The Moon Path Chapter of Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) will host a Mid Summer First Harvest Sun Celebration 7:00 pm, Saturday, August 1, 2009, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Lauderdale, 3970 NW 21st Ave. (between Commercial and Oakland Park), Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33309, 954-484-6734 Free. Bring canned or non-perishable food items, to be donated to the Cooperative Feeding Program of Broward County. The public is invited to attend the Mid Summer First Harvest Sun Celebration, which will honor the Ancient Tradition. During the Mid Summer First Harvest Sun Celebration there will be drumming, dancing, and chanting. Bring food and drink to share as well as your drums and percussion instruments for the feast and drum circle to follow the Celebration. Feel free to come dressed in garb. Visit the CUUPS Moon Path Chapter website for details on pagan activities. http://MoonPathCUUPS.org . Mid Summer First Harvest Cross Quarter is on August 6th when the Sun reaches 15 degrees Leo but it is always celebrated on July 31/August 1. The full moon in August is called the Corn Moon. This year the Corn Moon is 00 55 UT August 06, 2009. This is the time of year for a celebration and festival of the Mid Summer First Harvest. The early crops are being brought in and this is the start of winter storing. This is the time of feasting on the Mid Summer First Harvest and breads that are made from the early grains of barley and corn. This is when days start to shorten, and marks the time of less and less sunlight until Fall Equinox, when light and dark are equal. It is the first of three harvest festivals. The other two being Fall Equinox and November 1 (Mid Autumn). It is common ritual to bake special ceremonial breads to honor the Gods and Goddesses. The grinding of the grain represents the harvest and death (or transition), adding sprouted wheat and yeast represents resurrection, and the consumption of the food represents the cycles of nature and new life. The Christian religion adopted this theme and called it 'Lammas', meaning 'loaf-mass', a time when newly baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar. Mid Summer First Harvest honors all of the Grain Harvest Goddesses and Gods as well as the Goddesses and Gods of Death and Resurrection: Sekhmet, Egypt; Tammuz, Sumerian; Adonis, Assyrian/Babylonian; Demeter, Greek; Persephone, Greek; Ceres, Roman; Freyja, Norse; Sif, Norse; Bride, Celtic. It is a time of thankfulness to the Goddess and God for their help in the plenty of now and of prayers for a full harvest for the winter that lies ahead. The ancient Egyptians had both a lunar calendar, and a 365 day solar calendar, which was divided into three seasons of four months each. Each solar month consisted of 30 days (3 weeks of 10 days per week). At the end of the solar year, five additional days, 'Heriu-renpet', were added for the birth of the Goddesses/Gods. An extra 'leap' day would be added as needed. The heliacal rise of Sirius just before dawn was an extremely important event for the ancient Egyptians. The first visibility of the star Sirius on the morning sky, called heliacal rising, fell close to the Inundation of the Nile and was the beginning of the Ancient Egyptian seasonal year. The first new moon after the heliacal rising was the begining of the lunar year. 3,000 years ago the heliacal rising was in early July, currently it is around August 1st. Each lunar month was named after an Ancient Egyptian Goddess, God, or major festival. In a year with 13 new moons, the 13th lunar month was added to the end of the year. The Ancient Egyptian twelth lunar month from July 22, 2009 to August 19, 2009 is Wep-Renpet/mswt-Ra/Mesore. Sacred to Horus/Heru/AAkhuti, the falcon shaped sky God of order, justice, ruler of the day, east and the rising Sun with eyes of the moon and sun. The Ancient Egyptian first lunar month from August 20, 2009 to September 17, 2009 is Tekhy/Djehuty/Thoth(Thuthy). Sacred to Thoth/Tekhi/Tehuti, the ibis-headed (somtimes a full baboon) moon God of truth, writing, and figuring things. Day one is the Feast of Thoth, Opet: The marriage of Ammon-Re to his wife Ammonet. The Birth of Aten is day three. This month is also Holy to Sekhmet (The destructive form of Hathor.) Isis is the Greek name for Hathor. Sekhmet and Hathor transformed into each other. On many ancient temple text they are refered to as one and the same Goddess. Ptah is the consort of Sekhmet and is depicted the same as Osiris, the consort of Isis. Mysteries of Osiris and the Feast of Lights of Isis are festivals celebrated during this lunar month. There is evidence that indicates that this Festival is the true "Festival of Intoxication." The possible mistaken belief that it honors Thoth not Hathor/Sekhmet stems from the fact that the feast falls in the month of Thoth. Strong evidence points to the myth recounting the destruction of mankind as the basis for this festival. According to this story, in order to end Hathor’s bloody rampage, Re tricked her into drinking beer laced with mandrake and red ocher. He flooded Egypt with this drugged beer. Hathor/Sekhmet, thinking it was blood, consumed so much of it that she became drunk and passed out, and she lost interest in destroying humanity. The yearly Innundation by the Nile, with its rich, red silt, is the earthly re-enactment of this flood of beer. This feast of intoxication is the ancient Egyptian's "October fest." Day one is the Feast of Thoth, Opet: The marriage of Ammon-Re to his wife Ammonet. The Birth of Aten is day three. On the 9th day is the Procession of Hathor and Ihy. This is a celebration of the Goddess Hathor/Hwt-Hrw and Her son Ihy. This is a festival of exuberance, joy and passion. Ihy is the personification of the ectasy and joy that emanates as the sound of the Sistrum, the sacred rattle of Egyptian ritual. He is a God of happiness, the zest for living and the ability to abandon oneself to the moment. This festival celebrates these qualities through sacred texts and dance. The Festival of Inebriation was celebrated from the 20th to the 24th day. In Ancient Egypt the terms "drunkeness" and "inebriation" did not refer soley to intoxication through the use of substances. Rather inebriation was seen as a state of ecstasy that frequently bordered on trance in which communication with Gods was possible. As such, these states of intoxication were induced through ritual, with the help of chanting and music. There is evidence that indicates that this Festival is the true "Festival of Intoxication." The possible mistaken belief that it honors Thoth not Hathor/Sekhmet stems from the fact that the feast falls in the month of Thoth. Strong evidence points to the myth recounting the destruction of mankind as the basis for this festival. According to this story, in order to end Hathor’s bloody rampage, Re tricked her into drinking beer laced with mandrake and red ocher. He flooded Egypt with this drugged beer. Hathor/Sekhmet, thinking it was blood, consumed so much of it that she became drunk and passed out, and she lost interest in destroying humanity. The yearly Innundation by the Nile, with its rich, red silt, is the earthly re-enactment of this flood of beer. This feast of intoxication is the ancient Egyptian's "October fest." The Ancient Egyptian twelth solar month from June 27 to July 26 is Shomu/Shemu IV (low-water) when crops were harvested. The Kemet 'Heriu-renpet' from July 27 to July 31 celebrates the birth of the Goddesses/Gods: Wesir/'Osiris', Heru-Wer/'Horus', Set/'Seth', Aset/'Isis' and Nebthet/'Nephthys'. The Ancient Egyptian first solar month from August 1 to August 30 is Akhet I (innundation) when the nile flooded. The first day was when the Ancient Egyptian New Year Wep Renpet, one of the most sacred festivals, was celebrated. The first and third lunar months are the Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet's ritual times. Great feasting, drinking, and merry making take place during Her rituals. She is a Sun Goddess as well as the Goddess of destruction, rebirth, and healing. She is called the Lady of the place of the beginning of time. One who was before the Gods were. She holds an Ankh in one hand and a Lotus Wand in the other; She wears a red dress. Her Name is derived from the Egyptian word 'Sekhem', which means "power" or "might". The word sekhem' is literally inseparable from Sekhmet and Her worship. Sekhmet's main cult center was located in Memphis (Men-nefer)and was part of the Divine Triad there, which was made up of Sekhmet, Ptah, and Nefertem. Sekhmet is the wife of Ptah, the 'Creator' Netjer of the Ancient Egyptians and their son is called Nefertem, who is also closely associated with healers and healing. Sekhmet's action is always the right, or 'appropriate action'. When She destroys it is an appropriate destruction or vengeance. It is never chaotic or random. It is always what is needed at the time. She removes threats and punishes those who do wrong against Ma'at. The God Ptah is her consort and Nefertem is their son. The ancient Hellenic lunar months would start on the new moon and a new day would start at sunset. The new year would start on the new moon before the Autumn Equinox. Except for Athens which used the new moon following the Summer Solstice. In a year with 13 new moons, the 13th lunar month was inserted between the 4th and 5th lunar months around December/January. A different Goddess/God was honored for the full moon of the month. The ancient Hellenic eleventh lunar month from July 22, 2009 to August 19, 2009 is Hekatombaion and the full moon on JULY 30 is dedicated to Zeus (Jupiter), the God of Heaven and Earth, and of all the Olympian Gods; There were many ancient festivals during the month of Hekatombaion. The Aphrodisia festival, a bathing festival of Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite of All Peoples) and Peitho (Persuasion), on the 4th; The Kronia is a festival in honor of Kronos as a god of the grain harvest on the 12th day; The Panathenaia, the celebration of Athena's birthday on the 28th, for according to tradition 28 Hekatombion was the day She burst from Zeus's head (depicted on the east pediment of the Parthenon), though it is Her day, all the Olympians attend the festivities, this is a sacred feast at which gods and mortals celebrate Athena's birthday together. The ancient Hellenic twelfth lunar month from August 20, 2009 to September 17, 2009 is Metageitnion and the full moon on August 28 is dedicated to Dimitra (Demeter) Goddess of fertility, earth and grain. The Metageitnia festival is celebrated on the 7th day, and it is a small festival in honour of Apollo in His capacity as bringer of harmony. It is a celebration of good relations with neighbours. From the 15th day to the 18th day is Eleusinia, a festival of games celebrated at Eleusis (not the celebration of the Eleusinian Mysteries). The Roman calendar was originally lunar. The first days was the kalends (from which the modern word calendar is derived), the first quarter was the nones, and the full moon was the ides. A crown of flowers was hung over the hearth, and sacrifices were made to the Lares, or household gods on the kalends, nones, ides, and all feast days. The waning moon was the unlucky part of the month and had no name. The days were numbered backward from the first of the next month. The ancient Roman solar calendar consisted of 10 months in a year of 304 days. The Romans seem to have ignored the remaining 61 days, which fell in the middle of winter, the unmarked "Terror Time". The 10 named months were Martius "March", Aprilis "April", Maius "May", Junius "June", Quintilis "July", Sextilis "August", September "September", October "October", November "November", December "December". The year began with Martius "March". Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome circa 700 BC, added the two months Januarius "January" and Februarius "February". He also moved the beginning of the year from Marius to Januarius. This made the Roman year 365 days long. The month of Julius, the modern July, is named after Julius Caesar. Julius was originally the fifth month of the Roman civil year, and had the name of Quinctilis, from the Latin word for fifth, quintus. Augustus Caesar clarified and completed the calendar reform of Julius Caesar. In the process, he also renamed the month of Sexilis to August to honor himself. Lughnasad, (LOO-nah-sah) (Irish Gaelic) traditionally celebrated on August 1, is a festival characterized by races, games and contests of all sorts and feasting on the year's first fruits. Originating as a harvest festival, it is associated with the Irish sun-god Lugh, or Samildanach, master of many arts and skills. Lugnasadh means the "Commemoration of Lugh", not Lugh's death but the death of his foster mother Taillte, the goddess of agriculture who died while clearing the Irish forests in preparation for planting. In Ireland there were different type of Fairs: The "feis" that was a national fair, the "dal" that was a tribal or area fair, and the "mor-dal" that was the great assembly - the Tailltenn Fair is the most famous example of this. This was also the time of Tailltean marriages or handfasting for a year and a day. This was a common form of marriage until the 1500's, but one you didn't bother the priests about. Usually it was officiated over by a poet, bard, Druid, or a priest/ess of the old religion. The Druids of old considered this festival a very important part of social order and religious importance. At this time the grain stands high in the fields and the days are hot and lazy. It is a festival where sharing between all present, of the harvest and its bounty, forms a closeness or bond. The highlight of this festival was the 'Catherine wheel'. A large wagon wheel was taken to the top of a hill, covered with tar, set aflame, and ceremoniously rolled down the hill. Yet in this time of celebration, it is also on everyone's mind to prepare for the coming winter, against the coming darkness. Not only is food prepared for winter. It is a time to sit and take a moment to take stock of your life. Is there something lacking? Can something be done about it? The Year is divided into Quarters by the Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and the Autumn Equinox. Halfway beteen the Solstice and and Equinox is the Cross Quarter. These Quarters and Cross Quarters are called the Wheel of the Year of the Sun. Mid Summer First Harvest is one of the 4 Cross Quarter Sun Celebrations in the Wheel of the Year. It is halfway between 2 Quarter Sun Celebrations, Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox. Exactly opposite Mid Winter on the wheel of the year. In the highlands of Scotland and England all the Crossquarter sun days are considered times of being able to cross over to the "other world". The eight Sun Celebrations in the Wheel of the Year are: Wiccan name: Druid Name Samhain November 1 (Cross Quarter) Yule December 20-22 (Winter Solstice) Alban Arthan Imbolc Feburary 2 (Cross Quarter) Ostara March 20-22 (Spring Equinox) Alban Eiler Beltaine May 1 (Cross Quarter) Litha June 20-22 (Summer Solstice) Alban Hefin Lammas August 1 (Cross Quarter) Mabon September 20-22 (Autumn Equinox) Alban Elfed |
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| Last updated 09/24/08 |