Life feeds on Life. Those wise words were said to me many years ago by a High Priest. The past three years have been an experience in that wisdom.
In September 2019 the central air conditioner in my home broke and I made the decision to not have it repaired since Autumn was not far away. Bad decision. Autumn arrived and things cooled down. I was sure that before warm weather returned I would have the central air conditioner repaired. I was wrong. In February 2020 the entire world changed. Covid came and changed everything for everyone. Isolation ruled for everybody, including me. My financial situation didn’t change as I had hoped. I continued to keep faith that I would be able to repair the central air conditioner. However, I dedicated the first stimulus check to the purchase of a small window unit, thinking that I could at least keep my bedroom cool.
In August 2020 I had emergency surgery. I added another surgery in June 2021. I was two days out from foot surgery when I fell and broke my right hip. I spent two weeks in the hospital and the rest of June and all of July in my bedroom. At least it was cool in my bedroom. The rest of the house was miserably hot. Facing another hot Southern summer this year, I moved into the cool air of my bedroom. I did not know then that my health was being affected by the heat. My neural system began to collapse. I’m on the road to recovery from that now, at least as much as I can recover, for now.
The time period between September 2019-July 2022 was the harshest period of my life. Aside from health issues, my beloved little cat, Katchina left me. After nearly 20 years she died quietly by my side. A long time friend passed after fighting a courageous battle for her life. A family member took his anger and hurts out on me in such a way that I will never fully trust him again.
What’s all this got to do with Lughnasa? My First Harvest has begun to come in. Late last Summer after fighting to not lose this land and home for 6 years, it is secure. In the Spring of 2022 Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing contracted one of my books for publication. Doing the editing I remembered that I was not only a Witch, but a well-trained academic professor. Just this week a family member got the central air conditioner repaired. My home is once again cool and wonderful. My health is holding steady. And one other Harvest, which I’m not at liberty to discuss, just revealed itself. The sacrifices of the past three years are returning a most bountiful First Harvest for this Lughnasa.
Embrace all the sacrifices you have made and may this Lughnasa yield for you the great blessings of the First Harvest. Blessed Be