August

This is the first of three harvest during the Autumn season. The term "corn" that we often use today is used describe that tastey golden treat whose proper name is "maize," and is a North American grain now known the world over. But the original meaning of the word "corn" is the major grain crop of any geographical region. Hence, Demeter a Greek goddess is a Goddess of "corn." Grains of any type were so important to ancient peoples that they devised many ways to keep grain safe and even used it to buy goods and services. Bread is the "staff of life" and would have been one of the first food stores to deplete during a long hard winter. Bread or grains give energy, and keep us from being listless. This is the moon of the first harvest whose excess stores would be put aside for the long winter months, but it is also a time of celebration with the fall festival of Lughnasadh in the Celtic tradition. Celebrated with games and revelry and the sacrifice of "John Barleycorn," in which the grain is honored for the life it gives so others may live through the winter.In her globe is the "staff of life," her other hand holds the scythe a symbol of the harvest. She is adorned with grains, blacberries, and early apples, all foods traditional for the first harvest, and raven feathers bedeck her gown, a symbol of the Celtic God Lugh, for whom the holiday of the Corn Moon is named. Now is the time to check on what you planted. What harvest is ripening and awaits harvest?