SGC Admin: We are re-posting the following from 2014 :)
Blessed Lammas to you from SGC
From our inbox to you… Check out rituals for the upcoming Lammas with Patti Wigington
Have you started planning your Lammas rituals yet?
Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Lammas, but typically the focus is on either the early harvest aspect, or the celebration of the Celtic god Lugh. It’s the season when the first grains are ready to be harvested and threshed, when the apples and grapes are ripe for the plucking, and we’re grateful for the food we have on our tables.
Here are a few rituals you may want to think about trying — and remember, any of them can be adapted for either a solitary practitioner or a small group, with just a little planning ahead.
August 1 is known as Lammas, or Lughnasadh. This is a day to celebrate the beginnings of the harvest, when the grain and corn is gathered. It’s also a time, in some traditions, of honoring Lugh, the Celtic craftsman god. Here are some ideas for dressing up your altar for your Lammas (Lughnasadh) celebration!Setting Up Your Lammas Altar
Lammas is a time of celebrating the beginning of the harvest, a theme seen often in the sacrifice of the grain god. Make a sacrifice of your own this Lammas, with this bread ritual that marks the beginning of the harvest. Lammas Bread Sacrifice Ritual
August 1 is known in many Pagan traditions as Lammas, and is a celebration of the early harvest. However, in some paths, it’s a day to honor Lugh, the Celtic god of craftsmanship. Celebrate your own talents and skills on Lughnasadh by honoring Lugh with a rite that can be held for a group or a solitary practitioner. Ritual to Honor Lugh of the Many Skills
Lammas is the early harvest Sabbat, and celebrates the crops of late summer and early autumn. If you wish to honor the Harvest Mother aspect of the Goddess and celebrate the cycle of life and rebirth, hold this Lammas rite either with a group or as a solitary practitioner. Hold a Lammas Harvest Ritual
SGC Admin: Each summer Bethesda House offers camps for kids who have been or who have witnessed domestic abuse… These same kids need new school supplies when they go back in the fall… Anyone who is a parent readying their kids for a new school year knows this is an added expense and it can be stressful… This is no different for the parent of a child fleeing domestic abuse… except for them it can be the last straw or that extra “thing” that makes life all the harder…
Jaki MacKinnon Executive director of Bethesda House is asking for the public’s help… so the kids who have seen the worst of human nature can at least begin the school year the same as any other kid… In this way, we can help the child and the parent, giving them hope and a sense of belonging…
Bethesda House is asking for donations of the following:
Backpacks at least 14 are needed for boys 13 to 17 and others for younger boys and girls
Packs of Pencils
Packs of Pens
Packs of Crayons
Packs of colored markers
Lined binder paper
Blank paper
Graph paper
Erasers
White-out
Calculators
Pencil Cases (for boys age 13-17 others for younger boys and girls)
Rulers
Highlighters
Subject Notebooks
Binder Dividers
Portfolio Folders
Glue Sticks
Scissors
Any donations left over after the beginning of the school year will be put to good use by the shelter for the kids and youth who come there throughout the rest of the year.
To Donate Please Call: 905 623 6045
Source: Whitby This Week July 22 Edition: Jennifer O’Meara: jamerara@durhamregion.com
Please Do Not Place the Following items in the green bin:
Any plastic bag (unless 100 % bio degradable) including, bread and milk bags
Tubs
Wrap
Baggies (such as sandwich/freezer bags)
Plastic cutlery
Food containers (peanut butter jars, yogurt, margarine) These belong in your blue bin
Use only 100% certified compostable liner bag brands for your green bin… you can use newspaper or paper towel to line the bin before placing the bag in it… this helps with any condensation, especially in the warmer weather.
Only organic goods go in the green bin… that’s stuff that will break down and turn into compost, such as vegetable peelings, meat, soiled paper towels and tissues and any left over food items (taken out of their containers)….
In astrology, the moon is connected to our emotions and reactions… how we are feeling on a given day may well be influenced by the sign that is visiting the moon… Each sign stays with the moon for up to 2.5 days…. :)
The Moon Void-off-Course:
There are times throughout the month when the moon isn’t fully immersed in any sign… this is when we say the moon is Void off Course… and when this occurs, we may feel “foggy” and “unfocused” … We may not be sure how we are truly feeling about a situation or a person…. Therefore it is not recommended that we make long-term commitments or important decision’s while the moon is Void off Course…. However there are 4 signs in the zodiac which may prove positive during the Void-off-Course moon…
Good for Void-Off-Course Moon:
These v/c signs may prove to be quite productive times.
Cancer
Taurus
Sagittarius
Pisces…
Opportunity Periods (thanks to astrologer Jim Shawvan):
There are other periods throughout the month that are known as opportunity periods, when it can prove to be a positive time for most people, however if you have challenging aspects happening within your own chart you may not be able to make use of opportunity periods.
Thanks to Jim Shawvan present day astrologer, William Lilly 17th century astrologer and Llewellyn’s Daily Planetary Guide for opportunity periods.
Void-off-Course: July 30 @ 2:50 pm (ET) 11:50 am (PT) to 5:40 pm (ET) 2:40 pm (PT) Capricorn Moon v/c is not one of the 4 “good signs” Try not to make any important decisions or commitments now.
House(s) 3rd & 4th: In the 3rd house of siblings, communications day-to-day affairs. In the 4th house of domestic affairs and family dealings.
Opportunity Period: None
What does it all mean?
Capricorn is business, duty and discipline. She is ruled by Saturn, the planet of restrictions.
We may be more in tune with our work/career or vocational direction.
Change may be more challenging to deal with, and we may be resistant towards it…
Being disciplined towards our “duties/chores” may be easier to achieve.
Dealings with the elderly may be in focus.
Dealings with “authority” types, such as teachers, principles, supervisor’s may be in focus. Being respectful of such positions may help to alleviate tension.
This could be a good time to get mundane business tasks out-of-the-way
If you have been waiting to get a “chaotic” situation under control, now may be a good time to do it.
Rules and regulations may be in focus, and depending on how you deal with these, it could be a favorable time or a stressful one.
Good time to watch, listen and learn
We may find we are looking at our “worth” now, including the salary we get paid.
We are happy to work for our “keep”, knowing we are doing a good job.
In the 3rd house: We could be busy with our siblings, running errands or enjoying a two-day vacation or short trip for business.
In the 4th house: Focus may be on the domestic front, we could be getting serious about renovations. Our family members may be more demanding, especially elder family members, who may need your guidance now.
This moon sign will have more of an effect on those who have the following in their charts. And those who have a strong Gemini or Cancer placing in their charts.
Serenity's Gift Cove (sgc) 