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CYCLES OF THE EARTHSUMMER SOLSTICE, LAMMAS & THE HARVEST TIDE
The sun reaches its zenith at the Summer Solstice marking the strength and power of summer’s light – the peak of summer. The land expresses this fullness; trees are covered with great canopies of green, summer meadows are full of wild flowers, garden flowers are in full bloom, and the crops planted earlier in the year are reaching the peak of their growth. This is a time of abundance, of life force at its height. And this is reflected within in an inner sense of fullness and maturity that follow the earlier periods of fast growth and expansion. This is a time of vitality and confidence, of taking our place out in the world, for the Maiden Goddess has now passed through a transition and assumed the mantle of the Mother. There is a sense of accomplishment and achievement having taken place, and of maturation and the stability which arises from this, but we can still use this strength and self confidence to continue to develop our creative projects before the inevitable decline which follows this peak of the sun’s powers. Lammas tide follows in early August and marks the beginning of the harvest season. Days begin to shorten, the weather is still hot but trees and leaves have lost their earlier freshness and flowers are now beginning to seed. There is a languorous quality to this period of summer as the power of growth begins to subside whilst the days remain still and hot. The crops now are ripening in the fields and it is time to begin cutting the fields of barley and wheat – of gathering in the harvest. And within, we too begin to reap the fruits of the creative cycle of the year. This is the time then to begin to harvest in the results of those projects and plans which were dreamed into life at midwinter.
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