Growing Closer

by the Senior Archdruid

Shining Lugh
of the Long Arm

Keeper of the Fiery
Spear of Gorias

I salute you and recognize
your power of Warriorhood.

Assist me.

Teach me, if you will,
all that I need to know

Of the Ash,

Of Spears, and my own
ability to go forth and destroy inertia

And bring new peace
where it is needed.

Charge my Staff with
these properties.

Let it become a symbol
of your Fiery Spear.

Let me, too, be known
as (insert your name) of the Long Arm.

Teach me to recognize
and control the Warrior within me.

Teach me to recognize
my true strength and energy

In this world and in the Otherworld.

~~ Source Unknown ~~

*Title image from a poster by Mickie Mueller*
Like it? Buy it here

I found myself
in fog,
Totally surrounded,
To the point where
I knew the sea lay before me
And the shore,
That wooded shore,
Waited behind me,
Yet I found myself between
These two diverse worlds

Manannan Mac
Lír called to me –
I heard him call me closer to the shore:
“Step into the sea
“And I await you
“Step into the waves
“And I will give you fins
“Where arms once held you down
“Step into the sky
“Just past the horizon
“And all your questions will be
“Answered”

I looked to
the waves,
But they were nowhere to be found;
I looked for the ocean,
Just calling my name
But like a cipher,
It was hidden,
Just out of grasp,
Just out of focus,
Teasing me with sounds
And feelings
Just out of reach

And then the
shore called me –
It called me closer to safety
And closer to where I had just been:
“Return to the woods here,
“Firm underfoot
“Under the trees
“Where the Gods meant you to be
“Feel the earth beneath you
“Walk in the pathways
“Traveled so often, before.”

I looked to that shore
Still hidden by fog
And obscurity
And knew that the way there
Was always assured
But the call of the Oak
And the call of the Apple
Did not sufficiently convince me
To turn back away

So there I
stood,
Between the worlds,
Between the walls of fog
And illusion
And uncertainty;
I just stood and blended:
Head and face to the sky,
Torso, arms, and legs
To all points in common;
Feet firmly planted in the ubiquitous
Sand

I closed my
eyes,
And I became the fog;
I closed my eyes,
And I became the song of the shore;
I closed my eyes,
And suspended my existence,
A sacrifice to the sun and the shore

Bright Sun
of Lughnasadh,
You came to the fog
And vanquished it
Like a formidable opponent
Sweeping it from the
Lay of the land
The greater your intent
The quicker the fog became lighter
And lighter
Till with a breeze
And a single penetrating beam
Of light.

The day was a clear as it was
Meant to be:
Blue for the sky,
Movement for the ocean
I opened my eyes,
And your smile awaited me,
Chest deep in the waters
Rushing towards the shore
I tasted all of life
In the salt of the air,
In the salt of the sea,
In the calling of the day

I turned slowly
and you
Smiled
And you laughed:
A sound at home in the sea
And at home in my heart
We grew like reeds in the waters
Of remembrance
I reached out to you
And we were as we were meant to be
With the Sun of Lughnasadh
As the rule of the day

©The Ogmic Press
All Rights Reserved

Continuing on in our interpretation of the Seren Derwydd, we have established that each point stands for a particular attribute that Druids
either develop over time or exhibit when they are first drawn towards Druidry. To review, these attributes are:

Point #1: Doethiweb – Wisdom
Point #2: Eluseugan – – Compassion
Point #3: Rhyddfrydwr – Liberalness
Point #4: Wmbredd – Abundance
Point #5: Ymnellltuaeth – Noncomformity
Point #6: Dysg – Learning
Point #7: Delfrydwr – Idealism

Last time we discussed Eluseugan or Compassion in English. Point #3
then naturally flows from this sense of compassion. Rhyddfrydwr, or Liberalness (or liberality) in English is not the British sense of the word but rather the American ideal often derided as “left wing liberalism.”

Druids, if politically oriented at all, are mostly to be found in the Socialist, Green or the far left wing of the Democratic Parties. A good example of someone who thinks like a Druid (though I doubt he is) is Noam Chompsky. Another one is Dennis Kucinich. These people, like Druids, understand that the humanity is one people and that harm to one person or class ultimately harms the whole. Druids favor an economic system that balances capitalism with socialism (the yin and yang of economics) and understands that in order for one person to enjoy Liberty, everyone else must be empowered Equally in order to fully enjoy the Fraternity of all mankind. So the very rich freely give of their taxes so as tobenefit the very poor, and raise their standard of living. Likewise, by giving freely, the very rich stop over-consuming, and thus are free to focus more on the spiritual, and less on the mundane.

Ultimately, a Druidic economic system would be cashless and based on the principles of sharing all. The concept of ownership would simply cease to
exist, and goods and services would be shared equally amongst all. Ultimately poverty, disease, hunger, homelessness, war and violence would be faint memories of a dark age. Likewise, selfishness,greed, possessiveness and mean-spiritedness would also be attitudes of the past.

Human rights and the upholding of the Bill of Rights are of the utmost concern. “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”  are principles that must be available to everyone, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, age or gender. Economic opportunities must be available for everyone, and equal access to the marketplace must be guaranteed. Education is paramount, and the Druid works for equal educational opportunities for all, from Pre-School to Graduate School, in an egalitarian and secular environment. Healthcare is also a right that all should enjoy, and in fact should be totally
and utterly free as it is in all of the advanced countries. Free expression is also a right, and monotheistic moralistic laws restricting behavior need to be struck down. Likewise, laws that criminalize soft drugs (such as marijuana, LSD, peyote, etc.) need to be wiped off the books. But all this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The environment is the number one concern for the Druid, as we are the stewards of the Earth Mother. And the number one environmental issue for the Druid is putting an end to deforestation. We’ve come to a point technologically where we can stop using lumber to build with. There’s really no longer a point to the entire lumber industry. Likewise, we can recycle most paper, and new paper could be made from industrial hemp.

There’s simply no logical or moral need to cut another tree down. And for that matter, there is a moral imperative to plant more trees. An example is in the Middle East. Prior to the arrival of the Jewish people to modern Israel, that area was more or less a desert, and even today much of it still is. But the Jewish people began a program of reforestation, the result of which today there are vast forests growing on the hills surrounding Jerusalem and
in northern Israel. Orange and grapefruit groves grow all along the Mediterranean coast; on land that the former owners believed was worthless.

Urban-based Druids can especially be effective in promoting the acquisition,
preservation and development of “green belts” and “urban forests” in our cities. I could go on and on, but I’m remembering that the Pagan music
group, Gypsy, on their album “Enchantress”, summarized the spirit of the attribute of Rhyddfrydwr in the song, “We Want To Live”:

We want to live
in a world that survives
On the planet of life
with light in our lives

By the power of the moon
and the strength of the sun
We are one on the Earth

We want a world where there is love for everybody
We want a world where there is no more war….
We want a world where there is hope for everybody
We want a world that’s better than before

Give us a world where there is food for everybody
Water is pure; the air is fresh and clean
We want a world that is good for everybody
We want a world where everyone is free

We want a world
(oh, say can you see…)
We want a world
(there’s a change in the wind)
We want a world
(so proudly we hail)
We want a world
(the new age, is dawning….)

We want a world where there is peace for everybody
We want a world where there is no more war
We want a world where there is truth for everybody
We want a world that better than before

We need a world where there is food for everybody
Flowers that bloom with trees green and tall.
We want a world that is good for everybody
We want a world with joy and peace for all

We want a world
(The time has now come…)
We want a world
(to heal….)
We want a world
(the wounds of the world)
We want a world
(Earth Mother is calling….)

We want a world that is good for everybody
We want a world where there is no more war
We want a world with food for everybody
We want a world that’s better than before….

Io Evoe…save the world
Love is the key…..
Io Evoe….bring us peace
So Mote It Be….

We want to live in a world that survives
On the planet of life with light in our eyes
By the power of the moon and the strength of the sun
We are one on the Earth….

We want to live in a world that survives
With love in our hearts and light in our eyes
So our children can sing when all battles are done
We are one on the earth…….

What does community mean to you? Is it a place of magic? A gathering
of like-minded people with a single goal? A place to get taken care of? A place to belong? Singing and drumming around the fire? Doing good work with others?

Come closer. I will tell you my vision. It is a vision of the present, and a vision of the future. All time is now, and magic is here, so everything is possible. The moment is reality. We breathe together, and the vision opens:

You have studied, and danced the spiral many times. You have walked the pathways of sun and moon. You have been guided, and rebelled a time or two. Slowly, you came to recognize your power – the power you’ve always been told was within
you. Still, you study. You work. You play. You practice. Eventually,
you come into your own work. You recognize the rhythm of the divine
heart within your animal body. We stand and cheer. We celebrate your beauty and your power. You teach us what you know. We dance awhile to the beating of your drum. If others are called to similar work, they will join you, forming a coalition that creates something
beautiful, that does meaningful work together, that is of help to all involved and to the rest of us.

Meanwhile, she makes her music and he writes his epic stories. She sits high amongst the branches to save a patch of forest. He campaigns for
clean water. She teaches. He plants a garden. They come together to leap the fires in spring and to gather canned goods for the food bank come the autumn. This is community, this coming together and this moving apart. Nothing is static – the rising and falling belongs to a living, breathing, being.

Why does this image come to light so seldom? Why are we so worried
about jockeying for position, and fighting over scraps? My answer:
because, as communities, we are afraid of autonomous power. We
seek to uphold the status quo. Her unique expression may rock
the carefully balanced boat. His deep study is seen to take away
from what the group needs in the moment. Anything different becomes
a threat. We fight for what we have, instead of reaching for what
we can become. We tear each other down instead of supporting someone
else’s rise.

There is no need for this. Here is the secret: if we all have power, there is no need to fight for scraps. If each has a role to play, there is no need to jockey for position. The quiet bring in listening. The noisy bring in liveliness. Some grind incense and others teach our children. We can all be equal, but this means we cannot be equivalent. Every biosphere needs diversity and the ways of magic are no different. Not any one of us holds the fabric, but each
holds a vital thread. Your thread does not trump mine, nor mine, yours. What is this fabric? It is the fabric of the Limitless Divine. God Herself flows in each thread, and we color these with our lives.

Community does not mean we all do the same thing. Community is not about who gets the biggest role in ritual.
Community, for me, is what I have with
my best peers. It is something we’ve been hard pressed to learn ourselves, after many years of our own squabbles and power
plays. We finally reached a point where we went off by ourselves or a while to discover our deeper talents and interests. We sought the magic that welled up from within, rather than always seeking
the magic outside. We would come together periodically, to toast the longest night, or dance up the spring flowers. But mostly, we studied, practiced, and prayed. And now we are strong and beautiful. We each have something valuable to share.

I celebrate my friends: the artist, the dream-worker, the medium, my friend who helps heal sexual wounds, she who priestesses the dying, he who teaches. I toast my friends: the mystic, the poet, the singer and she who dances down the Gods. This is my community. These are my peers.

We all still seek out teaching. We celebrate together. We eat and laugh and raise a glass of wine. We do our work apart. We ask for help during the planting of something new, and we share the gifts of our harvest, knowing that there is plenty to go around.

This, for me, is community.

What do you wish for yours?

– Guest posted by T. Thorn Coyle
http://www.wildhunt.org/blog.html

There is a wonderful passage in one of the old epics of King Arthur. It says whenever the knights began their quest for the grail; they plunged straight into the wilderness  where the woods are thickest.

Clever knights. They knew where to find the magic.

But then perhaps they were not so clever. After all, don’t most of our European fairy tales begin in much the same way? The tree spirit, the elvish helper, the old Witch, or the magic fountain – all are discovered when the heroine or hero of the story wanders away from the well-ordered village, the peaceful town, the easy and well-marked path, and enters the wilderness. Perhaps it was simply common knowledge back then that the primal chaos of trees, rocks, and water was the most potent magical energy source available.

In many, if not most, magical and folk traditions, the world is the body of the Earth Mother herself. It is no wonder, then, that the trees who constitute her beautiful hair and the rocks which constitute her strong bones are the source of so much magic. Whoever we may be, of whatever cultural origin, all our ancestors were tribal at one time or another, and hence they all lived close to the magic. Wherever we now live, wilderness is generally not
that far away – perhaps in the closest state park or forest area. And there are many ways you can touch the magic of the wilderness for yourself.

First, like most traditional peoples the world over, pre-Christian Europeans
seem to have believed that the center of Shamanic power lay in our midsection – between the lower diaphragm and the middle belly. Once you are in the woods, focus your attention on this spot on your body. Don’t worry too much about its exact location; it’s a little different for everyone. Your body will find it for you if you simply focus on seeking a primal source of internal energy. Keep your awareness there, as if it is the actual center of your being.

Once you have done this, you will find that the paths of energy in the Earth itself just seem to pull you along. When you’re really focused, you will be aware of zones of power in the Earth. When you’ve found such a place of power, there are a number of things you can do.

First, you can work with the rocks. Most rocks, whether tiny stones or great boulders, have a “soft spot” somewhere
which allows you to enter into them in the spirit. Use your intuition, eyes, and sense of touch to find that spot. Then, meditatively,
go inside. Many people report seeing visions of long ago – the very past of the Earth itself. The whole record of Mother Earth’s
experience is stored inside her bones the rocks.

If there is a stream or a lake, you have a wonderful place to get rid of some of your emotional baggage. In European folk songs, sad lovers are always sitting by the banks of a lake or river. Why? Because it is believed that water purifies our sexual selves and washes away negativity. Give your sorrows to the water, and meditatively feel them slip away from you forever.

If there are plenty of trees, you may be able to locate one that “likes” you. I’m not joking. Place your back against a tree so it can feel your aura. If it likes you, you will know. Then you can become one with the tree. Feel its essence go into your center of power. Then open your eyes. If you are lucky, you will be able to see the world through the tree’s eyes. Believe me, when this works it’s better than any psychedelic.

Finally, you can simply dance. That’s right. There’s no particular reason to sit still in a place of power. You might as well just dance, moving to your own inner music and the music of the Sun and the wind. The rocks and trees will enjoy it.

For more stuff like this, go here:
http://uk.geocities.com/spellsamour/Magic.html

The founding of a community is in part like the founding of a society,
or even an entire world. It is no small matter. As with all great
inventions, the form is always followed by inspired conception.
If an idea has great merit and real quality, then so too will
the device or community. Like a seed, good ideas must be planted
upon fertile ground where they can grow and bloom. Lacking this,
all objectives will either fail or simply never grow beyond a
certain point. Everyone knows that to grow a plant requires knowledge
of soil, climate, moisture and sunlight. To grow a strong community
from the seed of even the greatest planning requires knowledge
of resources, social circumstance, wisdom and spiritual focus.

Our first and foremost resource as human beings is not lumber, coal,
stone, solar energy, liquid fuels, seeds or even land. Our foremost
resource is ourselves. Any tool is only as useful as the hand or spirit that wields it. The first priority in life
must therefore always be the refinement of the tool user, not
the tools themselves. From our own inner capability do these materials
find utility and fashioning for the sake of building community.
This means that in order to successfully build an infrastructure, we must first refine ourselves. The capability of our minds is genius, the strength of our bodies is enduring and the potential wisdom of our souls, born of cosmic purpose, is limitless. It
is from this soil well prepared, that the most progressive communities must sprout. These are the basic nutrients of community excellence, (not to mention the source of our survival as a species) whose fruits shall be the sweetest and most nutritious of all, for everyone concerned. These fruits spring from the rich soil of truth.

The social circumstances in which we live are very challenging, and
we must be realistic about this. To build the new we must simultaneously
dismantle the old. We live in an age of social disempowerment,
where it is commonplace to imagine that humans must depend heavily
on outside sources for their own health, sanity, spiritual guidance
and even their own thoughts, emotions and beliefs. We live in
an era wherein nations routinely proclaim that their own deeds
of oppression and injustice as liberating and just. We live in
a mindset that follows where the majority leads, simply because
the television says so, (regardless of any facts to the contrary)
and where rational and logical debate are the rare exception not
the rule. We also live in an era of information, possibility and
choice, for those who seek wisdom and the inner strength to find
it. It is within this world climate that our community vision
of human excellence and greatness of spirit, must grow and flourish.
It is our task to choose carefully
which aspects of this climate are useful, and which need to be utterly discarded. Arguably, the list of what needs to be discarded in modern society is BY FAR the longest of all.

While there have been countless attempts made to produce a utopian mode of community living, the successes remain fewer than few. Many
high conceptions have come from great minds down through the centuries,
for the sake of generating a new social order. But a new social order we have not yet achieved. This fact is not for the lack of trying, but rather, it is because we have accepted the answers to the wrong questions, rather than asking the right questions to start with. The question of, “What would make an ideal community?” is one that cannot be asked within the limited framework of modern ideas and institutions. We have to think outside
this small box long enough to crystallize the real answer. To do that it is necessary to first realize just how limited modern notions are. We’ve been conditioned by these our whole lives through peer pressure, religion, government and the media. Let us assume for a moment that ALL of these sources of public belief are basically mistaken. Let’s take a fresh look at what life is all about.

The ideal intentional community cannot be one that is primarily based
upon our human past. We have not truly progressed as a species far enough, either mentally or spiritually, to use our own past as a foundation for the future. This is especially true since the very word “progress”, is still assumed to denote the ravaging of natural areas of the Earth with asphalt and concrete, while developing higher and higher technologies. Technology is only a tool with which to do our spiritual work here, not an end unto itself. Nor is it a means to make even more monetary profit at the cost of sanity, health and livability. We need to re-define such words as “progress” so that they reflect their true meaning in the context of Cosmos, not country, city or special interest ideology.

Cosmic progress means applying ourselves to those ideals such as expanding consciousness into greater love and charity which are the very source of our evolution
as biological beings to start with. It also means living life as souls in bodies, whose true identity can never be anything so petty as job descriptions or socio-economic status. Our true identity as souls is that we, like the rest of nature, are conscious beings in a conscious universe. It is the purpose of that universe to expand consciousness, refine self-awareness and acceleratethe process of evolution. That must be our purpose as well, if we are to create the ideal community arrangement, let alone survive the next century as a species.

Some imagine that setting up the perfect physical circumstances for
community is all that is needed, and that the rest will fall into place. To this end, there are those who invest heavily in solar power, alternative building methods, organic horticulture and the like. These technologies are very good; there can be no doubt. But there is also no doubt that without a higher reason for employing them other than being, “energy efficient” for instance,
is a relative waste of our spiritual potential. Such community leaders imagine that by taking careful stock of finances, each member’s weekly labor quota, and using all the technologies of modern agriculture or urban living, that this is what is called “independence”.

Yet this is not an independence of mind or spirit, nor does it in itself accomplish man’s further evolution. That kind of thinking to the exclusion of Cosmic relevance, is just more of the same mainstream materialism seen infecting every aspect of modern life. It is no different than the average persons’ obsession with making enough money to retire wealthy and “financially secure”. It misses the essential point of life that living is not about making money or having elaborate material goods, it’s about having enough tools, be they dollars, meditation techniques,  computers or ploughshares, so as to accomplish our spiritual task here on Earth.

Others imagine that by structuring a community after the rigid rules established by a church or other source of ethical codes, that people will be given the “framework” they need for mutual living. But this is not the case, since the rules and codes of behavior established by human kind are inherently inferior, to those that are already well established by the Cosmos at large. These Cosmic “rules” are the laws of nature, which have also been partly described by modern physics. They involve how the universe is structured, and why life functions as it does. It is not the small laws of enforcement that we need, which aim to corral the mind of the participant as though it were a wild animal to be subdued by force. Such community concepts don’t take into account that the nature of spiritual progress is self and mutual realization, not conditioning.

What we need in community and in society as a whole is to return ourselves
to recognizing those Natural Laws that make our heart beat, the plants grow, our minds soar and our souls commune with one another. Right action and spiritual motivation come from the realization of these, not the blind following of rules or their authoritarian enforcement. This is a large part of what is meant by “refining the tool user, rather than the tools”.

The source of natural wisdom  from which we may draw, is from the same deep ocean that has carried the great Seers, visionaries, inventors and spiritual Masters of all time to their Earthly fruition. That source is none other than the consciousness itself that we already ARE, as well as the consciousness that the universe already IS.
That wisdom tells those who would listen, that we are NOT separate from nature; we are a self-aware extension of it. It also tells us that there are no such things as “separate issues” such as politics, social inequality, war or environmental issues that require “separate treatment”. On the contrary, ALL ISSUES ARE SPIRITUAL CONCERNS, and it is upon this Cosmic
Foundation that all other considerations are inherently built. We must address this spiritual foundation of reality with competence, in order to address the human condition with any hope of success.

We are consciousness raised up past a certain evolutionary degree, which can now KNOW ITSELF. In essence, we are matter that is animated by spirit, and not just a random collection of atoms. It is this human, evolutionary arrangement of matter, awareness, energy and intent, which accounts for our extraordinary abilities as Homo Sapiens. Having gone further than the animal not so much in form, but in the capacity for self-awareness and self-change, the human evolutionary course is ours to guide. Yet we cannot access our extraordinary and inherent abilities of genius and great wisdom, unless we realize that there is such a thing as Truth, and a purpose for life far beyond consumerism, militarism, nationalism and materialism.

Our true purpose as human beings can accurately be called, “the aim of evolution”, which is self-knowledge and species advancement, or in other words, the expansion of consciousness. Existence hasit’s own cosmic purpose in the evolution of life, of which we are an inextricable part. Our purpose is to further advance this Cosmic Cause, through wise decision-making and spiritual inspiration. Higher and higher love, combined with progressive clarity, can and must become the new, standard human interaction toward that end.

We CAN intentionally cultivate these qualities together. It is this evolutionary purpose that is based upon the development of the consciousness we ARE, and which all life IS, that will save our species from the brink upon which it is now poised. Without sufficient realization of truth and Cosmic Purpose, our species will remain lost in it’s own delusions about what life is all about. Until  realizing this, we will remain fixated upon brand names, television
sit-coms, fashion trends and gossip magazines, until the day of our collective extinction. Until we realize the inherent purpose of life, as opposed to the artificial, human-made purposes of corporate greed, we will always be moving toward entropy, war and insanity of all kinds. The purposes and laws of Nature will not be denied forever. If ever there was a test of our fitness to survive and evolve, this recognition is IT.

It is necessary that we, as centers of consciousness, (otherwise known as “souls”) do realize this bottom-line of the self. “Realize” means, “to perceive with such accuracy that we enthusiastically act with daily devotion upon that which is understood”. To realize ourselves as souls whose composition
is consciousness, is to implicitly understand a great many other important issues at once. Among these are the understanding that “we are all one”, that psychic streams of feeling, intent and thought flow between us constantly, making society a collective creation, and that our communion with both God and Nature is made possible because they too are literally MADE OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Thus we are both the created and the creator of forms, and with this ability come specific responsibilities. It is through us and all other life that Cosmic Consciousness manifests itself
here and elsewhere through the universe. We CANNOT access these facts and their implications fully, until we achieve sufficient self-realization. That means going beyond the ideas of self composed by job title, race and nationality, and into the Truth with which we were born. Upon achieving this, we may then carry forth such self and God realization into our daily lives. This is what is known as “spiritual focus”.

Our salvation then, if there is to be one, ultimately rests upon our degree of self and mutual realization, coupled with sufficient spiritual will to address the cosmos on it’s own terms. Its terms are those comprising natural laws and processes, as well as the spiritual laws and processes that reflect them. Consciousness, or that which is called “God”,
as well as that which we refer to as “soul”, have the same three constituents. These three are INTENT, AWARENESS and
ENERGY, and in that order of importance. To know self is to know consciousness. To know consciousness is then to know others as being of the same essence as we. If we are to master the purpose of life, generating on this planet a progressively superior place
to live in peace and enlightenment, then it will also be necessary to progressively enhance our mastery of Intent, Awareness and Energy. When we purify our intent towards one another for instance, it is then that truly progressive relations are made possible. When we expand our awareness beyond the personal, it is then that we are made empathically aware of the feelings and intentions of others. Upon raising our level of energy, we are made more capable of accomplishing great things together.

It is Intent that guides our lives. This is true not only through personal intent, but group, planetary and cosmic intent. The intent of modern human beings is the primary basis for all the world’s problems, as well as its ultimate solutions. To achieve world peace, enlightenment and high intelligence, our most fundamental need is to purify our intent toward nature and to one another.
The reason we see so much misery and chaos played out on the world stage, is because human Intent is wrongly focused in all areas of the globe. The faulty intentions behind materialism and consumerism are largely responsible for this.

The very term, “intentional”, implies that we’re aware of our progressive intent in forming such a group, and for the  sake of improving our lives. But we must do more than merely improve the circumstances of a few human lives. Our intent must be focused at levels much higher than self or community interest alone. Only a progressive, PLANETARY
intent for the good of all can provide us with the needed fuel
to generate a truly profound social shift. Only the Cosmic Intent of evolution, recognizing the commonality of souls in bodies,
which we all are, is ultimately worthy of our community focus. Community no longer means just growing a few veggies or making solar power for a select few. It must also mean that we ultimately recognize the whole world as our community, for the interconnectedness of life intimately affects each and every person from around the globe. The social norms and expectations of this current world society are far too low, (selfish and materialistic). They do not serve us well, nor do they serve the Cosmic Purpose of which we are a part. It is extremely important to realize this when forming any community.

Our world-based community movement can be founded upon such basics
as the following:

1. Recognizing that the same basic principles of plant and animal growth, nutrition, consciousness, biochemistry, life cycles, reproduction, and the like, are the very same principles that govern our human existence. Science describes these in detail, but usually without realizing their spiritual application or significance. Modern
humanity does not seem to realize that it cannot live indefinitely without recognizing the universal constants of all life. Among these are efficiency, progressiveness, logical action, practicality, evolutionary improvement, the need for natural and clean sources of water and food, etc. By observing how nature works, we can re-learn the great values of natural living, and in accord with the evolutionary processes of nature.

2. Recognizing that the laws of nature (a.k.a. Spiritual Laws) are what have molded and shaped all life on this planet. Humanity is no exception to this rule. This is why we need to return to nature in every practical way, so as to regain our true strength, wisdom and inner vitality. Human beings have tried to “outdo” nature for centuries under the premise that it exists to serve us. The truth is that we are as much a product of nature as any other plant or animal, and that the true reason for our existence is to be an extension of Natural Intelligence, (the presence/intent of God in matter) for the sake of furthering the evolutionary process. The rightful place of humans is therefore to serve the designs of nature, not for nature to be sacrificed for the sake of human whims. As all Native cultures know, we can learn better
how to serve nature by constantly working with it. In so doing its influence purifies our lives, and teaches us how to live better with the Cosmos and each other.

3. The gaining of wisdom, as defined by the greater application of truth in daily life. Wisdom is the embodiment of truth. The greater the embodiment of truth, the greater is the wisdom that results from it.

4. The increase of intelligence and intuitive cognition, through the right use of the mind.

5. The expansion of consciousness and the recognition of the true self, (beyond just the physical body or mind) as soul.

6. The recognition of that which the Western world calls “God”, and which the Eastern world calls, “Consciousness” as the prevailing force and intelligence that is seen running through all natural forms, including ourselves.

7.The practice of personal and group meditation/prayer, for the sake of self-knowledge and spiritual advancement.

8. Placing spiritual growth as the foremost priority in daily activities, while recognizing the distinct differences between spirituality and religious dogma.

9.Holding truth to be the highest and guiding principle in life,
and the best course for personal relations. There is one truth
by definition, not many. There is no such thing as “your own truth” since the truth never bends for the sake of personal preference. Our purpose as intelligent and wise beings, therefore, is to determine what the Cosmic Truth already IS, (as composed of facts, collectively known as “reality”) rather than trying to re-invent it from scratch, or by using the standard misconceptions of modern society. This requires objective observation, intuitive crystallization and logical evaluation of all subjects.

10. Rejecting faulty and destructive models of society, such as consumerism, egotism, materialism, nationalism and militarism, which act only to artificially divide the world into warring factions, from which there can arise no true victor. We do this in favor of the already provided template for right living, found in natural and spiritual laws.

11. That logic and intuition must work together, and check each other’s
conclusions. The same is equally true of science and religion, both of which can be mutually complimentary when the truth is seen clearly.

12. The progressive cultivation of clarity and the valuing of clear, honest communication.

13. Upholding the vision of collective wisdom, one that is greater than the wisdom of one or a few.

14. Making decisions through the process of educated and logical consensus.

15. Collaborating with other communities and individuals, for the sake of greater collective accomplishment.

16. Emphasizing excellent health in all ways through right eating, exercise, herbal/natural remedies and meditative self-healing.

17. Offering educational materials to the world for the improvement of the human condition. 18. Living in an independent, simple and free fashion, unfettered by the unnecessary limitations of the modern world. We must continually emphasize self-empowerment in all ways.

By engaging this Cosmic Evolutionary Purpose together, (so as to improve ourselves and each other at will) the course of history will be transformed for the better. In doing this we become active participants in Creation, rather than just being creative persons. In such an undertaking, individual persons could be likened to atoms and communities to molecules, whereby the first cells, (cities) of a new human culture would find their highest expression.

When our community is dedicated to Cosmic Purpose, it then takes on much the same role as DNA does in the creation of new, fresh life for our kind, one which could replicate itself worldwide in a relatively short period of time. This truly revolutionary basis for living together could sweep real vision and wisdom into the stagnant pools of modern society. But to crystallize this ideal basis for community requires a great deal of intelligence, based upon knowledge of how the
universe really is, not necessarily how we imagine or want it to be.

To begin, we can use the principles of nature as a basic template.
Then, through self-realization of the consciousness we are, truly see how we can interact with each other as SOULS in a higher, spiritual way. This will be a way of interaction and understanding that is far beyond what has ever before been known in the history of mankind. Let us keep ever in mind that there exist cosmic purposes far higher than those currently employed by mainstream society. It is to these we must strive, so as to create something truly great together. Through such a basic vision of ideal community as a starting point, this crystallization can then evolve further into a highly profound social movement the world over.

Why strive for less than this, especially when this is exactly what our species most needs? This work will greatly aid the evolution of humanity, as the seed of a New Way.

Matthew Webb visionquest@eoni.com
The World Mind Society http://www.eoni.com/~visionquest

To
look at any thing,
If you would know that thing,
You must look at it long:
To look at this green and say,
“I have seen spring in these
Woods,” will not do – you must
Be the thing you see:
You must be the dark snakes of
Stems and ferny plumes of leaves,
You must enter in
To the small silences between
The leaves,
You must take your time
And touch the very peace
They issue from.

~~ John Moffitt ~~
(Teaching With Fire, edited by S. M. Intrator and M. Scribner)

We gaze up at the night sky, miles away from the artificial lights
of the civilized world, and we cast our eyes toward the distant
heavens and the realm of unimaginable space and unlimited possibilities.
We stare up at the expanse of an infinite universe with countless
stars suspended in the void, and we are connected to Time and
Hope, like junctures of light in the deep dark ocean of space.

The great star we call our sun holds us in his influence as we float
along on Mother Earth, spinning in cycles within this black celestial
sea of nothingness. In all this we feel our own sense of place,
surprisingly secure, cradled between her and the all-covering
Father Sky. Our physical realities dwell here, limited and confined
to these human forms, with the exception of that part of ourselves
that draws sustenance from moments like this, when we gaze upon
the heavens and suddenly become aware of the part of ourselves
that connects us, as with the silken strands of a spider’s web,
to all things, great and small, and provides us the gift of potential
we have within to expand and explore.

Infinity and eternity are abstractions beyond the intellectual limitations
of humankind. In a universe wide as daylight, immense as darkness,
there are no boundaries. There are no limitations. These come
only when we attempt to define what we cannot. In a universe beyond
our comprehension, the potential for our spiritual growth is restricted
only by the physical forms we occupy and by the way we allow ourselves
to think — but the Great Mystery, regardless, remains forever
unending and eternal.

We share life simultaneously with all things in a Totality without
beginning and without end — this is a humbling notion, but the humility we experience when we realize it helps us transcend into
a greater sense of Place and Purpose, and into a sacred responsibility for being alive, and a part of it

In the beginning it flowed through the primordial bloodstream of
humankind. And long ago, whether through ceremony or through simply
gazing at the night sky, the First People became consciously aware
of their place in the Wheel of Life. They recognized their connection
to the vast subconscious, and to various dimensions of Time and
Space and Spirit and Mystery, through the power of their conscious
awareness, and through the urgings of their Original Instruction.

Long ago they sat together in a circle, passing sacred objects from
hand to hand, or they stood alone and turned their thoughts toward
the rising sun. They traced the natural movement of the sun across
the sky, setting into motion a harmonic flow or movement within
the ceremonial circles they had formed, and within their own lives
as well. Long ago they knew the circle they created with others,
and the sunwise movement they imitated, and everything else in
Ceremony presents something, and draws special powers for specific
purposes. Long ago they became consciously aware that every song
expresses certain feelings, and entreats certain elements to come
into the world.

Every prayer is a seed planted in the Mystery. Each one addresses some
aspect of our needs and urgings, and
prepares the world in a mysterious way, as if it were a garden,for its fulfillment.

Long ago they knew every color has a meaning; every feather, every bone, every beaded or quilled design has a unique power and significance.
They knew their instruments were special, each one made out of a desire to re-create the music of nature, each with a vibration and sound that was unique to itself and that drew attention to and from those troublesome or benevolent spirits and incorporeal beings that inhabited their world.

Long ago all of these elements of ceremony intertwined and became one
with their intentions and purpose. Each one commanded their respect
and appreciation. And so their seeds of prayer gestated, were
born, and were made ready for fruition within the sacred awareness
of Ceremony.

Times have changed, but certain elements of the human condition have
not. No matter how civilized we humans have become, certain needs
still flow through our primordial blood. And many are now seeking
to satisfy their need for ceremony once again. But can we reconcile
our sacred relationship to all things with the way we have chosen
to live?

Anyone who chooses can learn to conduct aspects of ceremony. Anyone who chooses can purchase a Native American pipe. Anyone who chooses
can buy a braid of sweetgrass, a bag of sage, or a stick of cedar.
Anyone who chooses can gather feathers and collect fetishes. Anyone
who chooses can learn to sing a traditional song, use a traditional
instrument, or listen to traditional melodies of the flute on
the latest digital disc. Anyone who chooses can learn words of
prayer and supplication.

Chain bookstores display how-to books that teach anyone who chooses
how to make things once handed down in more personal ways. They
show you how to make “your own spirit mask.” They show
how to make a drum, how to make dream catchers. They sell kits
to make your own flute.

Specially priced trips to temples and pyramids and other “power places” and “holy places” all over the world beckon from the Internet. Advertisements for guided and supervised “vision quest weekends” are scattered throughout the pages of New Age magazines.

To judge the right or wrong of all this or to criticize anyone does not serve the purpose and intention of this book (The Book of Ceremonies). The heart knows what is true. These things may be good for some people and bad for others, right for some and wrong for others, but one thing cannot be denied: certain elements of ceremony cannot be sold or purchased. The most critical of all these are the elements that emanate from a good heart, from the intentions of the good-hearted people that have been brought into
that Time and Space of Ceremony and share a belief in the interrelationship
of all things.

And though anyone who chooses can purchase the conduits of ceremony,
not everyone can enter into a ceremonial state of consciousness. To do this one must be of good heart, whether that heart is celebratory and joyous or anguished and sad. The purity of the heart and the sincerity of intentions are the master facts; they are essential. They are vital, as is a conscious awareness of one’s relationship to all the things within the ceremony – for we enter into a ceremonial state of consciousness out of love and reverence
for the sacredness and the beauty and the power of life and life’s journey, no matter how grand or small that life may be, or how wonderful or difficult that road is to walk.

We enter into a ceremonial state of consciousness with respect for life, and for the purpose of well-being and
balance, not only within our own lives, but for the Earth, our Mother, as well. A ceremony, even of one, then becomes an expression of gratitude and an acknowledgment of the sacred. It is a way of addressing and entreating the spirit of benevolence. It is a way of living.

Nearly every animated life form incorporates ritual of some kind. The
ceremonial aspect of that ritual embodies that life form’s conscious awareness and recognition of the sacred. The sacred emanates from a particular place and moment of mind that, for whatever reason, makes a conscious connection to the Great Mystery that all things share.

There is a remarkable scene in the book Our Kinship with the Animals. Gary Kowolski, a Unitarian minister and animal rights advocate, describes the observations of a zoologist who was caught early one evening by the splendor of an incredible sunset in an African rain forest. While he was appreciating the moment, he saw a lone chimpanzee come into the scene, cradling a papaya close to his body.

The chimp paused at an opening between the trees that provided an especially impressive view. “For a full fifteen minutes,  the animal remained spellbound by the spectacle of the changing colors of the dusk and watched them without moving.”

Then something wonderful happened, something that could help civilized
humans become more aware of their own primal source and that of other life forms as well. The chimp, after his motionless observance of the setting sun, gently placed his papaya on the ground where he stood and left it there, heading back into the thicket, as  silent as the evening breeze.

A ceremony? Perhaps. The significance of this and similar incidents among animals has been debated for ages among scientists and theologians. They argue whether or not these are truly occurrences in Time and Space when nonhuman life forms connect with conscious awareness to something sacred.

Some say that the magic of the moment affected the chimp so deeply that he wandered off, forgetting the papaya. Others say the chimp’s reaction must have been completely unrelated to the sunset and that he simply lost interest in the papaya and left it on the ground where he had been standing.

But some of us feel that in some way the chimp left the papaya as an offering, a gift to the beauty of the place and to the Mystery of it all. Perhaps he even brought the treasured papaya there with that intention.

Perhaps he truly was honoring and expressing his gratitude for the sacred,
and perhaps this is a primal element of our own nature, deeply rooted in our animal DNA. It does appear that the chimp, whether conscious of it or not, was doing something that our elders insist upon: We must never take from the world without expressing our gratitude, and without giving something back.

I don’t believe humankind can ever completely surrender our ways of acknowledging and honoring this awareness. If we did, we would become so civilized that we would no longer live with a conscious reverence and respect for our relationship to the greater web of life outside ourselves. We would no longer allow the magic in the Mystery to stir our imaginations and creativity. We would
no longer feel our connectedness to life, or our sense of wonder and appreciation for life. We would no longer be challenged to grow further as spiritual beings in these physical forms.

If we surrender our ways of acknowledging and honoring the sacred, then how would we come closer to the understandings and insights that enable us to grow? How would we be able to help ourselves heal and become whole after being hurt and broken?

And if we surrender our ways of acknowledging and honoring the sacred, then what would be the Purpose of our existence? What would be the Purpose for living?

Something sacred and mysterious connects us all, human and nonhuman, corporeal and incorporeal beings alike, and these moments of recognition
occur among a great diversity of life forms in Time and Space, moments when that sacred union, that sense of ineffable Oneness, is pronounced and appreciated and realized.

It is natural in these moments to offer something in gratitude.

Excerpted from The Book of Ceremonies, by Gabriel Horn.
(White Deer of Autumn ©2000)

I think continually of those who were truly great.
Who, from the womb, remembered the soul’s history
Through corridors of light where the hours are suns,
Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition
Was that their lips, still touched with fire,
Should tell of the spirit clothed from head to foot in song.
And who hoarded from the spring branches
The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms.

What is precious is never to forget
The delight of the blood drawn from ancient springs
Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth;
Never to deny its pleasure in the simple morning light,
Nor its grave evening demand for love;
Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother
With noise and fog the flowering of the spirit.

Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields
See how these names are fêted by the waving grass,
And by the streamers of white cloud,
And whispers of wind in the listening sky;
The names of those who in their lives fought for life,
Who wore at their hearts the fire’s center.
Born of the sun, they traveled a short while towards the sun,
And left the vivid air signed with their honor.

~~ Stephen Spender ~~
(Collected Poems)

Many, many years ago, the Chief of Clan MacLeod was a handsome, intelligent man, and all the young ladies in the area were very attracted
to him, but none suited his fancy…

One day, he met a fairy princess, a bean sidhe, one of the Shining
Folk. Like all the other females he met, she fell madly in love
with him, and he with her as well. When the princess appealed
to the King of the Faeries, for permission to marry the handsome
Chief, he refused, saying that it would only break her heart,
as humans soon age and die, and the Shining Folk live forever.

She cried and wept so bitterly that even the great King relented,
and agreed that she and the Chief could be hand-fasted for a year
and a day. But, at the end of that time, she must return to the
land of Faerie and leave behind everything from the human world.
She agreed, and soon she and the young MacLeod were married with
great ceremony.

No happier time ever existed before or since for the Clan MacLeod,
for the Chief and Lady MacLeod were enraptured of each other totally.
As you might expect, soon a strapping and handsome son was born
to the happy couple, and the rejoicing and celebration by the
Clan went on for days.

However,
the days soon passed and a year and a day were gone in a heartbeat.
The King led the Faerie Raide down from the clouds to the end
of the great causeway of Dunvegan Castle, and there they waited
in all their glamourie and finery for the Lady MacLeod to keep
her promise.

Lady MacLeod knew that she had no choice, so she held her son
to her, hugged him tightly, and at last, ran from the castle tower
to join the Faerie Raide, and returned with them to the land of
Faerie. Before she left, however, she made her husband promise
that her child would never be left alone, and never be allowed
to cry, for she could not bear the sound of her son’s cries. The
Chief was broken-hearted with the loss of his wife, but he knew,
as did she, that the day would come when she would return. He
kept his promise, and never was the young MacLeod allowed to cry
and never was he left unattended. However, the Laird of MacLeod
remained depressed, and grieved for the loss of his lady.

The folk of the clan decided that something must be done, and
on his birthday, a great feast was proclaimed with revelry and
dancing until dawn. The Laird had always been a grand dancer,
and at long last he agreed to dance to the pipers’ tunes.

So great was the celebration that the young maid assigned to watch
the infant Laird left his nursery and crept to the top of the
stairs to watch the folk dancing in all their finery and to listen
to the wonderful music. So enraptured was she that she did not
hear the young Laird awaken and begin to cry.

So pitiful was his crying that it was heard all the way in the
Land of Faerie, and when his mother heard it, she immediately
appeared at his crib, took him in her arms, and comforted him,
drying his tears and wrapping him in her faerie shawl. She whispered
magic words in his ears, laid her now-sleeping son in his crib,
kissed him once more on the forehead, and was gone.

Years later when the young lad grew older, he told his father
of his mother’s late-night visit, and that her shawl was a magic
talisman. It was to be kept in a safe place, and if anyone not
of the Clan MacLeod touched it, they would vanish in a puff of
smoke. If ever the Clan MacLeod faced mortal danger, the Faerie
Flag was to be waved three times, and the hosts of Faerie, the
Knights of the Faerie Raide, would ride to the defense of the
Clan MacLeod. There were to be three such blessings, and only
in the most dire consequences should the Faerie magic be used.
The Chief placed the Faerie Flag in a special locked box, and
it was carried with the Chief wherever he went…

Hundreds of years later, the fierce Clan Donald of the Lord of
the Isles had besieged the MacLeods in battle, and the MacLeods
were outnumbered three to one. Just before the Donalds’ last charge,
the Chief opened the box, and placing the faerie flag on a pole,
waved it once, twice, and three times. As the third wave was completed,
the Faerie magic caused the MacLeods to appear to be ten times
their number! Thinking that the MacLeods had been reinforced,
the Donalds turned and ran, never to threaten the MacLeods to
this very day.

On another occasion, a terrible plague had killed nearly all the
MacLeod’s cattle, and the Chief faced the prospect of a winter
of starvation for all his people. Having no alternative, he went
to the tallest tower of Dunvegan Castle, attached
the Faerie Flag to a pole, and waved it once, twice, three times.
The Hosts of Faerie rode down from the clouds, swords drawn, and
rode like the wind over the dead and dying cattle. They touched
each cow with their swords, and where there once had been dead
and dying cows, now stood huge, healthy, and well-fattened cattle,
more than enough to feed the Clan for the winter to come.

There remains one more waving of the Faerie Flag, and the Flag
is on display at Dunvegan Castle, there awaiting the next threat
to the Clan MacLeod.

It is said during World War II that young men from the Clan MacLeod
carried pictures of the Flag in their wallets while flying in
the Battle of Britain, and not one of them was lost to the German
flyers. In fact, the Chief of Clan MacLeod had agreed to bring
the Faerie Flag to England and wave it from the Cliffs of Dover
should the Germans attempt to invade Great Britain.

The Horns
they gleam above the Gate
The crescent Moon shines through;
Stone Sentinel who doth guard the Way
Is wreathed in mists and dew.

Green-White
the Key to open wide
The Path that some may tread;
White blossoms – faded on their brow,
Hearts filled with hope – and dread.

Both Cup and Wand their
part must play,
Bound in a Sacred Net;
Five points the Star enclosing all,
Ere long – the Moon must set.

Who will pace the Perilous
Trod
That leads by thin hairs-breadth,
To all a heart is yearning for,
Or perhaps to certain death?

But those who know
the Signs and Keys,
Who travel without fear,
Will find the Path leads only
To all that they hold dear.

The Horns and Moon
will bind their brows,
Glass Door will open wide,
All Mysteries are theirs to hold
Enchanted by their Vows.

No Guardian will bar
the Way,
No Watcher say them “No”;
Antler and Hoof will bear them up,
On Old Ones Wain they’ll go.

But faint
of heart will not assay,
However great the guise,
For they will never find the Way,
Nor ever wrest the Prize.

~~ From Celtic Lore and Druidic Ritual by Rhiannon Ryall~~

LAMMAS WHOLE GRAIN RITUAL BREAD

In a large mixing bowl combine:

2 C Warm Milk
2 Packages of dry baking yeast
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 C Honey
1/4 C Dark Brown Sugar

Cover the bowl and set aside in a warm place until it has doubled (about
½ hour)

Add to the mixture:

3 Tablespoons softened Butter
2 C Unbleached Flour

Stir Until Bubbly. This is also the time to add a bit of sprouted
wheat to the dough to express resurrection. Now mix in:

1 C Rye flour
2 C Stone-Ground Whole Wheat flour

Flour your hands and gradually knead in more unbleached white flour
until the dough becomes smooth and doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Place the ball of dough in an greased bowl, turning so the ball
is greased as well, then cover with a clean cloth and set in a
warm place to rise until it is doubled (about 1 hour).
Punch the doubled dough down and divide it in half.
Shape into 2 round slightly flattened balls and place on greased
cookie sheets.
Cover these and return to a warm place to rise until doubled.

(This truly is an all day activity!)
When the final rising is just about done, incise a pentagram or
other sacred symbol (such as a sun or moon) on the loaves and
bless them:

“I invoke thee beloved Spirit of the Grain,
Be present in this Sacred Loaf”

Beat an egg and a teaspoon of water together and brush over the loaves.

Bake in a 300º oven for about an hour, or until they sound
hollow when tapped.

LAMMAS OATMEAL APPLE BREAD

This quick bread is wonderful for “tea gatherings”!

1 C Wheat Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 C Butter
1/2 C Nuts (if you are not a nut person these are optional)
3 Medium Apples (chopped)
1 C Raisins
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
1-1/2 C Rolled Oats
1 Egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla or orange extract

Mix above ingredients together, then place in a greased 9 inch cake pan.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes, until it begins to move away
from the sides of the pan. This bread may be shaped for ritual
as well, and the fruits and nuts may be changed for different
seasons.

SUPER-EASY CARAMEL CORN

12 cups popped popcorn
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
12 Tablespoons butter/margarine
6 Tablespoons light corn syrup (a little more than 1/3 cup)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or to taste, we never measure vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put popcorn into a 17″ x 12″ x 2″ baking pan.
In a 1-1/2 quart saucepan combine sugar, butter/ margarine, corn syrup, and salt.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils, then quit stirring and let cook for 5 more minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in baking soda and vanilla.
Pour over popcorn; stir gently to coat.
Bake in 300º oven for 15 minutes, stir, then bake 5-10 minutes more.
Remove corn to large bowl; cool.
EAT!

LAMMAS LOAF

1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. yeast
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/8 – 1/4 cup King Arthur Flour’s Malted Wheat Flakes (or sprouted grain)
1/2 – 2/3 cup King Arthur Flour’s Autumn Sun grain mix (or crushed seven-grain cereal)

Proof yeast in warm water with honey.
Mix dry ingredients, and cut butter into flour with pastry knife.

Mix in milk and yeast starter, knead about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to make a rather dry dough.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down, and roll out ropes about as thick as your little finger, with a bulbous head.
On parchment paper & cookie sheet, stack and arrange until you have something resembling a wheat sheaf, bind with two twisted ropes.
Let rise.
With scissors snip the sides and tops of the heads, starting at the tips, to resemble wheat heads.
Bake at 350º for 45 minutes to one hour; watch closely towards the end.

To make a Barley Man, use parchment paper, mold torso, arms, legs, and head, moistening the dough where parts join and pinching together.

Make him appear skinny, as he’ll grow during the second rise.

The wheat sheaf celebrates the harvest, while the Barley Man honors
Lugh, the sacrificed Sun God, whose sacrifice sustains us.
The malted or sprouted grain in the loaf reminds us of the rebirth which is inherent in death.

LAMMAS BERRY SOUP

A cool treat for a hot day 8 oz strawberries
8 oz raspberries
8 oz blackberries
8 oz blueberries
4 tablespoons sugar (more or less)
4 cups apple juice
Crushed ice
6 cups water
3 oz tapioca or sago

Bring water to boil and add sago/tapioca.
Boil uncovered 7 minutes.
Turn off heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes more.
Rinse with cold water, strain and cool.
Remove stems from berries, wash and drain.
Save a few of each type berry, then puree then rest with sugar.

Stir in apple juice, then add 1 cup tapioca/sago mixture.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
Ladle into soup plates and serve with crushed ice (or ice cubes) and top with remaining whole berries.

A LAMMAS FEAST MENU

Fry tour of Erbes
Salad with Blackberry Vinegar
Herbed Trout and Armoured Turnips
Covenstead Bread
Fig Pudding with a Red Wine Sauce
Currant or apricot wine or apple cider

FRYTOUR OF ERBES (HERB FRITTERS)

contributed by Julie R. from the Pacific Northwest
This is from 14th Century England

Makes about 3 dozen 2-1/2″ fritters. Use fresh herbs.

3 cups all- purpose flour
2-1/4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1/8 teaspoon salt vegetable oil for frying
2-1/2 teaspoons chopped sage
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoons chopped oregano honey, to top fritters

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water.
Add salt to flour; when yeast is foamy, add yeast and rest of flour to water.
Let sit while you chop and ground the herbs.
Divide batter in 4 portions.
Add one kind of herb to each portion, (or add four times as much of any one of the herbs to the whole batter).
Fry in 1/4″ deep oil by the 1/2 tablespoonful.
Serve with honey.

BLACKBERRY VINEGAR

blackberries,
clean and dry
malt vinegar
granulated sugar

Place berries in an earthenware vessel.
Cover with vinegar.
Let stand three days (this will draw out the juice from the berries).

To strain place cheesecloth over a bowl, pour in the mixture.

Let strain several hours.
Measure the amount of liquid you have (discard berries).
You will need 1 pound of sugar for every pint of liquid.
In a pan boil vinegar with sugar gently for 5 minutes.
Cool.

HERBED TROUT

4
small fresh trout, cleaned
4 sprigs rosemary
10-12 mint leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3-4 sage leaves
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place a spring of rosemary down the center of the trout.
Chop the remaining herbs and blend them into the butter along with the salt and pepper.
Coat the trout on both sides with the herbed butter.
Barbecue or bake fish until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily.
Every now and then brush the trout with the butter.

ARMOURED TURNIPS

contributed by Julie R. from the Pacific Northwest
This is from 15th Century Italy

1 pound turnips (about 5 little)
10 ounce cheddar cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper Preheat oven to 350°F.

Boil turnips about 30 minutes.
Peel and slice thin.
Layer turnips and cheese in a 9″ x 5″ baking dish.
Sprinkle each layer with spices and dot with little butter.
Bake 30 minutes.

COVENSTEAD BREAD

(printed with permission from Spirit Online)

If you don’t have citron available use a combination orange and lemon peels.

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup finely chopped citron
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons anise seeds
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
Add honey, citron, sugar, and anise seeds.
Stir until the sugar completely dissolves and then remove from heat.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and fold into the hot honey mixture.
Turn the batter into a well-greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
Bake one hour.
Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe yields one loaf of bread, and improves in taste if allowed to stand for 24 hours.

FIG PUDDING WITH RED WINE SAUCE

Pudding:
2-1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup molasses
2 cup finely chopped dried figs
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or orange
1 cup buttermilk

Sauce:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cups dry red wine
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or orange
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg Make the pudding:
Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Grease a baking pan.
Combine baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, set aside.

Cream butter until soft.
Beat in eggs, vanilla, and molasses until fluffy.
Stir in figs, lemon zest and buttermilk.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
Pour into baking pan and bake about 1 hour or until done.

Make the sauce:
Cream butter and sugar until light.
Beat in the eggs.
Stir in the red wine, lemon zest and nutmeg.
Just before serving, beat sauce over hot water in double boiler.
Heat thoroughly.
Serve over with hot pudding.

GREEN BROTH OF EGGS AND CHEESE

contributed by Julie R. from the Pacific Northwest
This is from 14th Century France.

3 tablespoons parsley
1/2 ounce grated cheese
3 small leaves fresh sage
5 threads saffron
2 thin slices = 1.5 oz white bread (or bacon)
2 cups pea stock or diluted chicken stock
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon white wine
1-3/4 ounce grated cheese
3 eggs Soak bread in stock (either water left from cooking peas
or
1/2 cup canned chicken broth plus 1-1/2 cup water).

Grind parsley, sage, and saffron in a mortar thoroughly; add 1/2 ounce cheese and soaked bread and grind together.
Strain through a strainer; if necessary, put back in mortar what didn’t go through, grind again, and strain again.
Mix wine and ginger, add to mixture, and bring to a boil over moderate heat; be careful that it does not stick to the bottom.

Stir in the rest of the cheese; break eggs into soup, and continue to simmer until eggs are poached.

BAKED ACORN SQUASH

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 tbs butter
2 tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 175ºF.
Place squash cut-side down on a baking sheet.
Bake for about half to three quarters of an hour, until the squash begins to soften.
Remove from the oven, and turn cut-side up.
Rub butter and brown sugar into the middle of both squash halves.

Place one half on top of the other (cut-sides together) and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Berry Pies are baked at Lammas to honor the sacrifice of the “Green
Man”, the spirit of all vegetation, whose death ensures a
bountiful harvest and prosperity in the coming year.

BLACKBERRY PIE

4 cups blackberries, fresh
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 9-inch double pie crust
2 tbs milk
1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Combine 3-1/2 cups of the berries with the 1/2 cup of sugar, and the flour.
Pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell.
Spread the last of the berries on top of the sugared ones.
Cover with pie crust.
Crimp the edges and brush the top with milk, and sprinkle the
1/4 cup of sugar on top.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375ºF.

Then bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

CORNBREAD

1 cup flour
1 cup corn meal
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening

Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
Stir in cornmeal.
Add eggs, milk and shortening.
Use a mixer to beat until smooth.
Pour into a 9″ x 9″ x 2″ greased pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Additional Sources:

http://www.jaguarmoon.org/public/Wheel/Lammas/Recipes.html

http://magickalmusings.net/wicca/wheel/lamrecipes.php

“Rowan’s Realm: Baking with the Wheel of the Year“;

http://users.drak.net/Rowan/index.html