New Lammas/Lughnasadh video!
Author: Joanna van der Hoeven
The Importance of Lammas/Lughnasadh
I recently read something in a new Wiccan book release that made me sad and a little frustrated. In this work, the author stated that Lammas/Lughnasadh celebrations on the Wheel of the Year in Modern Paganism can feel like an outlier, a festival that for many people is hard to connect to, understand or celebrate. If you do not live in a rural area, why celebrate this festival at all? As such an important festival to our ancestors, we have to realise the importance of this festival not only in this context, but also in the modern day.
Historically, Lammas/Lughnasadh is the celebration of the first harvest, or games/festivals occurring just before the first harvest. It was an opportunity for people in a rural setting to meet others from the surrounding countryside, often from many miles away, in order to make trade deals, marriages and also enjoy games of competition. When your world is quite small as you live and breathe your farm/village life, the chance to get out and meet others is so very important, as I’m sure we all have experienced during the various lockdowns since the COVID pandemic. Imagine if that was your world all year round, and this was your only chance to see people outside of your village.
As well, the taking in of the first crops is something that should be celebrated in any nature-based tradition. Whether you live in an urban setting or not, what happens to the harvest in or near where you live, or in your own country on a wider scale does affect you, even if you are in the heart of a downtown metropolis. If the wheat harvest is bad, you will find bread and other wheat-based products go up. Same for any crop, whether that is apples, onions, potatoes, carrots – you get the idea. Not only does this affect you financially, but it can also affect you physically. If you are not supporting organic and locally produced crops as much as is possible within your capability, then you are effectively saying that nature doesn’t matter, and how we get our food is more important than the overall effect on the environment itself. This sort of thinking has led to genetically modified food, the long-term consumption of which we will only begin to notice in the coming years. The vast industry of monoculture crops requires much more pesticides and fungicides than a diverse or organic crop, as permaculture has shown us time and again. There is strength in diversity, and great weakness in monocultures. This applies not only to agriculture, but to all culture.
Everything is connected. Everything is related. To think that you are separate from something is mere illusion. Just because you might not live in a rural setting, doesn’t mean that what happens there has no effect on your life. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and how we treat our environment all affects us every second of every day.
Let’s remember this when it comes to Lammas/Lughnasadh; let us remember the interconnectedness of all things, and the sacredness of all things. Let us remember how important this time was for our ancestors, and how important it is still, today, wherever we live. It’s not an abstract concept, especially if we follow a nature-based tradition. It is a real, living, breathing, contributing part of our world, and should be one of the most important festivals in the Wheel of the Year.
To find out more about Lammas/Lughnasadh, I have written about it and the other festivals celebrated in Druidry and much of Modern Paganism in my book, The Book of Hedge Druidry: A Complete Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.
Book Review: Your Moontime Magic
It may seem strange, after just having a hysterectomy to be writing a review for a book about menstruation, but I had wanted to review this book before I knew I was to have this surgery. Maureen Theresa Smith’s Your Moontime Magic: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Your Period and Loving Your Body is a great little book that I wish I had in my hands when I first began menstruating. Though I’d had all the facts, and had support from my family and doctor, still my periods were a difficult and painful time, every month, since the age of eleven (I’m now 45, going on 46). Perhaps this book could have helped me, at least in a spiritual sense, to come to terms with my monthly periods when I was younger, the pain and the release, the cycles within cycles.
Published by New World Library, this book was previously released as First Moon in 2005. However, the information and advice go far beyond the first moon, and can help you throughout your life in working with your cycle, or helping someone else understand and see the spiritual nature of this women’s journey.
My own journey began early, a couple of months before my twelfth birthday (I had not yet started high school). Very painful, each month they would put me out of commission for a few days until I got some high dosage painkillers from my doctor when I was fourteen, and then later put on the pill when I was fifteen (for medical reasons). But when I went off the pill when I was 21, everything came back just as before. Little did I know that I suffered from endometriosis, as well as fibroids and ovarian cysts later in life (which is why I had to have a hysterectomy this year). Getting my period each month was a lot of work, both mentally and physically, as I prepared myself for the pain and the hassle of trying to deal with this and also with life in general.
Had I set up a spiritual practice around this monthly cycle, perhaps things might have been different. Your Moontime Magic definitely could help with that – it is filled not only with biological facts and information, but also rituals, crafts and imaginative ways of working with your monthly cycle. It discusses the oft taboo subjects of PMS and body changes, as well as going deeper into self-image and how that creates the world that you inhabit in this body. What I especially enjoyed was the fact that Smith included things like how your dreams change when you menstruate, how to work with that and allow them to inspire your own creativity. She also talks about how your friendships will change and grow as you develop into your own power as a woman, connecting to your power as well as connecting to nature. She uses language that is easy to understand, and it’s like having a chat with your cool aunt at the dining table about all these things.
If you have a daughter who is coming to this time in her life, or know someone who is, I highly recommend this book. It is also helpful to have others in the family read it, to understand more about women’s cycles and what they go through in their lives. It teaches us to take care of ourselves, our physical and inner selves, and to shine – “like the moon, there are times when you can be hidden from the world, and times when you can shine full and bright”.
Blessings to all women out there, wherever you are in your life’s journey.
New Video: The Healing Garden
It’s nice to get the camera out again, and here’s a little video I shot yesterday 🙂
New Vlog Up!
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A Small, Beautiful World
Though my world is very small right now as I’m recovering, it is still beautiful. Sunset walk tonight down the lane from my house, across the stream to the meadow. My husband helped out with the long-range shots of me 🙂
Women in Druidry Online Conference
Hello! It’s my great pleasure and indeed an honour to share with you the details of this upcoming conference, of which I’ll be a panelist. While I’m still recovering from surgery, I won’t be presenting a workshop, but I can still participate in the discussion, and so I’m very much looking forward to it! Here are the details from the website – I hope to see you there!
If you were to ask someone to describe an historical Druid, most would overwhelmingly paint a picture of a wise old man with a long grey beard and white flowing robes, but this tells only part of the story.
An elite and learned social caste in ancient Celtic cultures, Druids enjoyed many privileges – such as exemption from taxes and from serving during war – and were accorded a great amount of honor and social power.
They were priests and augurs, teachers and judges, transmitters of history, and holders of sacred memory.
They were educated and deeply respected men, to be sure…
And, they were also women.
As part of an effort to broaden the general understanding and depiction of ancient Druids to include the women who earned this status, as well as to amplify the voices of women who walk a modern-day druidic path, The Coracle and the Sisterhood of Avalon are proud to be hosting the Women in Druidry Conference 2020.
In this first of what we hope will become an annual offering, we have gathered together accomplished women practitioners, leaders, authors, and teachers representing a variety of modern Druidic (and Druid-adjacent) orders and traditions. Together, we will explore Druidic beliefs and traditions, discuss the differences and similarities between these modern pathways, and share some personal experiences and insights about walking a Druidic path as a female practitioner.
This year’s panelists will be:
Danu Forest
Kristal Jenks
Bonnie Lynn Landry
Cerri Lee
Jhenah Telyndru
Joanna van der Hoeven
Our panel discussion will be followed by several workshops, including:
The Faery Faith in Gaelic Folk Magic, presented by Danu Forest
Ritual as a Tool for Magical Archeology, presented by Cerri Lee.
Detailed information about our presenters and their offerings can be found on our website:
Conference and Registration Details
The Women in Druidry Conference will take place on Sunday, 19 July 2020 from 10am to 4:30pm EDT (3:00pm – 9:30 GMT). This online conference will be recorded and audio will be made available to every paid attendee.
Conference admission is open to anyone of any gender or spiritual tradition.
Tickets for the conference are $20.00, with 80 spots available. Should we encounter a greater demand, we will consider expanding the amount of people we can accommodate.
For more information and to register, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/WomenInDruidry2020
Thank you for your interest! We hope you will be able to join us for this exciting event!
On the Road to Recovery…
I’m back home, after a successful surgery and am now on the mend. I just wanted to say how much I appreciated all the staff at the Raedwald Ward at Ipswich Hospital – they truly went above and beyond for each of their patients. The surgeon, the anaesthetist, the nurses and the orderlies – they really helped me get through a difficult life experience. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, because I had to do it alone during this pandemic. However, you didn’t feel alone, as everyone did their utmost to keep you calm, assured and more. When all you can see are people’s eyes (because of masks), you really start to notice the emotion that is held within each person’s eyes. The kindness and compassion – it really, really struck me how much each person truly cared about each and every patient. From the kind anaesthetist and the compassionate orderly who gently put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently with encouragement as I was being injected into my spine, to the surgeon who really took the time to talk to me on the phone before and also in the hospital before and after – she was there with me the whole way. The nurses – so helpful, so kind and so caring, and who took the time to talk me through my fears and anxieties when it all became overwhelming, sharing their own experiences and just sitting down with me. It all just blew me away. I never expected anything like this, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of them.
As well, a huge thanks to everyone who was holding space for me, in their thoughts and prayers. Even though I walked into the hospital alone, I had all my friends and family with me in spirit. I don’t think I would ever have recovered so quickly had it not been for all the healing energy that was being sent my way. I feel truly, truly blessed to have such people in my life. My heart is full each time I think of everyone who sent their healing my way, and though the recovery will last through the summer, it has been already been amazingly quick. It just goes to show what love and kindness can do in the world, and you all have my deepest gratitude. These words just barely scratch the surface of the emotion that I am feeling right now, and my love goes out to you all. xoxo
Some Time Off…
Hello everyone! This is just a head’s up to let you all know that I will be taking a few weeks off, as my surgery has now been rescheduled finally! So, I shall be recovering soon, good as new, and ready to keep sharing blogs posts, insights, videos, music and more with you all. In the meantime, I’m in isolation with my garden, my cats and my husband 🙂 Thank you all so much for your support – thank you to all my subscribers, readers, and commentators. You’ve all made this wonderful journey so much richer for being a part of it.
The Inverse of the Summit
White Peaks, Derbyshire, taken on a walking holiday
Most people who enjoy hiking know that getting to the top of a mountain can be difficult. But for those who are experienced, perhaps after about 40 years of climbing those mountains, we begin to understand that it is the descent that is actually the more challenging of the two. Sure, you become breathless as you make your way slowly up the mountainside, sweat on your brow and your legs muscles pumping. But on the way down, you have to take special care, your balance comes into play, and one wrong move can leave you stranded on that mountainside awaiting rescue.
And it’s this analogy that I’ve come to understand as the integration of those rare moments of epiphany in our lives. Getting to the mountaintop can be the easy part; coming back home can be the more difficult. We got to the top, now we’re on our return journey, tired, but taking the memory and experience with us to internalise. Having the epiphany is easy – integrating it into every day is the more difficult part of the journey. It’s the inverse of the mountain’s peak, and once we’ve traversed this sometimes treacherous way, it’s then that we can find that lovely and level middle ground.
It doesn’t matter whether it was a small realisation or a grand epiphany that you’ve come to in your life; the really important thing is how to integrate it into your soul and your life. You can’t just have it and then forget about it – or, you could, but then what’s the point? The real point is to make it a part of your life, each and every day. To live the realisation, to make it a reality.
And it’s not easy. Our everyday lives can be so busy, and filled with a plethora of tasks and minutiae that can take precedence unless we are careful about how we manage our integration. It’s all good to go on a retreat, to meditate, to do pathworking or journeying work, even spellwork, but then it’s up to us to bring that into our lives as well, and not just let it rest “out there in the universe”. We have to make it manifest, we have to make time and integrate the work. We have to come down that mountain.
And it can seem dull and boring, all the repetitive tasks that we have to do each day, when we’d rather be receiving even more epiphanies. We have to do the dishes, clean the bathroom, cook our meals, teach our kids, feed the cats, mow the lawn, pay the bills, etc. We have to get on with the chores of the day.
My little Kiri cat 🙂
But these elements, numerous as they are, form such a large part of our lives. So why shouldn’t we make them even more special, and give them more significance? Why can’t we internalise our hard work and let that inspiration flow out in everything that we do? It’s all a matter of perspective. On the summit, it’s easy to see all around you, to have that greater perspective. Scooping out the poop in the kitty litter box isn’t nearly as grand.
But that revelatory experience doesn’t have to fade with time. We can carry that in our souls, even when we’re running to the bin with a very stinky scoop of poop. For me, the act of service helps me to continue my revelatory experiences in everything that I do. It’s something that we’ve always taught at Druid College, and something which I’ve expanded even further in my studies and work with the Sisterhood of Avalon. That service, whether it’s working for your community or taking care of your stinky cats can be the thing that connects you to everything else. It is in those moments of interconnection that we realise that we are all a part of a greater tapestry of life, woven from many threads, stronger and even more beautiful when we support each other.
That larger perspective is carried in our hearts and minds, and into everything that we do, from the choices we make each and every day to the way we interact with people every single moment. And it’s not easy. Coming down the mountain there are loose rocks and stones that can trip us up or roll under our feet, causing us to lose our balance, wrench our knee, put our back out. But if we’re careful, if we’re mindful, we can hopefully get back to everyday life intact and in good condition to keep that momentum going. There are the pitfalls of losing our way, losing the daylight, losing the map or compass. But unless we’re really unlucky, most of us will make it back and into our nice, warm homes where we can integrate fully the experience. And it’s keeping that feeling in our hearts as we go about our daily tasks can be equally as challenging. That is the real inverse of the summit.
But once we have achieved that, then we find the level path that allows us a good vantage point, and is much easier to manage as well. We find that balance point in our heart and souls, and the way forward becomes more pleasant. So the next time you reach that mountaintop in your life, find a word that summarises the experience, something that you can recall when you are cleaning a clogged drain, dealing with a difficult neighbour, or sitting in a lonely silence. This is what you can use to make the vision real, to make the intangible, tangible. Manifest this in your life, and then all that work will truly be worth it.
The valley where I grew up in Quebec, taken from the lovely and level trail of an old disused railway.
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Down the Forest Path 