Happy Full Moon in Aquarius, the Lionsgate Portal and Lughnasadh!
I hope this newsletter finds you well as we enter a new month, and hopefully some more summery weather for the weeks to come! The Wheel of the Year has turned once again which means that this newsletter edition is open to everyone, with four more in the archives for this year so far. Follow the link via the button below to read them.
Themes for this free edition include some musings on Lughnasadh (also known as Lammas), a look at the Lionsgate Portal and tonight’s Full Moon (also known as the Grain Moon). If you’re an avid gardener who’s fighting certain weeds at the moment, I also share a recipe for how to make flour using Dock seeds!
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Today (1 August) is the first of the 3 harvest festivals (or sabbats) in the Wheel of the Year - the grain harvest which we see reflected in the landscape around us (in the Northern hemisphere) with fields of wheat and barley being harvested when the weather permits. The Christian name for this festival Lammas translates to ‘loaf mass’ and the Gaelic name, Lughnasadh refers to the Celtic God Lugh (or Lug) and násad (an assembly). There is some debate over the etymology of the word Lugh with some stating it translates from a Proto-Indo-European root Lewgh which means ‘to bind by oath’ whereas others claim Lugh means ‘light’. Falling halfway between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox, this is still a time where there is ample early morning light for harvesting crops, however the light is waning towards the time when daytime and nighttime will be equal on the Autumn Equinox.
Traditions to mark this sabbat include baking a loaf of bread with this year’s newly harvested grain - this doesn’t have to be wheat though. One of the main tasks from the last few weeks on the large (and wild) allotment I help to tend, has been dead-heading the Docks which have gone to flower, and then rapidly to seed, to prevent them from spreading. Below I’ve shared a recipe for how to harvest their seeds to make a flour from them.
Dock seed flour recipe
As a relative of buckwheat, flour made from Dock can be quite dense so is best used in recipes such as chocolate brownies and crackers. Use dock seed flour for 25% of the quantity of flour required by your recipe then for the remaining 75% a lighter flour such as wheat or a gluten-free blend. When harvesting your seeds, it’s best to identify Curly Dock rather than Broadleaved Dock as their seeds tend to be more bitter.
Once you’ve identified a patch of Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) to harvest strip the bronze seeds from the tall stems and take home.
Pick over the seeds removing any part of the plant that’s green.
Dry in a dehydrator or low temperature in the oven.
Add to a high-speed blender such as a coffee grinder or Nutribullet.
Ta-da! You now have a gluten-free flour to add to your favourite recipes.
For more details and images, I recommend this website.
Lionsgate Portal
The Lionsgate portal is an annual phenomenon which peaks on 8th August every year. It occurs when Sirius - the brightest star we can see from Earth - aligns with our planet and the constellation known as Orion’s Belt. It’s believed that Ancient Egyptians knew about this phenomenon since the Pyramids of Giza align with the position of Orion’s Belt in the sky at this time of year and they also worshipped Sirius in the form of the goddess Sopdet to celebrate Sirius' return in the morning sky and the beginning of a new year.
This alignment of the stars is known as the Lionsgate Portal as we’re now in Leo season (represented by the lion) with the sun falling in this sign. The portal is believed to be open from 26th July to 12th August, peaking on 8th August. Astrologers believe that this is a time to tap into infinite abundance and creativity, being aware of signs and messages to help us step into a new version of ourselves. This is time to tap into our higher consciousness - illuminating who we truly are and what we want to manifest for our lives. You may be experiencing wild dreams, headaches and a heavy feeling - this can be a sign that dense energy is shifting and being released as you evolve into a new version of yourself.
Some journalling prompts for the Lionsgate Portal:
What patterns am I ready to let go of?
How am I different today than I was yesterday?
What one thing can I do today to follow my calling?
Full Grain Moon in Aquarius
This month’s Full Moon is the second Super Moon of the year with the first being in July which I wrote to you about in this edition. The Moon will fall in the Western Zodiac sign of Aquarius - the water bearer, a sign which is synonymous with humanitarian causes. Also known by our Anglo-Saxon ancestors as the Grain Moon since this the Full Moon in August illuminates the fields at night, allowing extra time to bring in the important grain harvest. This is the first of two Full Moons in August, with the second at the end of the month being known as a Blue Moon. For those of us in the U.K the moon becomes full at 18:31 this evening (1 August). This is a great time for journalling (see prompts above) and other self-care practices such as meditation.
According to Sadie Pickering from Soul Beauty Rituals this is:
an ideal time to tune into your unique soul and find the freedom to be fully who you are, to discover your gift to share with humanity which will raise the vibration of those around you and the planet. This moon is a giving-back moon (just like the Star card in the Tarot), but in order to give it helps to be full ourselves (otherwise we're pouring from an empty or half filled cup) and with the sun in heart-centred Leo we will be returning to our hearts to bathe in unconditional love until we are overflowing with so much to spare.
Retreats
Lastly, after sharing in an earlier newsletter that I’ll be co-running a pre-Samhain retreat on the North Devon coast with my wonderfully talented friend Ash Bond I’m delighted to let you know that 12 spaces have been filled and we only have 2 left!! Those of you who’ve previously expressed an interest will have heard about this via email already, but if you’d like to be added to this mailing list for information on how to reserve one of the limited spaces, please leave your email via the button below. You can also look back at May’s Full moon newsletter to catch up on all the details.
That’s all from me for this month.
The next edition of this newsletter, which comes out on 16 August, will only be available to Moontime Musings subscribers. Please consider subscribing for just £3 a month or £35 a year to help support the time and energy that goes into creating these newsletters. Please feel free to share this free edtion with your friends and family.
Thank you for reading and Full Moon blessings.
Charly x