is dying now in the waning of his own Light. Cookie people figures and star cookies are baked in celebration. It is a time of anxious waiting, we are not yet assured of a harvest which will keep the people alive. It is time to free oneself from FEAR.  A snake dance is created going counter-clockwise, bread figures are thrown into the bonfire to symbolize the burning up of one’s fears. Then one says what one hopes to harvest.

Symbols of STARS are held up. The High Priestess would say,

“MAY THE STAR OF HOPE BE WITHIN US ALWAYS.”

“MAY THE STAR OF HOPE BE WITHIN US ALWAYS.”                         

This is also the symbol of the Tarot Card #17 The Star which is associated with Aquarius. We will have an Aquarius FUll Moon August 3.

NOTE that planets JUPITER and SATURN will conjunct December 21 2020 at 0 Aquarius. These two planets align once every 20 years which is considered a generation. The last time they met was in May of 2000 in Taurus the sign of the Bull Market and the U.S. had its biggest economic run-up during those years plus the historic crash of 2008. Plus 9/11 and Y2K and Donald Trump’s 1st presidency.  Jupiter and Saturn haven’t come together in the element of AIR which Aquarius is, in 800 years. That’s why many astrologer are saying this is the real dawning of the Age of Aquarius. 

The coveners would eat the star cookies and celebrate. see link below for more detailshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/blogs/000081/0000005269.shtml

To learn more about the Star card in the tarot watch my live class on tarot and numerology on my youtube channel Please subscribe to that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1fPCwtibW4&t=33s

Please share widely 

Have a happy Lammas and Holiday weekend in Canada, its a civic holiday.

Listen to Traffic’s famous ancient rendition of John Barleycorn with Stevie Winwood singing the plaintive song. Start baking those star cookies. I will be doing a ceremony for the non-cardinal directions.

Get your reading booked now. http://www.taratarot.com 

Blessings

Tara