Gleaning Summer

"Now is the time of the First Harvest,

when bounties of nature give of themselves

so that we may survive.

O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain,

grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you

prepare to deliver yourself under the sickle of the

goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.

O Goddess of the Dark Moon,

teach me the secrets of rebirth

as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.

I partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies

with mine that I may continue my quest for the starry

wisdom of perfection.

O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun,

gracious ones before Whom the stars halt their courses,

I offer my thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth.

May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in

the Mothers breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth

of the coming Spring."

~ Scott Cunningham, Lammas Ritual

"O Lugh of the Long Arm:

You arch over earth

To kiss the corn,

To call it forth,

To see it born.

Your hillslopes flaunt,

breathe golden bees.

From parched fields

Scant dewfall flees.

Your chest is opened

Your heart exposed

Your blood like bronze

And amber flows.

Sun sears your flesh

Asprawl in thistles

Through your wound

Your life’s breath whistles.

You laid you down

In fragrant thyme,

To bleed the sun’s

Entranced decline.

You wrestled harvest,

Corn to capture –

Now we see at sunfall

Your face of rapture."

~ Lughnasadh Ritual by Llwyn y Ser, The Grove of the Stars

"O Spirit of the Summertime!

Bring back the roses to the dells;

The swallow from her distant clime,

The honey-bee from drowsy cells.

Bring back the friendship of the sun;

The gilded evenings, calm and late,

When merry children homeward run,

And peeping stars bid lovers wait.

Bring back the singing; and the scent

Of meadowlands at dewy prime;—

Oh, bring again my heart's content,

Thou Spirit of the Summertime!"

-  William Allingham

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,

Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;

Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing

Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."

~ Michelle L. Thieme, August's Crown