A Merry Lughnasadh

We've spent the Spring and Summer celebrating life and birth, now though, the wheel spins into the darker times and the harvest season is upon us. The fields, gardens and orchards have grown from the things we had sown in the spring - the bounty has come in and it is the reaping time. Now, as the nights grow cooler and the days grow ever shorter, we begin the season of dying and eventually, rebirth.

At this harvest, I honor the God as I honored the Goddess at Imbolc. Not just Lugh, though he is a patron of mine, but the lord of the forests and wild things as well. As we move into the darkness, it is his strength that I seek solace in. It is his wild, unruly nature that kindles the spark of restlessness and excitement that ignites come Autumn each year.

And it's already starting; a buzzing in my brain and a restlessness in my heart and body. The urge to just run, to meander the forests, to splash in the rocky rivers and climb mountains. A craving for ale and meat that leaves me during the hot summer months. Then too, comes the longing for crisp starlit nights and crunchy leaves underfoot, for pumpkins and bonfires surrounded by friends.

But for now, Autumn is only just beginning to creep in with the harvest. And while my own harvest is quite meager this year, due to the massive heat and a bad bought of worms infesting the cucumbers and squashes, I am appreciative all the same. I give thanks to the Earth and the sun, the wind and the rains for the harvest that I have managed to gather. I'm reflecting on the things I planted and started when the first vestiges of Spring appeared and taking stock of the things that have flourished or that simply continued to bloom this summer. In both the literal and figurative gardens of my life.

I wish you all a very merry Lughnasadh. May your harvest be plentiful and your home and table filled with abundance, joy, friendship and love.