This is the moon of the early harvest. This is the time to collect your magickal herbs and store them for the winter or share them with others. I have basil drying on the porch right now. Since my lavender didn't bloom, probably because I planted it late, I am going to pick up a bunch of lavender at the Farmer's Market this weekend.This is a good moon for acquiring, gathering and storing. It might be a good time to go for a promotion at work, to celebrate a friend's success, or just to appreciate how this planet just keeps shoving gifts at us over and over again.
It is hard to imagine while it is 90+ degrees, but the Wheel is turning and the seasons are changing. If at all possible, go outside to celebrate this full moon. If dancing naked around the bonfire is against the zoning ordinances in your neighborhood, then just sit outside and enjoy the moonlight. Many covens, including my own, go to quiet public parks for full moon rituals, that is a wonderful way to celebrate the goddess.
Do something, don't let another Full Moon slip by while you decide what to do.
Don't have a ritual?...try this...
Light a single white candle.
Raise your hands to the sky and if you can see the Moon, embrace it. If you cannot see the Moon, visualize it.
Say out loud...
"Mother Goddess, I stand before you, your daughter (or son).
I am a Follower of the Old Ways, a worker of Magick, a Seeker on an old Path in a new world.
I call on you every month when the Moon is full as my ancestors have done through all of time past and will do until the end of time. I celebrate your presence in my life. This is a promise that I have made to you and that I keep to the best of my ability."
Start with that or say any damn thing you want to say; sing, dance, sit in a chair, meditate, do something, SAY something.
I was wondering if you could explain why this moon is good for those things? Because while I understand the scientific reason for the effect the full Moon has on the human body...I don't quite understand how this affects plants. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteGran, I cannot give you scientific evidence regarding relationships with deity. No scientific method, no repeatable experiments, no data to compare. If I could I wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI think that quantum physics is going to explain the Craft one of these days and take half the fun out of it.
Call it collective energy, call it reconstructionism, call it bullshit. I am not selling anything, I have no interest in converting, convincing or proving.
I try to let the intuitive side of my brain, that we are taught to ignore and suppress in this society, out to play when it comes to my connection with the planet, the universe and the goddess. My blogs are not catechisms, lectures or how-tos, they are just shared thoughts. If you need proof, I am afraid you will have to look somewhere else. You are in good company, people have been seeking "Truth" since the beginning of time.
I settle for 'feels right' that's all I need.
That's a pretty odd answer for a simple question. I didn't ask you for a scientific explanation for your relationship with your gods. You're making a statement about the objective qualities of herbs on this plane of existence and claiming the moon has something to do with it. That's a scientific claim. "I don't know." Would've been sufficient. Wanting to know the science behind something is not about converting people. How on Earth did you get there from a basic question? I do not get your response at all.
ReplyDeleteNot a scientific claim regarding harvesting herbs....it's harvest time.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGran, my long winded, rambling and perhaps off topic response was an attempt to forestall the 'rational thought' vs 'deluded belief' discussion that you like to indulge in. I am not going to play. I should have just said it just like that. Not going to play. Not the purpose of this blog. OTOH, I do not censor comments on this or any other blog (with the exception of spam, like the guy selling briefcases) so I will cheerfully post any comment you want to make and perhaps someone else will pick up the gauntlet and you can have at it.
ReplyDeleteThis has been such a cool summer that my basil isn't even half grown. I have had some lavender in a pot for four years. It has never bloomed, but it dies off periodically and then comes back. Very weird. I do harvest the dead leaves for potpourri, because they do smell like lavender.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the ritual. We're very secluded up here on the mountain, though the idea of being naked outdoors at night with all the bats and moths we have is a bit daunting. :) I'm pretty sure I'd get arrested if I tried any kind of ritual in any park in this town.
I think there must be a secret to lavender that you and I have not been told. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to admit that I have never danced naked around a bonfire and do not plan to, however, it seems like a fabulous thing to do.
Excuse me? I am simply beyond words right now. You...assumed my intention was to pick an argument with you? Well let me explain something to you...
ReplyDeleteI *do* think there is a scientific reason for why harvesting at this time is a good idea. I just haven't worked out the science yet because I don't work with herbs. I genuinely sought out your opinion on the matter because you do and...this is your response? And you want to...teach and instruct *others*? Maybe you should re-think that line of work. Wow. Chill out.
Granamyr~
ReplyDeleteWhile I am no expert on herbs I can suppose. In my neck of the woods, the Pacific Northwest, the evenings cool down and mists are beginning to form in the early mornings. I suspect that when the temperatures were remaining high throughout the night, mornings were a good time to pick the herbs because their oil content might be highest then. Once the fall moisture starts to appear this is probably compromised.
I believe that we have to use our own intuitions and our knowledge about the weather patterns and plant growth in our own place in the world to make these decisions. Much of these folklore "rules" appear to come from Britain and western Europe. If your climate is different, your rituals might have different dates.
For instance, in my neck of the woods the Hawthorn blooms generall two weeks into May. Since Betaine is really about the blooming of the Hawthorne where I live it is really May 14th.
So, if you find your herbs more potent at the end of August, or the second harvest full moon, by all means pick them then. The full moon not only has a magical reason but it's darned nice to pick things with as much light as possible. But if you'd rather pick them when the moon is in Leo on Jupiter's day then by all means do that. Because the more magical thought you can put into it the better. I believe we should never make magical decisions simply because someone else says so. There should be thought behind it and it should make sense to us from our point of reference.
Research your neck of the woods, research the plants in your garden, research the work you need to do, and then act according to your own magical need. Not some comment from someone else's book of shadows.
I have my own list of correspondences for plants, stones, oils, colors, etc. That is the only correspondence that really matters.