Lughnassad 2004 arranged by ---Shining Spider- 2004 The astrology of today: Full Moon at 2:05 pm (blue moon) Lughnassad- As the sun begins its steady decline cultures all over the Earth honor this time of harvest, and of a slowly cooling planet. At this time the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo. The celtic tribes called this holiday lughnassad (either out of respect of their deity Lugh, or out of celebration of the first. Tonight we will consider the flame, as it was great fires that many tribes danced around and heat that baked their bread. While the sun god is dying, he has not lost his heat. It is this transformative power of fire that we will delve into. Ritual: I. Creating A Sacred Space A. Cleanse space smudging B. Ground and Centers as group C. Call Elements as a group D. Cast Circle as a group II. Calling And Honoring the Divine To call the Goddess** a participant reads: Goddess of the Moon of sky and of the sea. Goddess of grounds of the hunt of birth and death we ask you tonight to bless us with your presence To call the God** a participant reads: God of the harvest of the Earth and of the Sun. God of light of heat, and summer, we ask you tonight to bless us with your presence. C. Myth***: The sacred bird Pheonix Area: Greece Peoples: Grecians Time Period: 100s AD Sources: Flavius Philostratus while writing about the life of Apollonius of Tyana, described the myth of the Phoenix. His record of this while not detailed gives some basic decriptions. Myth: The Phoenix is said to visit Egypt every five hundred years, and it spends the rest of its time flying about in India. The bird is seen to the people as an emanation of sunlight, being in appearance and size much like an eagle. Its nest, he says, is made out of spices at the springs of the Nile, and when the bird is being consumed in the nest, he adds, it sings funeral strains for itself. The writing of Philostratus highlights the ancient Greek mythology and its interaction with other cultures of the time. In multiple writings the phoenix is seen as a mythical bird and thought to be the servant of the sun god. One version of the mythology is that the phoenix lives in Arabia, close to a cool well. Each morning at dawn, it would bathe in the water and sing such a beautiful song that the sun god would stop his chariot to listen. There only exists one phoenix at a time. When it felt its death approaching (every 500 or 1461 years), it would build a nest on top of a palm tree. The Phoenix would then cover the nest with cassia-bark, spikes of nard, cinnamon and myrrhall (all of these plants are aromatic) and then set the nest on fire, until the nest, the plants and the bird itself was consumed by the flames. When it was burned, a new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre. It then embalmed the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flew with it to the City of the Sun. There it would deposit the egg on the altar of the sun god. In Egypt is usually depicted as a heron, but in the Grecian literature it is depicted as a peacock or an eagle with red and golden plumage. The phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death. In that aspect it was often placed on sarcophagi. Other cultures have parallel sacred birds such as the Egyptian Benoe, the Garuda of the Hindus and the Chinese Feng. III. Pathwork- Rite of Fire Meditation**** All sorts of things are enriched by a jump in the fire. From the Phoenix myth to Iron, fire has transformed and made truer both metal and spirit. Even corn kernels! We are removed from popcorn by the microwave bag, but if you've watched it ever, popping corn is really a magical thing. So now we like the corn and the phoenix are going to jump into the fire, and take a risk with our talents and sacrifice ourselves for ourselves. Blue flame tears away the shell of you, leaving the authentic you to burst forth. Close your eyes Quiet your mind. Feel the darkness surround you, and press heavy against your eyelids. Listen to your breath. With each inhalation feel calmer, With each exhalation feel more relaxed. Your breath is now steady and calm. You notice now that the darkness is really the night sky. Above you stars shine and the moon glows. You look down from the sky and see dark green pastures and far in the distance the glow of a bonfire. You decide to find that fire. The walk is calm, and you notice the night air is slightly cool. The ground is still full of summer heat, but the scent of the breeze tells you that fall is right around the corner. As you walk to the hill with its fire (which is closer now) you pass crops in varying stages of growth. Everything smells rich and alive. You are now at the hill. The grass is green, but it halts a few feet from the fire, which is surrounded by dry earth and rocks. You do not know who lit it, but it feels safe, and beautiful. You sit and stare at the flames for a while. Notice the colors red and orange, but a strange blue flame in the center. See what the fire has to say. You start to hear drumming. The direction isn't clear, perhaps it is the memory of the land or the fire itself but the speed is steady, and each thump is resonant within you. The drummings speed increases; you hear a voice say 'What do you fear, what is holding you back' The drum and the words echo through your head. What is it that you fear, what is in that is holding you back, what is it that is keeping you from completing your goals? What is it that is stealing your time? The drumming speeds up... suddenly you know what to do... taking a few steps back you then stop, take a breath and then you run through the fire shouting that thing that is holding you back, shouting what it is that you fear. You land on the other side of the fire anew. It is as if a husk, a shell of something has fallen off you. Take some deep breaths, and feel the air around you, how cool it feels to your skin that has survived the fire. Look up at the sky and see the stars shining, and the moon glowing. Close your eyes and listen to your breath. Feel your heartbeat and its own calm rhythm. Listen to your breath. With each inhalation feel calmer With each exhalation feel more relaxed Quiet your mind. Feel the darkness surround you. Listen to your breath, your heart... You are back in your body now, in the circle among friends. Now... open your eyes. IV. Spell-work - A. Raising Energy- Dance in a circle raising energy while chanting Chant: We have walked through the flame nothing is the same again V. Thanking A. Share in snacks and experiences of circle B. Thank the god/dess C. Thank the elements D. Break the space Credits: God/dess Invoking Poetry by Shining Spider Myth compiled by Shining Spider Pathwork Meditation by Shining Spider © 2003 Dancing Chant by Shining Spider Web resources An excellent resource on Grecian history, mythology and culture: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ |