Brigid Lughnasadh New Moon Lion’s Gate Ritual                                August 8, 2021

 

Items needed: fire pit, cauldron, or fire proof container; newspaper, wood and lighter to make a fire; color changing wood blocks; paper or tree bark; magic markers; candles for each of the directions; offering of thanksgiving to Brigid from the garden

 

Purpose: Releasing any beliefs that hold us back from fully welcoming and embracing the bounty of the earth and the abundance that is our natural birthright

 

North ~ Guardians of the Earth, we welcome your abundance and sustenance to our ritual.

 

East ~ Guardians of the East, we welcome your openness and intelligence to our ritual.

 

South ~ Guardians of the South, we welcome your passion and energy to our ritual.

 

West ~ Guardians of the West, we welcome your connection and compassion to our ritual.

 

Guardians of the elements, we welcome you to our ritual this new moon night.

 

Blessings Lady New Moon, dark and mysterious but opening to the possibilities of tomorrow. Our futures are ours for the creation and with your aid, our goals are accomplished and made manifest on this earth. As we release those things that hold us back from our flow and the flow of the universe, we ask that you welcome them into your darknening embrace and transmute them into positive energy for the universe, the earth, and all living beings, including ourselves.

 

Today the Lion’s Gate is open, the time when the energy from the Sirius star aligns with the planet earth. At this time, universal consciousness expands and opens for the benefit of life on earth. Heart-centered, positive, courageous, the Lion’s Gate aids us in our spiritual growth and in physical manifestation on earth. The number 8 is the number of infinity; it supports empowerment and intention, sweeping us toward whatever we focus upon. We welcome the light of the star Sirius, the positivity of the sun in Leo, and the expansion of our heart chakras at this powerful time of the year. Releasing the old, out-moded stories, we make way for this new, fresh manifestation mindset. No longer will we hold ourselves back from the abundant possibilities of the universe!

 

Most blessed Brigid,

Bright Arrow,

arousing, swirling, teaching,

direct my words and

                           focus our art

to resonate your will

beneath the sky, beneath the sea.

Goddess of the Sun and

                           of the eternal fire,

You inspire.

 

Most sacred Brigid,

Sudden flame,

shaping, melding, purifying,

forge our hands and

                           guide our hearts

to do your bidding

beneath the sky, beneath the sea.

Goddess of the Sun and

                           of the eternal fire,

You transform.

 

Most honored Brigid,

Living light,

calming, soothing, restoring,

mend our wounds and

                           allow your love

to shine through us

beneath the sky, beneath the sea.

Goddess of the Sun and

                           of the eternal fire,

You heal. 

 

Most blessed Brigid,

Living light,

Bright Arrow

Sudden flame,

Goddess of the Sun and

                           of the eternal fire,

Arise like a shining sun

And join us at our ritual!

 

Brigid, Goddess immortal, most blessed,

We light this fire
In fiery offering to you.

 

 

(light fire and play Jenna Green Brigid song)

 

 

Goddess Brigid,

As Goddess of the forge and the flame

You transmute and transform our lives,

 

As Goddess of art and fire

You inspire and invigorate our lives,

 

As Goddess of healing and hearth

You empower and educate our lives,

 

We ask for your aid in transmuting old beliefs that hold us back from fully welcoming and embracing the bounty of the earth and the abundance that is our natural birthright.

 

(Gaze into the flame to find the belief that you wish to remove. Add color-changing wood. Write this belief on the bark or piece of paper with the magic marker. Allow the belief to leave your auric field and enter into the bark or paper.)

 

(When you feel like the energy is gone from your aura, place the bark or paper into the fire and say: )

 

May the New Moon accept these old beliefs and transmute them into positive energy for the universe, the earth, and all living beings, including myself.

 

May the light of the Sirius star enter into and expand my heart, filling any space left from the removal of the old, with light, love, courage, positivity, self-confidence, resilience, and manifestation of my intentions for my life.

 

(Gaze into the fire until the bark or paper is completely burned.)

 

In thanksgiving, we offer these gifts from the garden to the Goddess Brigid. We gratefully accept your positive role in our family life. Your power is great and your presence is magnificent. We welcome your energy into our lives.

 

(Place food at the base of the fire. If the fire is hot enough, place the food in the fire.)

 

Sing Holy Water, Sacred Flame 3x or 9 x, depending on how the energy feels

 

We thank you Brigid for your presence here at our ritual,

For giving us warmth of heart and hearth.

As the ancients of old, we have honored you

                                    in the traditional way.

May our love for you be felt through time and space,

                                    across the universe, upon the earth, and under the sea.

Although the light of this fire goes out,

                                    we carry your flame in our breasts.

 

Most blessed Brigid,

Living light,

Bright Arrow

Sudden blaze,

Goddess of the Sun and

of the eternal fire,

we guard your flame.

 

We honor the Lion’s Gate, the time when the Sirius star aligns with the planet earth and welcome its return every year! At this time and for the rest of the month, we will pay attention to our words, our thoughts, and our beliefs, focusing on the ever expanding beauty of our heart centers. Blessed Be.

 

We thank Lady New Moon, dark and mysterious for opening to the possibilities of tomorrow and allowing us a glimpse of our futures, manifest with abundance. Every month you afford us the chance to release into your comforting embrace, to rest in the quiet dark of the night. We honor you! Blessed Be.

 

 

West ~ Guardians of the West, we thank you for your connection and compassion during our ritual. Stay if you will, go if you must, knowing our love for you is ever in our hearts.

 

South ~ Guardians of the South, we thank you for your passion and energy during our ritual. Stay if you will, go if you must, knowing our love for you is ever in our hearts.

 

East ~ Guardians of the East, we thank you for your openness and intelligence during our ritual. Stay if you will, go if you must, knowing our love for you is ever in our hearts.

 

North ~ Guardians of the Earth, we thank you for your abundance and sustenance during our ritual. Stay if you will, go if you must, knowing our love for you is ever in our hearts.

 

The ritual is ended. May we go with the strength and love of the Goddess Brigid, the Lady New Moon, the energies of the Lion’s Gate, and the Guardians of the Elements in our hearts. Blessings of abundance, self-confidence, and success to all who have joined us and participated in our rite. Blessed Be!

 

Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet again!

 

Beyond the Norm...

Yes, it's the season of Lughnasadh. Yes, many Pagans honor the Irish God Lugh or his mother Tailtiu. But this Lughnasadh, I looked at the Wheel of the Year and thought, "Hmmmm, Imbolc is the Sabbat opposite Lughnasadh. I feel like I want to work with that energy this year ~ the energy of Brigid." For if Lugh is the God most associated with Lughnasdh, Brigid is the Goddess connected to Imbolc.

Imbolc is the second picture on the right. (Notice the daffodils.) 

Lughnasadh is the third picture from the top on the left. (Notice the hay and grain imagery.)

I also made the decision to not hold my ritual on August 1. Now I know you all are probably flummoxed at this point, wondering if my Pagan Priestess card should be revoked. (lol) But hear me out. You see, I just got back from my honeymoon on July 30th. It was amazing and magical and wonderful! (The wedding boasted a double rainbow!) However, by the time I finally unpacked and cleaned up and acclimated to "regular life," I was tired. And, in my opinion, there's nothing worse than pushing yourself to perform ritual when you can barely keep your eyes open.

Ritual should be done with an open heart and a clear mind. It is, after all, your opportunity to connect with the Divine and forge a relationship with your deity of choice. Ritual forges a link between the worlds and between time and space. It is liminal, sacred, sublime, and divine. It should be treated as a blessed event, not a chore that "has" to be accomplished. Your frame of mind will change the efficacy of any magic you perform. It could effect the whole season going forward. (It doesn't have to but it could!)

So, instead, I am celebrating my Brigid fire ritual on August 7, one day before the August New Moon. We will be using cool color changing fire wood that we first saw at my sister-in-law's house and picked up in one of those big box hardware stores. We plan on releasing any beliefs that hold us back from fully welcoming and embracing the bounty of the earth and the abundance that is our natural birthright.

I'll post the ritual in a few days so you can choose to celebrate, if you wish! In the meantime, I leave you with the song Holy Water, Sacred Flame from the Circle Round and Sing! cd by Ann Hill. This song to the Goddess Brigid holds special meaning for me as it was one of the first songs I felt comfortable singing out loud. Fifteen years ago, holding my daughter's chubby, toddler hand in mine, I took a deep breath and pushed aside all those old stories and untruths about the beauty (or lack thereof) of my voice. I sang, by myself. Without accompaniment. In honor of Brigid. May you feel the same sense of peace and purpose and acceptance that I felt when I first took that leap and opened up my voice.

Holy Water, Sacred Flame - YouTube  

Brigid by Lisa Iris

 HAPPY LUGHNASADH!

Lughnasadh is one of those holidays that help you to remember the joy of being alive. It's all about the first harvest and reaping the fruits of our labor. For me, living on a farm, the ripe sweetness of tomatoes is a part of Lughnasadh and the crunch of fresh cucumbers and the smells of freshly mown grass. One of my favorite Lughnasadh meals is cucumber sandwiches! So easy to make and soooooo delicious and nutritious!

Lughnasadh Cucumber Sandwiches

Items needed:  your favorite bread; a fresh (preferably organic) cucumber; mayonnaise (I prefer avocado or safflower oil mayonnaise since my honey is allergic to soy); salt and pepper to taste

Peel the cucumber, as much as you need for your sandwich. I usually use 1/4 of a cucumber for one sandwich but you may like more cucumbers than I do! Slice your cucumber into very, very thin discs. As you're slicing, toast your bread to the consistency that you like. I do not like mushy bread so I toast mine to a medium brown color. When your bread is toasted and your cucumber is sliced, spread a goodly amount of mayonnaise on both sides of the bread. The mayonnaise adds the most flavor to your sandwich so don't skimp on it! Add the slices of cucumber one at a time, overlapping them so there are no bare sections of the bread. Continue doing this until all the cucumbers have been placed on your toast. Now liberally salt and pepper the cucumbers to bring out their garden-y goodness. Place the second piece of toast on the cucumbers and squish it down lightly to get the mayonnaise to adhere to the cucumbers. Then cut your sandwich in half (it is much easier to eat that way) and Enjoy!       

Morning Salutations!

 I've decided to begin a new morning routine! Not just for me but for you too! My plan: a two minute pick-me-up to start the morning on the "right foot." Every day. (Yes, I know, that's a commitment but we're all worth it!)

Today's pick me up: Try a different tea

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and go through the motions of the day, doing the same old thing without even really thinking about it. Are you drinking the same old coffee with milk and sugar right now? (I am. Oat milk for me, please!) Routine is great because it lends stability to our lives. That cup of coffee is something we can count on. And, we don't need to think about it.

But sometimes it's important to think about what we are actually doing. Am I drinking that coffee because I'm used to it or because I actually like it? Do I drink it for the caffeine or for the flavor? Consider the reasoning behind your morning coffee drink and make the conscious decision to either continue that pattern or... maybe... shake things up.

Maybe try some tea. 

My new favorite tea is The Child Green Tea from The Mandalorian collection at The Republic of Tea. It has a sweet, subtle favor, enhanced with linden blossoms. Linden blossoms! And there's caffeine. Caffeine! I love the scent of linden blossoms and, right now, they are blooming all over Massachusetts. I see them everywhere I go! As far as caffeine, well, sometimes I need a little energy kick to get me going for the day!

Consider trying something new today and really consider the reasoning behind your many choices. It's your life! Make it rock!
 

American Legends ~ Johnny Appleseed, Authenticity in Action

...One mother's quest to find out the essence of what it means to be American...

Did you know there is a Johnny Appleseed Festival in northern Massachusetts and a Johnny Appleseed parade in Ohio? There are. They take place at the end of September every year, commemorating Johnny Appleseed's birthday and his contribution to the American landscape. 


Johnny Appleseed is a real person whose lineage and life can be traced through history. He was born in Leominster, MA in 1775 and died in Ohio in 1845. During his 70 years on this earth, he saw the land of America rise from a rabble of fledging colonies, competing with each other for trade and reparation from England, to a comprehensive, cohesive, "united" states. 


Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman was not the seed-sower that is depicted in elementary classrooms across the country. Rather, he was a businessman, albeit an unusual one. Legend states that Johnny walked around barefoot in all weather, with a tin can for a hat and tattered rags for clothes. He ate berries, slept outside, made water from snow, and refused to harm any living thing, including bugs. He spouted Bible passages and mini sermons, based on the philosophies of the Swedenborg Christians. One time, when a traveling minister asked "Where is the man who, like the primitive Christian, walks toward heaven barefoot and clad in sackcloth," Johnny Appleseed stepped forward and said, "Here is a primitive Christian." 


While sporting behaviors that could be described as a trifle eccentric, Johnny Appleseed still managed to run a prosperous orchard business. Having taken seeds from the cider mills of Pennsylvania, Johnny travelled west to plant them in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. His orchard empire spread over 100,000 square miles and several of his trees still blossom and fruit to this very day! Johnny sold saplings to his neighbors for 6 cents each but he was not adverse to bartering. He would just as quickly give a sapling away for cornmeal, old clothes, or a promissory note. His pro-active attitude stretched beyond feeding his neighbors to ensuring their safety in all matters. In 1812, he travelled through the night, warning lonely farmsteads of a possible Native retaliation, which had been incited by the British. 


Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman died of pneumonia while on the road in Ohio. He is buried in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on a 12 acre grave site that has been named the "Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park." On his grave, the following phrase has been etched: "He lived for others."

Johnny Appleseed lived an authentic life. He did not merely spout his beliefs and values, rather, he lived them. His life was completely different from the "norm," yet he prospered and, now, is long remembered. Our lesson from Johnny Appleseed is to embrace our differentness, our truth, our authentic self and ACT upon those truths. Johnny Appleseed teaches us that, as Americans, there is room for all our differing thoughts and ideas. There is no "right" way to do things. The only right way is the one we decide for ourselves. Once we have figured that out, we can live fully in our truth, in our authenticity, and be prosperous, joyous, and happy.    

Tiger Moms? What about Yaks?

I just read the article about "Tiger Moms" in Time Magazine. It was the cover story. A cover story about parenting... and not just in Parenting or Fit and Pregnant but in Time! Insert appropriate nonsensical sound here. Color me excited!

To re-cap the article, a Chinese-American woman and Yale Law Professor, Amy Chua, wrote a memoir entitled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which she describes her harsh, strict, traditional Chinese parenting style. Since it is a published memoir and since it is not mouldering in some long-forgotten corner of her study, you can be assured that her style of parenting is extreme. Extremely extreme. And, as such, it has gotten a LOT of press (hence, Time Magazine) and a lot of negative buzz on the Internet. Many mothers have responded emotionally, by calling Chua a "monster." Time, however, in true devil's advocate fashion, has decided to take the "maybe this is necessary because America is falling behind in the world on so many levels" approach. The article that follows Chua's is titled "Tiger Daughter ~ An American in Shanghai reports: I'm glad my kid has a tiger mom."

Now before we all jump on the "tiger bandwagon" and start enforcing perfection and high expectations, I'd like to mention a few things.

1. Look into two Chinese-American authors ~ Maxine Hung Kingston and Amy Tan. They tell a completely different story in relation to the "traditional" Chinese parenting style. (And they're fabulous writers too!) It's important to get lots of points of view when considering altering one's philosophy.

2. Have you ever considered the idea that America, as a country, may have an identity crisis and a lack of self-esteem? I mean, we go around wielding our clubs and making a lot of fuss and racket but spend an inordinate amount of time comparing ourselves to others. I wonder if France does that. Or Great Britain. Or China. Why do we make such a big stink about our values and the need to uphold them around the world while constantly trying to be like everyone else? Why can't we just be ourselves? Why is the "traditional Chinese parenting style" of such interest to us? We're not Chinese.

3. Remember, these children, your children, are going to be looking after you in your old age. And, unlike China, which is culturally-conditioned to honor and revere the elders of the family, America is all about the shiny and new. Elders are only barely tolerated and that's mostly because they have an excellent lobbying force in Washington. If you don't want to end up in the cheapest nursing home in your town, you might re-think being a "Tiger Mom." After all, what goes around, comes around!

Summer Solstice Newsletter ~ June 2010

Welcome summer! Welcome revelation! Welcome heat and fun and freedom and joy!

I love summer. (Can you tell?) But I especially love this summer because it really feels as though the old is on its way out and the new is coming on in. This can be a scary but also a freeing experience. No more excuses for not following your dreams. No more procrastination. No more blaming everyone else for your life and your existence on the planet.

The other day I stumbled across an awesome video that I shared on Facebook. If you are not a Facebook friend of mine and would like to be, just look me up under Michelle Skye Santos or SkyeJubilee@yahoo.com. If you are already a friend... WooHoo! Anyway, I'll share the video with you here again. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/real-life-mermaids-swim-sea-creatures-10801996 This is a ten minute video clip of the show 20/20. It shows two lovely ladies who had the unfortunate experience of being born with feet, when they're really more suited to a tail. That's right, these ladies are soul-deep mermaids. Yet, despite their feet, they are living their mermaid sea lives. Beautiful. Evocative. Moving. I urge you to take a few minutes to watch the video and explore the possibilities. Life's possibilities. Your possibilities. After all, who would have thought that mermaids would ever, EVER be on a semi-serious news program? And shown in such a positive light?!? The world is opening like a beautiful lotus blossom. May you open and bloom as well!

Many, many blessings dearhearts ~

Michelle Skye

Exciting Summer Events

June 9th ~ Free Teleseminar with noted wild herbalist Kiva Rose at 8:30pm Eastern time. To sign up, go to http://www.learningherbs.com/news_issue_se_2.html

June 19th ~ Bellydance benefit at 7pm for a local Amnesty International Group at Middle Street School of Music in Plymouth, MA. Amar Gamal, one of the leading names in bellydance, will perform, along with two other talented ladies. Tix are $10 in advance. Call to reserve them ~ 508-697-3273.

June 26th ~ Free Drawing Down the Sun ritual at 7pm to celebrate the Summer Solstice and the June full moon at Incantations in Plymouth, MA. Honor your own growth and bolster your energy for future projects and goals. Don't forget a pot-luck food or drink item to share! Call the store for more information ~ 508-746-8316.

July 9, Aug 6, and Sept 10 ~ For donation, Reiki Under the Stars event at 7pm in Kingston, MA. Come by and enjoy the outside ~ the stars, the wind, the soft grass ~ as talented Reiki practitioners gather to offer healing. Anyone can come! Bring a blanket and pillow, bring a chair, or just bring yourself and relax in the wonder of the beautiful outdoors. Anyone interested in offering Reiki, please drop me a note. Anyone interested in receiving Reiki, e-mail me for directions! (In case of inclement weather, event will be cancelled.)

July 17 and July 31 ~ Unicorn Healing Attunements at 7pm in Kingston, MA. Michelle Skye, noted metaphysical author and inspired healer, will attune you to three different types of unicorn healing energy. Unicorn energy is just re-asserting itself on the planet and has a very gentle, calm, and ancient feel to it. It is powerful, yet kind, and will allow you to access your own reservoir of love. You will work with all different kinds of unicorns, including the pixie unicorns and your own personal unicorn guide. Don't miss this amazing opportunity to springboard your own growth and healing! Price is $80 for all three attunements, manuals, and certificates. You will be able to attune others after you have taken this class. Call 508-816-1666 to reserve your spot or to ask any questions!