Lammas has come and gone, and John Barleycorn has been cut down at the knee. The three men from the west have taken him on their cart; he has been threshed and now waits to be transformed into flour, beer, and whisky. It is always a bittersweet festival for me as it represents the height of Summer, but also the first harvest, and thus the bringer of Autumn.
Now September has arrived, and the Autumn Equinox is only a few weeks away. I look back at a Spring and Summer that have seemingly flown by in the blink of an eye, but the truth is that they’ve been filled with live concerts, album creation, rituals, BBQs, and time with friends. A scorcher of a summer, too, that has warmed this Sun worshipper to the core. Now the rain has arrived, and there is that slight autumnal smell in the air in the early morning and late evening. It’s not a smell that I would normally savour, but I can already feel that this year is different, and there is even a part of this Geminian lizard who is quite looking forward to the longer nights and the time to reflect, heal, even hibernate, if that were an option.
Here in England, September was known as Hāliġmōnaþ – Holy Month. A name recorded by the Venerable Bede, along with other Old English month names. A Holy Month because of the harvest? That was another name for September – Harvest Month. The final month of Summer before the Winter Full Moon (Winterfylleþ), the old name for October (a name I absolutely love), and the beginning of Winter, the gateway to November, Blōtmōnaþ (Blood Month), the time when cattle were slaughtered and salted for winter supplies. The similarities between Winterfylleþ and Samhain are obvious to this Druid who has walked this path for decades. Different cultures give them different names, but they are ultimately about a human relationship with the turning seasons, and right now my eyes are caught by the berries in the bushes, by the apples, sloes, haws and pears in the trees. The Earth Mother is fit to burst with gifts of the harvest season. A Hāliġmōnaþ – a Holy Month indeed.
And as that bounty is revealed, so the Green Man’s face will turn from green to russet, amber, browns, and gold. Then to fall to the ground, as John Barleycorn fell in the fields. In my heart I feel thankfulness, love and wonder for our magical and wondrous home. Nature continues to do what nature does, and as I look out at the night sky, at all those countless stars, and wonder if there really is another sphere with life somewhere out there, I feel blessed and thankful to be alive here, now.
Blessings of the Holy Month, my friends!
8 thoughts on “Thinking About: September and the Harvest Season”
This really resonates with where my thoughts have been turning as Mabon approaches. I keep coming back to the question: what are we harvesting this Mabon?
Not only the obvious fruits of the year, but the things that have quietly come to fruition in our own lives: the work, relationships, changes, lessons and creative seeds that began much earlier in the year.
For me there is something particularly powerful about this point in the turning year because we are able to hold both things at once: the harvest of what has been, and the possibility of what will be. The fruit is gathered, but within it are the seeds that will be carried into the darkness.
Perhaps that is why the coming longer nights feel less like an ending to me and more like a different kind of beginning: a time to take the full measure of what the year has given us, and to consider what we want to carry forward.
Blessings of Hāliġmōnaþ, Damh.
Wonderful words! It sounds like music of my soul! Thanks!
I’ve always felt, as you have, not looking forward to those heralds of the darker days of the year to come but not this year. Today was the first real rainfall since June and how I welcomed the smell of it, the coolness of it and the sense of almost hearing the plants and trees giving thanks as I did. This autumn I think will be very different; a time when nature can recover her strength a little before the long dark nights of winter bring rest to her.
And blessings to you dear Dahm. What a lovely essay you have written.
I too am a summer child, but I love the seasons. What a miracle we have on this beautiful orb on which we live.
Each season brings exactly what we need.
With the Autumn coming, I have almost completed my summer garden. I’ve put up veg in the freezer for the winter. I am now starting my winter garden. It will provide us with fresh broccoli, spinach and kale through the winter and early spring and beets, carrots, onions and leeks in the spring. Working the land and preparing for winter brings me so much closer to my ancestors.
But there is so much more to appreciate. The Butterflies have been so amazing this month. Mushrooms and toad stools are popping up. I just noticed today one my old roses is budding again. The spiders seem to starting their work. Some trees here in Coastal Virginia are beginning to change color.
But I know Britian is wonderful this time of year. Before I retired , I made regular business trips there about this time of year.. so, Enjoy your lovely autumn and all that comes with it.
Blessi gs and kindest regards
Paige Thornton
Chesapeake Virginia
Lovely essay, thank you!
What a miraculous orb we .live on.
Enjoy you autumn to yo and all your fans..
Paige
Blessings to you and your family also my friend.
beautiful…i just wish i had your enthusiasm about what’s coming. i have always greatly disliked the winter months and the cold they thrust upon us. seems the older i get the longer they last and the harder on me they are. but, i just have to deal.
Thank you Damh! Beautiful ~ Simply beautiful! Blessings my friend.