Time for John Barleycorn to die again - Wheel's on fire

How cool to draw Lugh on Lughnasadh! Though I prefer the traditional Anglo-Saxon name Lammas, from 'hlaf-mass' or 'loaf mass'. It's the time to celebrate the first harvest, and we can see the first fruits of the harvest all around us. Just this week I've been noticing a few leaves on the ground, the rowan trees are in berry, and we sit under a beech tree every day at lunch and the other day the hubster got pelted on the head by falling beechnuts several times! (None of them hit me.)

Here Lugh stands with his many symbols of fertility -- beehive, wheat field, cornucopia of fruits and vegetables, a blazing sun symbol on his chest and a great big spear representing...masculine power. Wahey. (Even if he is the Empress, which is kinda weird.)

Today is the day to recognise the bounty of the earth, and how some things must die to give forth their fruits. It is time, even in the heat of summer, to contemplate the decline of the year, and to think upon the beauty of the changing seasons, the turning of the earth, the passage of time, the continuity of life. Earth in her ancient, eternal, endless loops around the glorious life-giving sun.

Listen to Steve Winwood sing the traditional song about the harvest of the barley -- John Barleycorn Must Die.

Why not bake a loaf of bread today and light a candle and give thanks to the bounty of the earth.