Today is Lammas, one of the eight earth holidays

celebrated by many indigenous cultures around the world, as well as by modern-day pagans and lovers of the earth. It is a cross-quarter day, about halfway between summer solstice and autumn equinox. (In the southern hemisphere, it is celebrated at the beginning of February.) Whatever the name or national/ethnic flavor, this time of year is marked as a First Fruits Festival. Historically, it often coincided with the first wheat harvest. Altars were decked out with sheaves of grain and fresh loaves of bread. In some cultures it’s a time to honor the corn goddess. It’s a time of thanksgiving for the early harvest and a pause in the work in the fields and gardens.

It can also be a time to acknowledge and honor signs of growth and change in your life. Projects begun earlier in the year may be showing signs of progress or maturation.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What new growth are you experiencing?
• What early harvest do you give thanks for?
• Are you working too hard, do you need a break?

someone has been nibbling on these young cones

I can sense the Wheel of the Year turning. Mornings are cooler; different plants respond to dawn and dew—honeysuckle and elderberry. Cones in the firs and pines are swelling and blossoming out—brown, woody flowers fragrant with pitch.

fragrant pitch sweetens the air

One salal leaf becomes bright red, more brittle.

The Saskatoon tree is yellowing from the top down, and foxgloves have gone to seed. Rose hips are plumping and glowing dusky red and purple. In the midday warmth the scent of blackberries ripening wafts up the hill from the woods. The fawns are gaining confidence and independence; does fold into the meadow to rest. The bay is flat—no wind to help the moon push and pull the tides.

August has just begun and I want to remain in the lush season—but the bright signs of change divert my attention from the deep greens of summer.

The Wheel is turning, and so must I.