AUGUST-HARVEST MONTH
By Anna Franklin

The names of the month around the world tell us what this time is all about. In Anglo-Saxon it is Arn-monath, harvest month, among Ostiaks the Month of Hay Harvest.
The Basques call it the month of drought, in Russia the month of ripeness, in Lithuania Hot Month, Rye-cutting and in Denmark it is the Corn Month.
The month opens with the festival of Lughnasa. In Anglo-Saxon it was called Lammas from hlaef-mass meaning ‘Loaf Mass’. In Mediaeval England the festival was called ‘the Gule of August’, which may be Yule of August, but is most likely to be an Anglicization of the Welsh gwyl which translates as ‘feast’. It fell between Hey Monath (Hay month- July) and Barn Monath (Harvest Month- Augest).
August is therefore the harvest month, sacred to the golden haired goddesses of the corn including Demeter, Ceres, Ceridwen and Sif. It is also sacred to the Three Machas of the golden hair and to Rhiannon ‘the Great Queen’.
The first loaf is offered to the Great Mother in thanks for her gifts. On 13th August (Old Lammas day) falls the festival of Hecate in Greece, to invoke her aid in preventing storms ruining the harvest. In Rome it was the slaves’ holiday and women processed to Diana’s temple in Africa to ask her to avert any autumn storms that might still destroy the harvest. Hunting dogs were crowned, wild beasts were free from hunting, and young people were purified. A feast was served consisting of cakes served on leaves, apples still hanging on their boughs and a goat kid.
The corn spirit was often believed to live in the last sheaf of corn to be harvested. This would be woven into human shape or corn-dolly and carried from the field with a great deal of ceremony or rejoicing. In Sweden it was traditional for the last of the grain to be baked into a loaf in the shape of a little girl; this was then shared throughout the household as a kind of symbolic sacrifice of the corn-spirit in the form of a maiden. In Scotland the last sheaf was known as the ‘Maiden’. In parts of France dough is shaped into the form of a man and hung upon the fir tree which is carried home on the last wagon of the harvest. The tree and the dough figure are displayed in the Mayor’s house until the end of the harvest celebrations. At the end of the feast the mayor breaks the dough-man into pieces which are then eaten by the local people.
In both these examples the corn-spirit is represented by and eaten in human form. In other cases, although not baked into human shapes, the new corn is eaten in a ceremonial manner, indicating its origin as a sacrifice to the corn spirit.


HERB OF THE MONTH AUGUST
By Ron Fox
Hi folks,
It’s that time of year when our pets have a tendency to pick up the odd unwanted guests, fleas and such. We can also become the victims of many biting insects around this time. While the modern treatments are very effective for this type of thing I find it interesting to look at what was used in olden times.
With this in mind we turn to the Common Fleabane, the word fleabane was given to several related plants, when dried they were used to drive fleas and other biting insects away.
In some Saxon manuscripts there are various mentions for the uses of different herbs to drive away illness, some homes to be smoked with fumes to drive out the evil that has set upon a person after being been elf-shot.
One such manuscript gives an incantation to cure or avoid a fever go’s,
“The sick man ….thou shalt place…..thou shalt cover his face burn cypress and herbs that the great gods may remove the evil
That the evil spirit may stand aside
May a kindly spirit a kindly genius be present?
Not only in Europe but in other parts of the world Fleabane was used and gets a mention in the beliefs of the ancient Babylonians, on the Limnute Tablet translated by R.C. Thompson, (Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia)
Fleabane on the lintel of the door I have hung
St John’s wort, caper and wheatears
With halter as a roving ass
Thy body I restrain.
O evil spirit get thee hence
Depart O evil Demon
In the precincts of the house stand not or circle around
‘In the house will I stand,’ say thou not,
O evil spirit get thee forth to distant places
O evil Demon hie thee unto the ruins
Where thou standest is forbidden ground
A ruined desolate house is thy home
Be thou removed from before me, by Heaven be thou exorcised
By Earth be thou exorcised.
As we see this plant has been used for cleansing for a very long time, Common Fleabane is very widespread and can be found in southern parts of England.
It grows near ponds, marshland, and in damp ditches near to roadsides.
Its flowers appear like yellow daises and attract butterflies such as the Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, and many others. Being a perennial it has creeping rootstock that creates large dense growth with flowers born in a sparsely flat-toped cluster.
Although not used In England a great deal for its’ medicinal properties it has proved useful for driving away fleas and other insects, in the past dried and put into bedding, hung or used as an incense to keep insect related illnesses away from our homes. Perhaps collected and dried out, this plant might make a good part filler to put in your pets bedding around this time of year.
Miss E. S. Rohde’s mentions in her herbal, Old English Herbals; ‘Fleabane bound to the forehead is a great help to cure one of the frensie, ‘
I’ll have to remember that one the next time I stub my toe or when life gets a little too demanding.

Blessings Ron Fox.

A TIME PLENTY AND SACRIFICE
Hi folks,
What a busy time of year this is, many people are taking their holidays, we had the Hearth Camp in July and of course it’s only a matter of weeks before the Mercian Gathering will be with us. Around this time of year we approach the festival of Lughnasa, a time when the crops begin to be gathered and we give thanks for all that nature has provided.
We celebrate these bounties that we are given but we also morn the loss of the corn king. The corn spirit gives up his life so that we may have our bread then return to the dark womb of the goddess to await his rebirth next year. Having passed midsummer when the amount of light that day stood at its longest we now move into what is traditionally the hottest and driest time of the year.
July 27th marked the rising of the dog-star Sirius, known also as the dog days, a time when the sun attains its hottest point throughout the year.
This is perhaps why some worship Lugh as a sun god while others as a corn or vegetation god, both have equal right and place for veneration around this time.
Within many religions it is also a time set aside for pilgrimage, thanks, celebrations and games, many of these traditionally held upon hill tops.
In ancient times Lughnasa was also a time for the investiture of a king. This was very important then because the king needed to be seen to be stong, honourable, loyal, truthful. His ruling reflected upon how the land, its crops and its people faired. The king was by his deeds married to the land. As consort of the Goddess he was responsible for providing for the peoples needs.
Lughnasa is also seen at this time of year as a time of fruition of the years work. The Goddess takes her roll as the mother giving birth to the fruits and crops of the land and the God shows us that it is also a festival of male energies shown through hunting skills, warrior and hunting magic.
I find it a good time to think about what sacrifice means within our lives, it may show it’s self in many forms. I see it on a daily basis, people giving their time and themselves for the good of others, time given at the Hearth Camp, Mercian Gathering, and Spiritual Centre. Perhaps this could also be a time to reflect on what we need to sacrifice within our own personality and lives, the harmful negative things that hold us back, things that stop us growing as a person, or perhaps think about what we need to sacrifice to bring about a happier more balanced personality. We are very often given a great deal within our lives, sometimes these bounty’s we are given may appear to be only a simple thing.
Often we take for granted things like friendship. bread, wine, sunshine and rain. If we take what we are given with thanks and gratitude we may move closer to becoming a spiritual warrior. We don’t always have to consider how to overcome someone or something but consider how we may help and in return grow within ourselves.
The God and Goddess give us what we need, these given freely. With a little work and care we can also grow as do the fruits and crops that we harvest around this time. The Goddess and God not only give us our food to eat but also food for thought and deed.

Blessings Ron Fox.