Michael and Jaspenelle

Lughnasadh Feast Blessing

I was working on putting all the information I have on Lughnasadh together in an understandable order when I ran across this feast blessing. I have always rather liked it but I have no clue what the original source was. Does anyone recognize it?

Now is the Time of the First Harvest,
When the bounties of Nature give of themselves
So that we may survive
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain,
Grant me the understanding of Sacrifice
As you prepare to deliver yourself
Under the sickle of the Goddess

And journey to the lands of Eternal Summer
O Goddess of the Dark Moon,
Teach me the secrets of rebirth
as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.

I partake of the First Harvest,
Mixing its energies with mine
That I may continue my quest
For the starry wisdom of Perfection
O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun,
before Whom the Stars halt their courses,
I offer my thanks
For the continuing Fertility of the Earth.
May the nodding grain loose its seeds
To be buried in the Mother’s breast
Ensuring Rebirth in the Warmth of next Spring.

[EDIT: A commenter informed me that it originally appeared in "Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham.]

My dad will be arriving in Spokane to visit on Lughnasadh, hopefully we won’t scare him too much, hehe.

Some people have asked me if I will be raising Damian in my spiritual path, the answer is yes and no. I have no desire to hide my spirituality with him or exclude him from the traditions Michael and I have formed (such as celebrating the sabbats.) I think family traditions are important and give a child memories to look back on later in life, much the way I fondly look back on Christmas and Easter now.

This will be his first Lughnasadh and he will be present for our celebration of course. As he grows I will explain as much of our beliefs to him as I feel he is ready to absorb. I also intend on teaching him other belief systems as well, and ultimately the choice if what he wishes to practice is his. There is no such thing as too much knowledge. When he is older, if he chooses to continue to follow my path, so be it, if he is called to another, so be it.

Review: Above All, Be Kind

“Above All, Be Kind” is a fantastic book which I think any parent would benefit from (for that matter I think even people without children could benefit from it.) The author, Zoe Weil, has written a book that is not only incredibly thought-provoking, raising fundamental questions about living humanely with our children, the Earth and each other, but also loaded with practical childrearing advice.

Gandhi once said “My life is my message” and Zoe makes this her mantra throughout the book. She reminds us that we cannot expect our children to walk a path that we are unwilling to venture onto. While Zoe’s idea that living humanely through our every thought and action really resonates with me, it is her matter-of-fact attitude that really speaks to me. She does not get preachy and does not expect you to be super mom or dad. We are the first role models our children will have, but we are human and we all make mistakes. It is up to us to be able to pick ourselves up after them and turn those mistakes into learning experiences though. We need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions.

Zoe does not dictate what we are or are not to do, but rather she encourages us to use our own sense of morality in our choices. She suggests that the most important things to do when considering any challenge is:

1. Provide information
2. Teach critical thinking
3. Instill the three R’s (reverence, respect, responsibility)
4. Offer positive choices

The book is split into seconds dealing with each part of a child’s life from infancy to the teenage years. It also has a hefty appendix full of solid resources (statistics, products, reference books, websites etc) which make the task of start to live more humanely less daunting.

I have a feeling I will be referencing this book many times as Michael and my child grows. (After I buy it at least, I borrowed it from a friend…)

Teaching Children Hate

It always saddens me to see hate promoting protests but what particularly bothers me is when I see that it is young children are holding the hateful signs. Do they even know what they are protesting?

This photo shows members of the Westboro Baptist Church by the way - in my mind they are not a church, they are a hate group, but that is besides the point. They teach their children to hate, but they are hardly to only group who teaches their children that “value”.

I have seen mothers and fathers outside of Planned Parenthood with their young children holding hateful signs. I am so saddened that these children’s parents think that teaching them hate will make the world a better place. I swear some people, these groups are usually “Christian” (I use the term very loosely) must have a different bible then I, one where God’s love and forgiveness are not mentioned.

Do you think it should be considered child abuse to teach children to hate?

Found a Peanut

I have “Found a Peanut” stuck in my head, yesterday it was the tune but today I remembered enough of the lyrics to look it up. I learned then a bit differently but I think everyone does though. Michael says it is a camp fire song, I am not sure when I picked it up…

Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut last night. Last night I found a peanut, found a peanut last night.

Cracked it open, cracked it open, cracked it open last night Last night I cracked it open, cracked it open last night.

It was rotten, it was rotten, it was rotten last night, last night it was rotten, it was rotten last night.

Ate it anyway, ate it anyway, ate it anyway last night, last night I ate it anyway, ate it anyway last night.

Got a stomach ache, got a stomach ache, got a stomach ache last night. Last night I got a stomach ache, got a stomach ache last night.

Called the doctor, called the doctor, called the doctor last night. Last night I called the doctor, called the doctor last night.

Cut me open, cut me open, cut me open last night. Last night he cut me open, cut me open last night.

Took the peanut out, took the peanut out, took the peanut out last night. Last night he took the peanut out, took the peanut out last night.

Sewed me up again, sewed me up again, sewed me up again last night. Last night he sewed me up again, sewed me up again last night.

Left the scissors in, left the scissors in, left the scissors in last night. Last night he left the scissors in, left the scissors in last night.

Cut me open again, cut me open again, cut me open again last night. Last night he cut me open again, cut me open again last night.

Died anyway, died anyway, died anyway last night. Last night I died anyway, died anyway last night.

Went to Heaven, went to Heaven, went to Heaven last night. Last night I went to Heaven, went to Heaven last night.

Wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there last night. Last night they wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there last night.

Went the other way, went the other way, went the other way last night. Last night I went the other way, went the other way last night.

Wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there last night. Last night they wouldn’t take me there, wouldn’t take me there last night.

Came back again, came back again, came back again last night. Last night I came back again, came back last night.

Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut last night…

A lot of children’s songs are pretty twisted you know? Food poisoning, medical malpractice, death, resurrection… this one’s got it all!