Lughnasadh 2013: Harvesting the Light

Lughnasadh 2013: Harvesting the Light

Each of us has the opportunity to see in 1 of 2 essential directions. We can see truth or we can see illusion. The choice is ours, but not so easily done. We can look at our lives & worlds through the lens of the shadow or through the lens of the light. This is an archetypal truth as all things have their shadow & light in a dualistic world.

Lugh, the Celtic God of light who’s Holy Day & following season Lughnasadh, is all about the mental choice to harvest the light/truth & gather in all of the Love, Power & Wisdom such a harvest automatically brings. Thus Lughnasadh marks the beginning of Harvest Season.

As I was laying in bed last night after watching some inspirational stuff on TV I heard this prayer to Lugh.

Brilliant Lugh, Burning Bright

Bless me; touch me with your might.

Fill my eyes with Godly light

So I may see with blessed sight.

As sweetly poetic & reminiscent to the Green Lantern oath as it is, it keyed me into a connection to Lugh, the 3 month harvest season that Lughnasadh initiates & the 3^rd Eye.

Lughnasadh is the 6^th Sabbat in the Witch’s Wheel of the Year. Each sabbat has a chakra correspondent, starting with Yule/Winter Solstice which links to the Root Chakra & on upwards. Lughnasadh being the 6^th, it correlates to the 3^rd Eye, the chakra that, let’s face it, has the best press agent.

The 3^rd Eye manages Mental Power & we are aware of how wonderful & dangerous that power can be. Many of our deeply held beliefs are based on false premises. The illusion of separation, when gradually undone dismantles racism, misogyny/sexism & even co-dependence among other shadow beliefs that control how we see the world.

So, we have the opportunity to weed the garden of our minds of these false beliefs/weeds, which sap our true sight. Yes, again, the pagan Agriculture Archetype. This leads me to a little discussion I like to have with my students about 1^st sight.

“First Sight means you can see what really is there, and Second Thoughts mean thinking about what you are thinking. And in Tiffany's case, there were sometimes Third Thoughts and Fourth Thoughts although these...sometimes led her to walk into doors.”

― Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight

OR:

“First Sight is when you can see what’s really there, not what your head tells you ought to be there… Second sight is dull sight, it’s seeing only what you expect to see.

–Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men.

 

That said, Lughnasadh can highlight the very mental attitudes we carry that prevents us from experiencing & manifesting what we want in life. In our coven we see Lughnasadh as the sabbat of ‘sacrifice,’ though it’s not about slitting throats or virgins... usually. The idea is, if you haven’t yet manifested what you started casting for at Yule/Winter Solstice, then you need to make room in your mind & your life for what is trying to get in, but can’t get in due to the old or illusory that blocks it. In other words, start some late Summer Cleaning (in lieu/Lugh of spring cleaning) or better yet, weeding the garden of your mind/life.

The spell I received last night & printed above can be a good jumping off point. But keep in  mind, no sabbat is just one day. They mark first a 1 & ½ month period from sabbat to sabbat, but also mark a whole 3 month season. Lughnasadh marks the beginning of the Harvest Season that will conclude at Samhain. 

So have at it my magickally minded friends, but be gentle with yourself. No sense trying to dismantle belief systems based on false premises in one go. That leads to all sorts of psychological & spiritual crises & complications. Rather, have fun with this. Question everything & put your focus on that which really rings with a high vibrational truth. In this you ‘sacralize’/make sacred the light & truth in your life while sacrificing what was never truth, felt good or served.

Blessed Be & Blessed Lughnasadh

Rev. Mark A. Lyons, President
Drawing the Circle Productions, INC
Drawingthecircle@aol.com
www.drawingthecircle.com
631-968-8307

She can touch your sole too!

The Will of Litha/Summer Solstice

The Will of Litha/Summer Solstice

Litha is the peak of the annual solar cycle. We call it the full Moon of the Sun in our coven. It is the 6^th Sabbat & corresponds to the 6^th Chakra, the throat, which manages our Will Power. Because it is midway through the Wheel of the Year, it stands to reason that the intentions we set at Yule/ Winter Solstice 6 months ago, have either grown from their seeds or we have amended our intentions since Yule.

So it goes with the planting/agricultural archetype of the Witch’s Wheel. We have to tend our fields, weed, fertilize, water, etc. Since Litha is linked to the Throat Chakra, there are going to be a lot of choices & life changing decisions in this coming 3- 6 month season. This will take a growing & strengthening of our individual Will.

Growing up, Will Power was a phrase I connected to hard work, giving up stuff & just being a hard ass in general . It was always linked to losing weight or giving up smoking or some such. But as I have grown I have learned that Will really means Choice. Your last will & testament is a list of your final choices about what you want done after you croak. So if you can look at Will Power as Choice Power, you’ll get the connection to the Throat Chakra.

I call the Throat the ‘Spit or Swallow Chakra.’ Of course I would. Not for any sexual innuendo alone, though that makes it fun for me, but more in that it illustrates how we either speak up or shut up in life symbolically. We know sometimes what we say might wound another. We may choose to chew on it for awhile to soften the blow, or just let them have it between the eyes. This is doubly so, especially if it is truth we mean to speak. However, truth without compassion is brutality. Often we are challenged to speak up or just ‘spit it out.’ 

But how do we know the when of which?

Here’s my guideline. Is it empowering? The Throat Chakra has an interesting relationship with the Saboteur Archetype, which governs our decisions. This archetype is always helpings us to learn how to make empowering decisions. It does this by highlighting the subtle & not so subtle ways in which we empower or dis-empower ourselves & others via our daily decisions. It makes sense then that during Litha, being such a powerful solar sabbat, that we must not only choose wisely, we must learn to make wise decisions.

Is there a difference between decisions & choices? I believe so. All choices have consequences, but the voltage of the choice implies the voltage of the consequence. For example, choosing a latte over a cappuccino is probably not going to change the direction of your life. But a decision to stop drinking caffeine will have immediate & long term effects in our lives. (Gods forbid)

Knowing that, look at Litha as a very fast moving season, like a car going at 100 mph. The slightest turn of the wheel makes a huge change in direction. For the next 3 – 6 months we will be traveling very fast, unless we decide to slow things down via meditation, prayer, contemplation or just plain chilling out. Even slowing down a bit is a wise choice that leads to more empowering decisions.

In my life as of late I have really learned a lot  about  the whole Heart Chakra thing of Beltane. I had an amazing Beltane. I gained great big huge momentum since May 1^st & now I’m traveling at very high speed, moving forward & creating my life as I will. WILL, yeah, there’s that word. But because my velocity is so fast, I really have to watch what I choose & decide.

 

The 2 Kabalistic spheres associated with Litha & the Throat Chakra are Gevurah/Judgment & Hesed/Mercy. When you are traveling at high speed, an unmerciful judgment can throw you off the road & into a ditch. Look at it this way, to paraphrase from the Teachings of Abraham. “If you hit a tree going 5 miles an hour it’s not such a big deal. If you hit that same tree at 100 miles an hour, it is a really big deal.” Do you slow down, or evade the tree? A little of both is necessary I find.

In other words, we have to watch what we decide to focus on if our momentum is going really fast. We can either keep the power high, choosing mercifully or downgrade it all at once, which causes an energetic crash or disempowerment. It’s not like unmerciful judgments aren't daily decisions we make. Try to go a full day without one any day of the year. But it is certainly highlighted for those of us who are magically inclined & working with the solar cycles of nature during Litha.

If you find yourself moving into irritating emotional territory, you can go there, but it is a decision that will change your life for a time. Instead use a spiritual practice to calm down, decelerate, chill out & decide yet again. Sure, vent, get it out of your system. Confession is the Symbolic Sacrament associated with the Throat Chakra. It is a way in which we call back the power lost through unmerciful judgment.

But after the toxins are out, as ever, forgive, forgive, forgive. Because that’s the only way we’re ever going to maintain the kind of high vibration we seek as spiritual pilgrims. It is essential if we want to be happy in this life, as the Course in Miracle states clearly, “Happiness is a decision I must make.” It also states "There is no healing without Forgiveness."

I strongly suggest that you take a few days & look over the decisions & choices you have in front of you short & long term. Then decide to do your best to keep your momentum high & your judgments merciful. For example: Everyone is doing the best they can. No one is perfect & we're all learning as we go. It's OK, I/we/they will get through this...  Implement what feels good & remember you can always ‘choose yet again’ if needed.

That said, I have a wild Witchcraft Weekend ahead of me & I’m going to do my best to live it Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, the very 4-fold intention I cast for at Yule/Winter Solstice. 

From my Yule 2012 Blog:

Yule Spell 2012:

Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise

Ingredients:

Happy - Catnip, Lavender, Witchgrass, Blue Lace Agate

Healthy - Spikenard, Galangal, Nutmeg,

Wealthy - Basil, Cedar, Cinnamon Oil, Mint, Aventurine

Wise - Sage

As the Yuletide Sun does rise,

With all the power it implies,

Waxing Sun with full surprise

Now manifest before my eyes.

All the good that does comprise

Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.

For the Highest Good & Harming none,

as I will it, so let it be done.

So Mote it Be!

Yes indeed, I am seeing those seeds more than sprout; they are flowering & will soon be ready for the harvest season come Lammas/Lughnasadh around the beginning of August.

I wish you all the very best of the season & that this message finds you all happy, healthy, wealth, wise or willing to be so.

Blessed Litha,

Rev. Mark A. Lyons, President
Drawing the Circle Productions, INC
Drawingthecircle@aol.com
www.drawingthecircle.com
631-968-8307

We're not afraid of the dark...

East & South, West & North...

The Marriage of Beltane

The Marriage of Beltane

Beltane is always a very powerful time of year for me. It is the spoke of the Wheel of the Year where I really look back & clearly see an unbroken line of my path. Any & every sabbat can do that if we work it. I do. 15 & 8 years ago I started Drawing the Circle Productions; then with Amy & Kathy, The Silver Broom Ministries was born. Figuratively speaking I have a 15 year old boy & an 8 year old girl. But this blog isn’t about children, not directly. Beltane is about children… the making of them. It begins the Season of Fertility.

This blog is about the masculine principle & the feminine principle joining in a creative act. This isn’t about gender or genitalia. It is about Yin & Yang, Solar & Lunar & of course, God & Goddess. Since the Gods live within us, it is the Marriage of our own opposites like intuition & intellect, heart & head, etc. Regardless of your relationship status, you have a relationship within yourself that has the opportunity to find balance then join, for a time, to create something.

Beltane is symbolically linked with 4^th Chakra, the Heart. It’s Christian sacrament coordinate is Marriage. The Sphere is Tif’eret/Harmony-Balance on the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The synchronicity of symbolism at Beltane points to an opportunity to bring Divine Power through our hearts. Imagine emerald green light shooting from your hearts, like a cross between Green Lantern & Katy Perry in the Firework video.

 

In Brightest Day, Boom, Boom, Boom!

Then, there’s what is actually manifesting around me physically. This year at our annual Beltane Party my best friend is getting married to her man of over 11 years. It’s taking place in our backyard as the ceremony kicking off the ensuing Fire & Ice party. Amy is one of my best friends, my housemate, my business partner & the High Priestess to the coven we started 18 years ago, our oldest daughter.

Rich & Amy

Yeah, Amy is the other parent to all of my children. Our marriage is one of many things, but we have aptly been called The Wiccan Will & Grace, though not technically Wiccan. Amy is getting Handfasted to her fiancée Rich, who I have known & loved for over a decade. They will be surrounded by over 100 friends & family (Closer to 150 at the moment) and of course, an ice luge.

I shall name her Lila L'Luge

The luge isn’t actually being used in the ceremony. Though, that would be cool. I will keep it in mind should I ever literally tie the knot. The luge arrives after the ceremony & has become one of our personal & community traditions. Dionysus (God of Wine) is my Patron God. Because of that I don’t drink much; a paradox that makes sense to me. But at Beltane… I sorta make up for it. This year I will do my best to not be a dripping tear of joy hot mess for more than 15 minutes. The blessing of having all this happen at my home is I can make costume changes as many times as Cher in Vegas. So if I do get sloppy I am a quick shower & Moroccan Oil application away from looking my best again… Gods willing.

Not what I am wearing.

This year Beltane is close to overwhelming & hasn’t even hit yet. If each sabbat is a gong we ring & the echo carries throughout the 3 month season, then this year we are hitting it hard & with a lot of Love. The echo will be strong.

The Sacred Truth of the Heart Chakra is “Love is Divine Power.” Let’s see, at least 100 Witches & Pagans in attendance, the Handfasting of 2 people who are so very dearly loved, by me & concentric circles of hundreds of people. My back yard lawn is already a sacred space. It is about to become an exceptionally powerful vortex of Divine Power.

The funny thing is, we can do that anywhere, anytime; in our back yards or bathrooms it doesn’t matter. Great big huge sabbat blasts are great… I mean, yeah, wow. I usually need a good lie down & a cigarette after. But the energy we raise all year long builds a foundation for the powerful, pulsing and release of power that a sabbat can provide if we work it.

Dionysus with hidden thyrsus.

I’ll be working it. I am spring cleaning my house in Virgo detail. I am almost there with a week to go. When I tune in to the actual day my heart flies open. I’ll be spending the party with my man Jose at my side, drink in hand, surrounded by the most fun people I know & laughing so hard I cry.

That is my wish for all of you, for Beltane of course, but also for the entire Season of Fertility.

May you be surrounded by those you love.

May your heart open & Divine Power flow through it.

May you laugh so hard you cry as often as possible

& may the Sacred Marriage of God & Goddess,

Solar & Lunar,

Yin & Yang

be manifest within your hearts,

little by little,

all season long.

So Mote It Be!

But… get the powerful, potent, pulsing, pleasurable, primal, Pagan release of power when you can.

Blessed Be & Blessed Beltane!

Rev. Mark A. Lyons.

Drawing the Circle Productions INC.
DrawingtheCircle@aol.com
631-968-8307 @ProfWitch on Twitter
www.drawingthecircle.com

In times of national tragedy...

 

"In times of national tragedy it is a challenge to reach for a higher vibration. Even in personal times of sadness, it often feels inappropriate to turn gently towards optimism. Yet if we look to the lives of the masters, those who came before us & graduated Earth School, we see that reaching higher is exactly what they did. Whether it is through prayer, meditation, charity, outreach, what have you; they attained mastery trough the focus of their minds & the opening of their hearts. That is when your spiritual practice matters the most & takes you the furthest."

Rev. Mark A. Lyons