A Laid Back Lammas

Mother Goddess
 By Wendy Andrew

Happy Lammas!  
Or Lughnasadh or Lughnasa - depending on where, when and how you celebrate..... 
Most customs involve celebrating yesterday, however I've discovered that for some groups it was traditional to celebrate after the first harvest, so the date was changeable, or you could be like me and celebrate today as nothing went to plan yesterday, again! 
I love this picture by the talented Wendy Andrew, it's her work and  my photo of a card that's on my altar - It just completely depicts Ker as I see Her. When we started our journeys with our individual Goddesses in a Discovery session, many moons ago, after a meditation journey we sketched what we had seen. Apologies that it's not very clear, but below is what I saw, I thought it would be Bridie

A Hasty Sketch of My
Meditation Journey

and had heard very little about Ker, so was totally confused about what I had envisaged. After I had researched the symbols and meanings I came across Wendy's art complete with corn, poppies, deer and mice and knew I had found what I was looking for. 
So, here we are - Lammas, 'home' of the Mother Goddess and the archetype I generally feel most comfortable with, so that probably means I need to fasten my seat belt and be ready for the unexpected! Even as July closed, it was becoming apparent that the plans were about to change. By now that just means I am prepared to go with the flow and see what opportunities present themselves! This meant that the planned Friday Moon Lodge and preparing something for my daughters birthday didn't happen as planned, but hey there's plenty of time for that! Instead as it happened other projects were started and other questions answered.

Kitchen Altar

On Saturday morning I cleansed the space around my kitchen altar and redecorated it for Lammas and the Great Mother. I chose yellow roses and put them in a vase that had been my Nan's, what I forgot to say the week before last, is that when I visited my Nan's grave there was one single and somewhat random yellow silk flower that had made it's way to her headstone, so we left it there with flowers we had taken. Also on my altar is an orange candle that smelt 'summery', a  corn dolly that I made from raffia, a Mother Goddess Card, a beautiful yellow stone candle holder that my circle sister Michaela gave me and a precious knitted doll to represent me in all the earth colours- yellow, orange, green and brown that another dear circle

Garden Altar

sister, Tina made and gave me at the end of the first discovery course. As well as this I reorganised my garden altar, added yellow candles and  today as managed to get round to making another larger corn dolly and found some beautiful fabric that screamed Ker, Lammas  and Harvest to me to make it feel more special and homely.
As I said, this was going to be finished yesterday so that after a busy afternoon at my drumming circle I could find a quite moment to make a flower circlet for my hair before picking up my daughter and her boyfriend from work to go out for my lovely Dad's birthday meal or at worst case scenario have a moonlight ceremony and meditation afterwards...... Like that was all going to go to plan!

My drumming circle was a revelation in itself. The lovely lady who leads it, Theresa works very closely with Native Indian Spirits and all sorts of positive Earth, Angel and Goddess energies. If you live in Kent and are interested in shamanism, she really is your woman! After a beautiful and powerful drumming session, followed by a deep meditation, Theresa passed a message to me from her spirit guide. Now let me explain here, this lovely lady is not medium or a clairvoyant, nor does she pretend  to be, and yes when I first experienced these energies, I was open minded but sceptical and prepared to question everything I was told. However after now knowing her for sometime, when she told me my message was that it was time to share the wisdom I had learned and that it was in my bones and that she had been told by her guide that there is an ancient woman with me who carries a basket of herbs and that she was showering me with yellow rose petals, for once even I was, as they say 'gob-smacked'!  No one knew about the yellow rose in the church yard apart from my husband, no one else knew that I had bought yellow roses for my altar and silk ones for my hair circlet. Add this to the fact that I have started reading and researching about the Motherline with a view to one day writing a book/celebration/workshop and am just about to sign up for a herbalism course, which no one at all knew, apart from Ker herself and I think you'll agree that's a pretty cosmic 'go for it!' 

I do love a flower circlet
- bless me!

When I finally got to sit down in the garden last night, after a delicious meal and fun filled evening full of laughter with my family, a pretty simple yet fitting Lammas Celebration of it's own, as hard as I tried I couldn't block out the loud but rocking music drifting up from a party at one of the local farms I think (how appropriate!) and then also from a neighbours dog who had taken a long and sustained umbrage at someone or something, probably one of my cats! Undeterred, I left my celebrations to the unhurried peace  and quiet of  this morning. I cleansed the whole house and garden with white sage, before grounding and calling Ker in at my outside altar, which felt more appropriate,  I enjoyed a 

Altar Corn Dolly

tranquil, yet intimate and powerful  unhurried noon ceremony with just the sun and sleepy cats as my circle.  After this I went indoors and blessed my kitchen altar, both thanking Ker and asking for Her blessings in all aspects of our lives. I also managed to find time for a meditation in the sun/snooze on a blanket in the garden, where I either journeyed or dreamed but either way there were distant noises and voices and the light was filtered, I could hear and feel a curiously strong rhythmic heart beat that made me feel safe and very loved, before I awoke or drifted back to the now, I'm really not sure which and found I was curled up in the foetal position with a cat (what a surprise) staring at me, before she yawned, rolled over and started snoring - thank you feline guardians!
A weekend of beautiful and simple celebrations, minimal planning and just being at one with Ker, myself and the world - pretty perfect!

I hope you all had a beautiful Lammas,

 - however and whenever you celebrated

 and wish you all a fruitful and blessed week x x