We are on the verge of yet another turn of Life’s Wheel, Lughnasa. In most Wiccan traditions this is celebrated as the First Harvest. It is very much that in many ways. For Humanity as a whole, this particular First Harvest has quite a few very dark aspects to it. Blood has been spilled and Death has ruled the land for months now. There is a lot of fear out there at what comes next. This First Harvest is filled with some of the darker parts of the Wheel.
I, however, am not afraid. I was brought through the traditional initiatory steps of Wicca. I assure you that there is a lot of darkness in that process, starting with accepting the darkness within yourself so that you can achieve mastery over it and take the fullness of your personal power. We also are trained to deal with the darkness of the natural world. Quoting Jethro Tull, “Mother Nature’s a bitch.” This is the time of year when that is very evident because in order to reap that Harvest, something has to be sacrificed. The Goddess is more than prepared to take the life of the God in order to insure that there will be continuing life in the year to come. She’s not particularly happy about it, but that is the way of the natural world.
My lack of fear comes from those lessons. All the happy witches out there who want to save everyone are not practicing Wicca with Teeth. Not everyone can be, or even should be saved. Witches have worked so hard to take the fear away from those who would destroy us out of that fear that we have forgotten that they should be afraid. We have the power to change things and we can use our power to defend ourselves if need be. Do not kid yourself, we may need to do just that. We have failed to do so in the past and paid a high price for that failure. I will not make that mistake in this lifetime.
Watching what has happened over the past few months I am convinced that the First Harvest will be a foretelling of what the Great Harvest, Mabon, will return to us for what was planted in the Spring. Fear and acquiescence got planted and we are about to see that Harvest come into fruition. During all that planting I was Cassandra crying out in the wilderness, warning people of what I saw. Much of that foretelling has come into being, and it promises to continue. When I realized that much of what I was saying was falling on deaf ears, I finally found my teeth again and decided to “Let it burn.” I have been at great peace since then. Finding my teeth filled me with my own personal power, which is what I was taught it would do oh so long ago.
My own personal First Harvest has been filled with much Love, Joy, and Abundance, maybe because I have been so much in the space of Let It Burn. In order for the Wheel to turn something has to be sacrificed, doesn’t it?
