Magickal Happenings with Oshuyn...

Lammas is the beginning of the end of summer.  It heralds the gathering of corn, wheat and other crops for the annual harvest.

Lammas falls around August 1, when summer is at its height and the long harvest period is beginning.  "Lammas" means "loaf mass" - it celebrates the bread made form the first cut "corn," an ancient term for wheat.

At this time of year it feels like summer will go on forever, but this is the first warning of the coming winter, and food must be gathered.

The Corn Mother

According to Pagan beliefs, the corn mother's energy retreats into the last sheaf of grain as the corn is cut.  This sheaf is then made into a small figure known as a corn dolly.

Lugh is the Celtic Sun god, who dies as the Sun begins to wane.  He is also "John Barleycorn," whose energy has gone into the grain and is cut down as a sacrifice to the fertility of the land.

Lammas In The Modern World

In Europe, harvest festivals, although usually held at the very end of the harvest period, include offerings of sheaves of corn and even bread made in the shape of grain.  Churches might even have corn dollies, and certainly they still appear in stores and at craft fairs.

In ancient days, the prosperity of the tribe relied upon the fertility of the land and the people who lived on it.  Harvesting grain was laborious work and each grain was considered to be precious.  Threshing floors had a board nailed across so noe was lost and this is remembered nowadays when a couple are newly married - the husband carries his wife over the threshold!

Lammas Celebrations

Lammas is a celebration of summer, and so you should celebrate it outdoors to truly soak up the bountiful harvest from the gods of hte corn.

Lammas Loaf

Bake your own celebratory harvest bread.

1. Use packaged white bread mix or your own favorite recipe to make enough raised dough for one loaf.

2. Knead the dough for one minute, then divide into thirds.  Roll each section into tapered strands ten inches long.  Place strands, an inch apart, on a greased baking sheet and braid loosly to the ends, pinching together.

3. Cover the dough and allow to rise until almost double the size.  Brush with mild and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

4. Bake for as long as your recipe suggests, and tap the base to maek sure it sounds hollow.

Wrap your Lammas loaf in a pretty cloth.

Summer Picnic

Cutting the crops used to involve the whole community.  Scores of people would work in the same field, swinging their scythes in rhythm and then stopping to socialize for an outdoor meal.

Continue the tradition by organizing a picnic with friends at the local park.  You can all bring seasonal foods:  fresh, ripe tomatoes; a sunny-looking quiche made with eggs and fresh, chopped herbs; a salad of grean beans; and use bright yellow flowers a a centerpiece for the talbe or picnic cloth. 

Bring a Lammas loaf and enjoy with butter.  Treat yourselfs to a glass of beer to commemorate John Barleycorn, the grain god.

Traditional Lammas Corn Dolly

The last corn (wheat) sheaf cut was traditionally made into a dolly.  By continuing this ritual you can pay homage to the corn mother an spirits of the land. 

All you will need is a sheaf of wheat and some strands of red ribbon.  You could ask a local farmer if they have a small sheaf to spare or, alternatively, you can buy some dried wheat or pick long grasses.  You can also make a corn dolly using dried husks of corn. 

1. Arrange your sheaf so that the ears of wheat are at the top of the bundle.

2. THen tie a red ribbon just below the ears and you will have made a head for your dolly, with an interesting hair style!

3. Tie another strange of ribbon a few inches lower down from the first - this should form the rough shape of a body.

4. Make a pair of arms for your corn dolly by taking a few short lengths of wheat.  First tie another ribbon just below the one beneath the ears and again a bit farther down to make an impression of shoulds.  THen stick the short lengths of wheat horizontally into the dolly - and you have made a corn mother.

Make this activity more of a social ritual by taking wheat sheavex along to a picnic with your friends. 

Be In Your Brilliance!

Oshuyn

A magickal representation of your wishes, made from everyday objects, can help turn your dreams into reality.

The tradition of making a wishing bundle is as old as the hills and can be adapted easily for your modern-day society.  All you have to do is gather together items that are assocatied with your wish and place them in a box, tied up with a silver ribbon.

Flowers For The Garden

If your wish is assocated with a house move, gather together items that represent your new home.  These could include flower seeds and grasses you would like to grow in your garden.  You might include a small model of a house or photos of colors and styles you like.  If you want to move from the city, include tems assocated with the country.

Gather your wishing items together and place them in your box until you have all you need.  Before you can actually cast your spell, you will need to gather together all of the items you need to place within your box.  Don't rush collecting your items - take time to find the things you really want.  You can always replace them as you go along.

Keep to Realistic Goals

Remember to keep your wishes realistic - casting a simple spell cannot deliver a 20-bedroom mansion on acres of land right off the bat (but you can work up to these things if you work your spells in progression and stick to the reality for that moment).  More realistic wishes would be for your new home to be filled with love; for friendly neighbors; or for your garden to be beautiful - no matter what site it is.

You Will Need to Collect:

* A shoe box or other box of appropriate size to contain your wishing items.

* A silver ribbon to bind the box and your spells.

* Items that represent your wish (these can be anything that you assocated with the fruition of your desires).

* A silver candle.

1. On the night of a Full Moon, take all the items that you've chosen to symbolize your wish and place them on the table in front of you.

2. When you feel ready to begin your spell, light your silver candle.

3. Center your thoughts and focus your mind completely upong intent.  Try not to let other distracting thoughts enter your mind.  Try to concentrate on your wish as clearly as possible.

4. One by one, place your items within the box repeating the chant, "This (item) to bring to life my wish for (name twhat the item represents, such as flowers in the garden)."

5. Once all items are within your box, close it completely and begin to bind it up with the ribbon.  As you do so, recite, "With this ribbon I do bind, that it may my heart's wish find."

6. Now that your spell is complete and your box of items has been secured with the ribbon, place your wishing bundle somewhere safe.  Do not open it or touch it until your wish comes true. 

You can make a wishing bundle to bring to life anything you desire - a new home, career or even love.

The Significance of Silver

When you're choosing the items you will put in your wishing bundle, always make sure that you include something silver - the candle you will light when you make your wish, and the ribbon with which you bind the spell are ideal.  Silver objects are used to represent the magickal light of the Moon.

The Silvery Moon

Silver is the color of the Full Moon, when magick is at its strongest.  IT is especially appropriate as we are hoping that the powers of our magickal spirit will bring our wishes to "light" - silver shimmers in the light.

The Light Within

Silver is also the color of intuitive visions, and can help to bring out yoru latent potential.

Be In Your Brilliance and May All Your Wishes Come True, So Mote It Be!

Oshuyn

Nature is everywhere, and even though it sometimes seems to be sidelined by modern life, its presence is vital to our existence.

Nature is all around us and has always been with us.  Our ancestors lived much closer to nature, working for thousands of years in the same ways and patterns: hunting and gathering foods, making their own clothes and medicines, and toiling the earth to reap a good harvest.  They observed nature to enhance their understanding of the world.

The Return To Nature

Even today in the world's busiest cities, when we look up at the starts and see the same night sky as our ancestors did, we experience the same sense of awe.  A walk in the woods still calms the spirit.

Modern society prices itself on its "sophistication," a world derived from the Latin "sophisticas," meaning "tampered with."  Many people, however, are rediscovering their natural roots and starting to work in harmony with nature rather than conflicting with it.

Rites and Festivals Celebrating Nature

Early human societies were dependent on working with nature for their survival, thus rituals and ceremonies arose to help preserve the special link.  Hunters would celebrate rites in which they assumed characteristics of the animals they sought to hunt; this helped them to become one with the animals and also to feel that they were a part of the natural world.

As humans settled into agricultural communities and developed more complex social structures, they still continued to observe closely the seasonal cycle.  Religions, such as Christianity, eventually came to overlay their own festivals on the old rites of nature and gradually changed their meaning and significance to reflect their own belief system.

Nowadays, many people are returning to wisdom and magic of the nature religions, in order to find their own spiritual paths through modern life and its obstacles. 

Your Key to Nature

Key parts of nature include objects as small as insects, as old as trees, as intangible as the elements and as awesome as the Moon in the night sky.

The Moon

The Moon's magic works through its cycles of dark Moon, new, waxing, Full and waning.  By recognizing the link between the Moon and thei menstrual cycle, women can choose the best time to work magic.  Gardeners often sow certain plants on the waxing or waning Moon.  The Moon has always played a key role in humanity's need to commune with nature.

Trees

Trees span generations, while their branches, trunk and roots span heaven and Earth.  They all have particular qualities according to their growing habits, and these magical associations are harnessed in the runes.  Three magic can be absorbed by hugging or sitting under a tree.  Trees live very long lives and, as such, play a special role in the world.  Make friends with a tree to get in touch with nature.

The Elements

Groups of four recur throughout nature: there are four seasons, four winds and four main points of hte compass.  Correlating with the latter are four elements: earth, air, fire and water.  In some traditions, these are seen as the foundations of the universe. 

Certain qualities can be attributed to the elements because of their commection with other groupings; for example, fire is outward and expressive, and relates to the warmth of summer.  This element is placed at the south of the magical compass. 

Herbs

Herbs and flowers have been used throught the world for thousands of years, for medicinal and magical purposes, as well as in the kitchen.  Nature provides remedies for all ills - notice how when someone is stung by stinging nettles, there is usually a dock leaf nearby to rub onto your skin to take away the pain.  Growing your own hearb helps to imbue them with your personal energies, and is a lot of fun too!

Aminals

Animals provide an essential link to the natural world by acting as spirit guides.  The qualities in a particular animal can reveal to us hidden qualities we possess - and by calling on the power of an animal, we can draw into ourselves the strength of that creature's essence.  This varies from animal to animal.  All kinds of aminals, from wild animals to domestic cats, can help us to connect with nature.

Metals and Minerals

Metals, minerals, crystals and gemstones come out of the gound and have, in many cases, been there as long as the planet itsef.  They each have their own distinctive "vibration" which can be matched to those emitted by our own bodies, an idea embraced by crystal healers.  Minerals can be single elements or compounds of elements.

We can work with crystals or metals to acquire particular vibrations; this helps bring us into balance when our bodies are in some way out of natural sync.  This belief has endured for thousands of years. 

Be In Your Brilliance ~

Oshuyn

The beauty of crystals alone affords them a special magic, but we can use them to bring muc more than simple decoration into our lives.

Today's society seems to have rediscovered the magick of crystals.  It's amazing how many people wear stones in jewelry, and how many have them placed around their homes.  This is not a new trend: fascination with crystals stretches back to the stone age.

Ancient and Modern

Vitually every culture and religion throughout history has used stones symbolically or decoratively.  Their beauty and scarcity as well as the feelings they inspire makes them very valuable.

Many crystals also have practial uses that we can incorporate into our daily lives.  They can gather and direct magical energy that exists all around and within us.  Like ancient mystics, we can learn to use them for protection, luck and healing. 

How Crystals Work

Each crystal has its own magickal abilities and attributes, but all work in the following way:

- Vibrational Balance

The magick of crystals is in their color, which is determined by the rate at which their atoms vibrate.  These vibrations can be matched to the energy given off by your body's aura and your energy centers.

- Channel Energy

Just as light can be focused and refracted through crystals so too alre all kinds of pyshic energy, from healing energies to divine communications. 

* Earthy colors such as reds and blacks lend a grounded quality to certain cyrystals.

* You will discover the magic of crystals as you build up your collection.

Using Crystals In Magick

Most crystals are more than simply beautiful; by understanding their magickal assocations, you can find out how to best use them in jewelry, healing and spells.

Using Crystals In Spells

When using crystals in spells, combine them with magical objects that have complementary color associations.

- You can use crystals to channel the magickal energies your spell manipulates.

- Rub or "anoint" your crystals with complementary essential oils to boost their healing and protective abilities.

- Crystals can help you to chart the future, including the ancient are of gazing into a crystal ball.

- Crystals have been used as lucky charms for tens of thousands of years.  They are even mentioned in the Bible.

* Purple and indog crystals such as amethyst, labradorite and sodalite share the soothing properties of lavender.  Combine them with the dried herb in a healing talisman to ease a headache.

* Clear crystals such as quartz share the cleansing and purifying properties of white flowers such as roses.  Combine them to keep the atmosphere pure.

Healing With Crystals

Crystals can be used in a variety of ways to aid healing:

- Crystals influence the energy vibrations of your aura, balancing energy flow to, from and through your body.

- You can make gem remedies by soaking a crystal in a glass of clear water.  This imbues the water with the healing properties of the stone, which are taken into your body when you drink it.

* You can use a crystal healing wand, or smaller polished stones, to channel healing energy into your body.

* Crystals can be used to stimulate your Chakras - the points around your body where your life energy congregates.

Jewelry & Ornaments

The Celts believed that garnet helps you to find the courage to face a conflict and gives you the energy you need to take action.  Wear a Celtic design garnet brooch near to your heart for emotional strength.

By wearing crystals in jewelry you can keep their healing and regulating vibrations close to your body's energy at all times.

- Enhance your health and well-being by learning which stones work best in which jewelry items.  Wear crystals that increase loving bivrations on booches over the heart, and those that improve communication on short pendants at your throat.

- Understand lucky birthstones so that you can personalize gifts of jewelry you give to your friends.

- Find out why diamonds are the favorite engagement ring stone and the signifcance of ruby weddings.

* Crystals placed around your home can help to raise healing vibrations in the atmosphere.

In Light & Love -

Oshuyn