An Astronomical Lammas?
At Lammas we celebrate the first harvest, obviously this has connotations with agriculture and we shouldn’t ignore or minimise that. It is likely that it is this connection that most preoccupied our ancestors. But they would undoubtedly have also thought about how this ‘First Harvest’ and the “Second Harvest” that it presages was reflected in their own lives.
For modern Pagans we also use this time to reflect on how our lives have developed and look forward to the second harvest which with the Goddesses help and guidance we can row and bring to fruition all that is positive and work with her on those aspects, the weeds in our lives, that are negative and holding us back.
This Lammas we should think seriously on this second aspect, working with the Goddess, as Lammas this year coincides with a full moon, traditionally the time when the Goddess is in her ascendency and at the maximum of her power. We should look to use this power, the full moon magic that can show us the underlying magical nature of the world, and ask the Goddess to guide us, help us and use her power to enable us to increase the harvest we can gain at the Second Harvest.
Lammas is a time of dual nature, both a time for celebration and thanks giving and one of looking forward and planning our growth and development.
But this year something else is happening, something I would say is both magical and important. This year Lammas is not only also a full moon but a Blue Moon. Now while Blue Moons, when there are two full moons in a single month, isn’t something we can look back to our ancestors for guidance on, and may well be a simple astronomical and mathematical phenomena I do not believe we can simply put away this ‘coincidence’ and ignore it.
We should look at this ‘Coincidence’ and perhaps realise it for what it is, A time of added magical power and presence of the Goddess. Astronomical coincidence it might be, but both Magic and the Goddess work with and exist within the seemingly ordered, mundane and everyday world.
We should recognise this and use this time to its full.
Happy Lammas!