August from a witch...by Tansy Firedragon
August sees us celebrate
Lughnasadh or Lammas – the celebration of the first harvest. Now is the time when the plants start to
provide us with ripe fruit or seeds for future crops.
Although the weather is
still warm and sunny (hopefully) towards the end of August you might start to
sense the very beginnings of autumn in the air.
The Sun God is entering old age and loses some of his strength each day
as the nights grow longer and the days shorten.
August is a time to be
thankful for what we have and what we are given. To harvest we must cut down the plants that
we have tended and grown, we mourn for the spirit of the grain and honour them
because they give us what we need to live.
We call upon the Mother
of the Harvest to help with difficult decisions or hard tasks that we have to
perform, we ask for her strength to face our fears. She gives us the strength to do what is right
even if it is difficult.
If you put things into
motion at the summer solstice then now is the time for you to reap what you
have sown.
August is a good time
for hand fasting and craft fairs, breaking bread with friends, creating corn
dollies, dancing, feasting, celebrating the summer and generally enjoying the
abundance that Mother Nature provides for us.
It is a good time of the
year to work with magic for prosperity, generosity, success, good fortune,
abundance and completion of those projects that have been hanging around and
maybe a bit of ‘paying it forward’ too.
As the sun is growing weaker it is also a good time to work with
grounding and sun energy meditations gathering up the energy and using them in
your workings.
To celebrate build a
bonfire and have an all night party outside with lots of singing, dancing and
feasting. I especially like the feasting
part…
Make homemade bread,
dishes with potatoes, corn, summer squashes, berries, apples, rice, pears,
grains, wine and beer – probably not all in the same pot though…
Make salt dough wreaths
to decorate your home.
Salt Dough Ingredients:
1 Cup of flour
(8oz/225g)
½ Cup of Salt (4oz/112g)
½ Cup of cold water
(4floz/100ml)
Preparation:
Combine the salt and
flour then add the water until the dough becomes elastic then knead the dough
(if it's too sticky, add more flour).
Once it's a good
consistency, make your decorations either using cookie cutters for smaller ones
or plait the dough and twist into a wreath – be creative! Bake the ornaments on a really low oven setting
for 3-4 hours. Once they've cooled, paint them with designs and symbols, and
seal with clear varnish. If you're
planning to hang them, poke a hole through the ornament BEFORE baking them.
Then after you've varnished them, run a ribbon or thread through the hole. You
can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and/or some glitter into the mixture too.
If you have access to
any woods then take a walk and see if you can find any twigs that could be used
to making divination/dowsing rods and wands.
Gather in your herbs to
dry them to keep for use over the winter.
Boost the protection in
your home by making witches bottles, witches ladders and protection pouches.
If you decorate your
altar or home for this season you might use sun images, oak, sunflowers, and lilies,
maize/corn cobs, seashells, fresh flowers, fire images, sun dials, and
cornucopias, stalks of grain, cauldrons and witches ladders.
If you want to work with deities that
are associated with August you could investigate Consus, Isis (apparently her birthday
was 12th August), Ops, Danu, Portunus, Salus, Spes, Vertumnus,
Jupiter, Venus, Volturnus, Vulcan, Maia, Hora, Lugh, Tailtiu, Demeter, Ceres,
Adonis, Attis, Dagon, Mercury, Neper, Parvati, Pomona, Tammuz or any of the
deities associated with the harvest.
Totem animal energies that are
particularly associated with this month are salmon, bear, horse, fish, mouse,
griffin, basilisk, roosters, calves, centaurs, phoenix and any animals that you
associate with harvest time.
Veggies that are in season during August:
Globe artichokes, aubergines, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage,
carrots, cauliflower, chard, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, French beans,
garlic, kohl rabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, pak choi, peas, peppers, chillies,
potatoes, pumpkin, squash, radish, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spinach, sweet
corn, tomatoes, turnips and watercress.
If you fancy a bit of foraging during
August (please make sure you have identified the plants correctly before
eating!) you might find chickweed, fat hen, marsh samphire, nettles, sorrel,
watercress, wild rocket, chives, horseradish, wild fennel, mushrooms and
hazelnuts.
If you like working with the energy of
crystals then for August you could try aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx,
cat’s eye, golden topaz, obsidian, moss agate, rhodochrosite, quartz, carnelian
and any of the crystals that have the lovely colours of the harvest – reds,
oranges, yellows and gold.
Making loose incense or an essential
oil blend to help you connect with the month of August might include heather,
frankincense, sunflower, hollyhock, oak, rose petals, rosemary, chamomile,
eucalyptus, passionflower and sandalwood.
Make the most of the summer days,
celebrate that we are lucky to have what we do and spend time with friends and families
outside – give thanks.
Tansy
Originally published in The Mystik Way magazine
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