WW – Birthday & Lammas & Blue Moon, Oh My!

Since today is my 50th birthday, I was going to be shameless and ask my readers for a gift from my list below. Then I felt guilty. Then I remembered I’ll be going in for a surgical procedure in the near future, and decided life is too short to be wishy-washy about wishes.

(Wow. Passive aggressive much? Old age has changed me… *grin*)

My birthday wish list

• Perform a random act of kindness today
• Perform one random act of kindness every day for the next 50 days
• Subscribe to my eldest daughter’s YouTube channel
• Watch some of her videos, such as her 1,000 Subscribers Giveway (HURRY! 3 days till it’s over!)
• Like and share her stuff
• Buy an Indie Novel (like Chasing Kate, Walker, or Sex Death Rock N Roll: Short Stories)
• Leave a nice review on said novel after reading it
• Share this blog post and ask others to pick something from the list

My final wish is – if you decide to give me one of the above gifts, please shout out in the comments below, and let me know what you choose. I’d love to be able to tell my daughter and my author friends that I’m not too old to score them some internet-love. *grin*

Now on to the witchiness! Coming up on Friday, we have our last Blue Moon until January 31, 2018, so be sure to plan an extra special ritual. Also Saturday, as the calendar ticks over to August, the festival of Lammas arrives. Here’s a little blurb about the holiday from The Goddess & The Green Man –

At Lammas the Goddess is in Her aspect as Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, Harvest Queen, Earth Mother, Ceres and Demeter. Demeter, as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of this year’s harvest and Her daughter Kore/Persephone represents the grain – the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth. This is the deep core meaning of Lammas and comes in different guises: it is about the fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest holding at its heart the seed of all future harvest. (It is a fact that a pregnant woman carrying her as yet unborn daughter is also already carrying the ovary containing all the eggs her daughter will ever release – she is already both mother, grandmother and beyond, embodying the great Motherline – pure magic and mystery.)

So as the grain harvest is gathered in, there is food to feed the community through the winter and within that harvest is the seed of next year’s rebirth, regeneration and harvest. The Grain Mother is ripe and full, heavily pregnant she carries the seed of the new year’s Sun God within her. There is tension here. For the Sun God, the God of the Harvest, the Green Man, or John Barleycorn, surrenders his life with the cutting of the corn.

A little info about the pictures below – I took one of my full moon pictures from earlier this month, and used a simple blue filter over at LunaPic to create the image. I’m ridiculously happy with how it came out. Oh, and while I’d love to be able to grow such a gorgeous garden, it’s all due to the hard work and expertise of our generous landlord (he spoils us with fresh produce during the summer – this is just one of many plots on the property).

[UPDATE ON MY BLUE MOON GRAPIC – My original picture had the phrase, “the Moon in Aquarius (water)” and my sharp-eyed wicked smart friend Melissa kindly sent me a private message correcting my mistake (Aquarius, strangely enough, is an air sign). Since my little magical blurb was based on Leo (fire) being the polar opposite, I deleted the whole dang bit, and went with a list of magical workings instead. Thanks for the help, dear friend – I owe you one!]

Bright blessings to all!
Lammas, August 1st, 2015. Lammas comes from the Old English words “half” (loaf) and “maesse” (feast), a celebration of the first loaves of bread baked from newly harvested grain. Colors – orange, gold, purple. Symbols – sunflowers, grain, bread, corn dollies. Ritual work – lightwork, protection, remembrance, harvesting, abundance, bread baking.
Blue moon, July 31st, 2015 at 6:45am EST. Magical workings include – connections, healing on a global scale, collaborations, expansion, invention, finding your tribe, banishing unwanted influences, good fortune.