Calendar of the Moon for September 11

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for September 11

Calendar of the Sun

11 Halegmonath

Meditrinalia

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: In the center of the altar should be a fire laid and waiting to be lit in a pot, and around it trays of small honey-cakes (crusta mellei), jugs of old and new wine, a cup of water, a sprig of rosemary, a bowl of salted spelt flour (mola salsa), incense of myrrh, and lanterns.
Offerings: Cakes,
Daily Meal: Honey-cakes, salted spelt flour bread with rosemary and olive oil, wine, lentils.

Meditrinalia Invocation

Caller: Incendio! (One steps forward and lights the fire and lanterns.) So doth the lively flame thrive, whether a little earthen bowl feed the thirsty linen wick, or pinewood that lends its pitch. Accept, Divine One, we pray, the light which we offer you.
Response: Vivax flamma viget, seu cava testula sucum linteolo suggerit ebrio, seu pinus piceam fert alimoniam. Lumen quod vobis offero, suscipe, precor, dive.
Caller: O Father Liber, grant us your favour! We who are come to your sacred rite in your service now open our lips. (One takes the mola salsa and passes it around to be tasted.)
Response: Liber Pater, fave! Quia tibi nunc operata resolvimus ora, quae ad sacrae tuae adsummus.
Caller: Purificatio! (One steps forward and sprinkles the remaining mola salsa.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore friaris. (One steps forward and asperges each with rosemary and water.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore spargaris. (One steps forward and censes each in turn.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius cremaberis.
Caller: Before thee, Liber, the altars were without offerings and grass grew on the cold hearths.
Response: Ante tuos ortus arae sine honore fuerunt, Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis.
(Two step forward and mix the old and new wine together with water, and pass them about.)
Caller: As I drink of this wine old and new, so of all ills old and new may I be healed.
Response: Vinum vetum novumque bibo, de morbo veto novoque medeor
Caller: Liber enjoys honey, and it is right that we give its discoverer honey cakes.
Response: Melle Liber fruitur, liboque infusa calenti iure repertori candida mella damus
(One steps forward to place four cakes on the fire, and pass the rest about to be eaten.)
Caller: So may the fruits of Autumn be sweet to us!
Response: Sicut nobis dulces fruges autumni.
Caller: Ambulatio! (All approach the altar and lay the garlands on it.)
Caller: Sacrificio! Sacred spirit of the spring, be honoured.
Response: Vina dat Liber, fert sibi quisque coronam, miscendas large rivus agit aquas. Anima sacra fontis, macte coronae vinoque crustoque quod inferimus.
Caller: So may all the waters of the earth be sacred to us. So may it be!”
Response: Sic sacrae nobis omnia aquae terrae. Ita sit! (Silence for a moment, then all exit.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 10

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for September 8

Calendar of the Sun

8 Halegmonath

Mead-Day

Color: Golden
Elements: Fire and Water
Altar: Upon a golden cloth set four yellow candles, goblets, a jug of home-brewed mead, a bee skep, the figure of a honeybee, and a small jar of honey.
Offerings: Mead libations.
Daily Meal: Food sweetened with honey. Mead.

Mead-Day Invocation

Hail to the Queen Bee who gathers the workers!
Hail to the workers who gather the nectar!
Hail to the hundreds who make the honey!
Hail to the brave who gather the sweetness!
Hail to the brewers who create the liquor
That the Aesir stole from the duergar
That the gods all covet
That is the finest sacrifice of any fluid.
Nectar brewed of the meadow’s flowers,
From the orchard’s blossoms,
From the sexual fluids of a thousand plant-souls.
Hail to the Queen Bee and all her progeny,
Forgive us our theft of your hard labor,
And may you multiply in plenty
In a world that blossoms with richness every spring.

Chant:
More than even a rich man can hold,
We drink the sunrise, we drink the meadow’s gold.

(Mead is poured into the goblets, and everyone takes a sip. Then some is poured into the libation well for the Gods, and the rest is taken out to the garden or the orchard. Libations are poured for the trees of the orchard, the garden, and especially the beehives.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for September 3

Calendar of the Sun

3 Halegmonath

Day of Mimir’s Well

Colors: Midnight blue and white
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of midnight blue set three white candles, a bowl of stones and well water, a silver cup of mead, and the figure of a human skull set upon a long tail of spun white hair.
Offerings: Secret offerings, unspoken.
Daily Meal: Soup, in a stone bowl.

Invocation to Mimir’s Well

We stand before the sacred well of dark wisdom
And we ask the Presence deep within
What he would give us, if we desire.
(All call out: “Hail Mimir, Keeper of the Well of the Ancestors!”)
Would you sacrifice an eye for this wisdom,
Forever seeing only from the focus of the archer?
Would you sacrifice both eyes, and live in darkness
In exchange for the light of knowing what will be?
Would you give up your ears, and hear nothing
But the music of the heavenly cycles?
(All call out: “Hail Mimir, Keeper of the Well of the Ancestors!”)
Would you give up your legs, and never walk
That you might follow in a path of silent knowledge?
Would you give up the work of your hands
That you might work only with what lies behind your eyes
And what lies behind the eyes of the universe?
Would you give up your life itself
And live only to be a channel for this truth?
(All call out: “Hail Mimir, Keeper of the Well of the Ancestors!”)
What would you give for knowing the day
Of your death, and that of everyone else’s?
What would you give for the knowledge
That might stop one death, one day of pain, one night of fear?
Hail Mimir, you who see into the heart and mind
From the blind darkness of your depths,
And who giveth nothing without its worthy price.
(All call out: “Hail Mimir, Keeper of the Well of the Ancestors!”)

Chant: We Go Into the well of Silence
(Each comes forth and stares into the bowl of stones and water, and then steps away. The mead is poured into the libation well as an offering to Mimir.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for September 2

Calendar of the Sun

2 Halegmonath

Festival of the Grapevines II: Dionysos

Colors: Gold and purple
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of gold and purple lay eight purple candles, a chalice of wine, a thyrsus, a fawnskin, and many grapes and grapevines and bottles of wine.
Offerings: Do service work with alcoholics.
Daily Meal: Wine. Grape juice. Stuffed grape leaves. Goat meat. Lentils.

Invocation to Dionysos

Hail, Lord of the Vine!
Hail, Lord of the Lesser Madness
That keeps us safe from the Greater Lunacy!
IO Dionysos, Lord of the Vine,
We call upon the Womanly One,
child of Zeus and Semele.
We drink from your cup and join
The maenad train, O Lord of Masks
That teach the truth. In your cup we gain
Escape from care and ecstasy in the vine,
Your blessing under which
The sacred and profane became one
And the gods’ wedding party never ends.
Twice-born, we will give thanks,
We’ll tell our stories again and again
Of running with maenads
Of the secrets of the earth
And the heavens, and all that lies between,
Of fate, and time, and how to slip
Beyond their confines into immortality.
We’ll teach your mysteries,
Which teach other mysteries,
To all who will listen.
Hail, husband of Ariadne,
Hail, consort of the Mistress of the Labyrinth!
May we continue to be blessed with joy
And the yearly growth of all ripe fruiting.

Chant: Io Dionysos Io Dionysos

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 1

Calendar of the Moon

1 Coll/Metageitnion

Day of the Hazel Tree

Color: Dark brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a dark brown cloth set a vase of hazel twigs, a single dark brown candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Write. Play music. Sing.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Hazel Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Summer!
Hazel tree of the bard’s joy,
Wisdom in a nutshell,
Concentrated nourishment
Of the body and the soul.
Salmon of wisdom in Connla’s spring,
Magical crane-bag of the poets,
Diviner’s rod, searching out
The hidden mysteries
And sharing them with all who seek,
Teacher of art and science,
Knowledge and beauty bound up as one,
You show us that they should not
Ever be separated, lest we lose
On half of our selves.
Arbiter, mediator, herald
Of any side that calls you,
You teach us to see things fairly
From the bard’s perspective
Where Truth rules first and foremost
And yet can be wrapped in Story.
We hail you, sacred hazel tree,
Green Man of the Summer,
With this your gift of our sustenance.

Song: Brigantia

(Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, “Hail Green Man of the Earth!” Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 24

Calendar of the Moon

24 Coll/Metageitnion

Rhiannon’s Day

Color: White
Elements: Air and Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of white place many figures of horses, five white candles, a cup of red wine and a cup of white wine.
Offerings: Willingly take on burdens.
Daily Meal: Oats, apples, carrots, honey.

Invocation to Rhiannon

(One steps forward, pours out the white wine as a libation, and says:)

Hail Rhiannon, Lady of the White Horse!
Hail Rhiannon, wife of Pwyll,
Headstrong and proud, you teach us
That nothing is impossible if we believe.
Hail Rhiannon, wife of Manannan,
Older and wiser, you teach us
To seek wisdom as well as courage.
Hail Rhiannon, Lady of Inspiration,
Fiery and passionate, you teach us
That in order to gain one’s dreams
One need not compromise one’s soul.

(One steps forward, pours out the red wine as libation, and says:)

Pounding hoofbeats
Striking sparks
Breath snorts from nostrils
Wind through the mane;
Lady of horses,
Slow for my call.
Seeker of the horizon,
Show me the road.
Bearer of burdens,
Carry me gently.
Aid me in
My race to the goal.

Song: Horse Goddess

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 22

Calendar of the Sun

22 Weodmonath

Day of the Virgin: Beginning of Virgo

Colors: Brown and tan and cream
Element: Earth
Altar: Set with cloth of brown and tan, a sheaf of grain, a winnowing basket, a sickle, and an earthenware cup of clear well water.
Offerings: From the night before to the morning of the following day, all must refrain from sexual congress, and may only touch each other with the fingertips during this time. The day’s work should revolve around the repair of that which is broken or in need of maintenance. Great care should be taken with cleanliness of the body in the morning.
Daily Meal: Vegan.

Invocation to Virgo

Lady who harvests the grain of thought
With the sickle of discrimination,
Lady who works alone
And understands solitude,
Lady whose center is untouched,
Whose gift is Mending,
Bless us with the ability to work hard
At the greatest of tasks,
The Repair of the World,
And to see divine will
In all the tiniest details.
By the power of all that labors,
You challenge us
To perfection.
May we go forth in purity.

(The Virgo chant has no words, but is merely precise notes sung in multi-part harmony. Afterwards, instead of a ritual, all will adjourn to clean the entire building as best they can, save for those who are doing repairs. Virgo would rather see work than anything else. Each should work alone, if possible.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 18th

Calendar of the Moon

18 Tinne/Hekatombaion

Arthur’s Day

Color: Gold
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a golden cloth place a single red candle, a crown, two crossed swords, and the figure of a knight on horseback.
Offerings: Aid someone in a leadership position.
Daily Meal: Roasted meat.

Invocation to the Spirit of Arthur

To be a King
Is to live a life of compromise
And to do it uncompromisingly.
To be a King is to be the center of every struggle
Yet be not on the front line of the battle.
To be a King is to balance warring forces
Whose very nature is to be opposed,
To rein in the lions and then to release them.
To be a King is to be first among equals
And to never forget that they are equals
Yet never let them forget that you are first.
To be a King is always to be an example
And never forget that you are watched.
To be a King is to be gracious
Even to those who do not deserve it,
And to struggle always between justice and mercy.
To be a King to the land and the people
In the sacred manner,
Is to lead by inspiration
Rather than by force.
To be a King is to be an avatar of the Sun
And to let it burn through you,
Even if you are consumed in the process.
So let us remember those who were consumed
Even to ash of body and soul
And let their lives sift through our fingers
And live again in inspiration.

Song: “Cold Iron”

(End with readings of Arthur and other such who embody the qualities of honorable nobility.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 17

Calendar of the Moon

Hazel Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 16

Calendar of the Moon

Hazel Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 15th

Calendar of the Sun

Feralia: Day of Purification

Color: White
Element: Air
Altar: On a white cloth put a lit candle, incense, a cup of water, and a bowl of salt.
Offering: Although this day is not a day of total silence, it is a solemn day and talking should be done only when necessary and in quiet tones. Bodies should be thoroughly cleaned during the bathing hour, and then the altar area should be cleaned and purified with all four elements. Each person, upon entering the altar space at the beginning of Sponde should remove their clothing and be naked, and each body should be purified with the four elements and marked with water and salt, at which point they may enrobe again. Chores of the day should concentrate on cleaning and repair.
Daily Meal: Vegan and extremely simple and plain.

Feralia Invocation

Breathe the air into your body
And breathe out again,
And as you breathe out,
Let all grime and corruption
Depart on that breath
(All breathe together for twelve breaths.)
Feel the blood coursing through your body
And imagine it clean
Of anything but what should be there.
Feel the energy coursing through your body
And wash it clean
Of anything that does not belong.
Feel the Earth beneath you,
Remember that She can absorb all
Remember that all rot is her provenance
Draw her energy up into you
And give it back again.

(After this grounding, all breathe together again in a yogic breathing pattern for the next half an hour, after which all will go with water and salt and incense and fire to all rooms in the house and cleanse them. Great care should be taken for the rest of the day not to disturb the energy of the freshly cleaned house.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 13

Calendar of the Sun

13 Weodmonath

Festival of Diana

Color: White
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a white cloth set three white candles, a silver crescent moon, a chalice of white wine, and figures of bears, wolves, and beehives.
Offering: Meat and honey. Celibacy tonight, unless there is a contradictory festival.
Daily Meal: Barley porridge. Lamb. Bread with honey.

Invocation to Diana

Hail, Diana, Mother of Bears!
You protect the young girls
In their time of greatest vulnerability,
Between the edge of childhood
And the edge of womanhood.
Your roar echoes through the forest,
Virgin huntress with the silver arrows,
Silver waxing crescent among the clouds.
Hail, Diana, Mother of Bees!
Queen among your priestesses you fly,
Center of the flowering hive,
Your women poised to sting and kill,
Bringing forth sweetness
Unparalleled in its golden beauty,
Under a glowing full moon.
Hail, Diana, Mother of Wolves!
The ancient crone in you
Is no hearth-clinging shroud of bones;
She grinds roots with her old teeth
Bared snarling at the forefront of the pack.
You are friend to the wilderness
And the lonely howlers who inhabit it.
Bless us, Diana, Threefold Goddess,
With your fierce protection
And the uncompromising wisdom within it.

Chant: Diana Diana Lucina Lucina Lumen

(The white wine is passed around, and the remainder poured out as a libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 7

Calendar of the Moon

Holly Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 7

Calendar of the Sun

7 Weodmonath

Neith’s Day: Breaking Of The Nile

Colors: Blue and green
Elements: Water and earth
Altar: Upon cloth of earth-green and river-blue place an animal skin with two crossed arrows and a bow upon it, burning frankincense, a weaver’s shuttle, and a bowl of wet earth.
Offering: Work in the earth, or make things.
Daily Meal: Fresh vegetables and greens. Meat is also acceptable.

Invocation to Neith

Hail Neith, Lady of the Arrow!
Huntress of the desert, your sight
Is keen and your aim fine,
And on this day the Nile’s rise
Breaks with your first shot,
And begins its fall to the shore.
Your Word turns the waters
And reveals the fertile black earth.
Hail Neith, Lady of the Loom!
You weave the tapestry of Life,
Crafting joy with your skilled hands.
Sister of Selket, Guide of the Dead,
All warriors are your province,
You take the ones fallen bravely in battle
As well as those who fought reluctantly.
No warrior is judged by his skill,
Only by his circumstance,
In the light of your generous eyes.
Hail, huntress and weaver,
Lady skilled in both inner and outer worlds,
Who sees no contradictions therein.
Push back the oncoming waters
And lay bare the rich black earth,
The boundary between the elements,
Where your footsteps leave a trail
That only a hunter could follow.

Chant: Arrow flies, water falls,
Horizon turns and sunset calls.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 6

Calendar of the Moon

Holly Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for August 5

Calendar of the Moon

Holly Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 5

Calendar of the Sun

5 Weodmonath

Dumuzi’s Day

Color: Golden
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a golden cloth is laid a sheaf of grain, two red candles, a cup of wine, incense, a sheepskin, a knife, and a bowl of blood.
Offering: Make a sacrifice of any kind.
Daily Meal: Meat and grain.

Invocation to Dumuzi

Hail, Lord of the flocks and herds
Who is slaughtered that we may live.
Hail, sacred king of Babylon
Who gives his life for Inanna’s freedom
And for Ereshkigal’s hunger.
Hail, reluctant one who goes unwillingly
To the sacrifice, as many of us do,
Yet who learns the beauty and dignity
Of the path of being an offering.

(The cup of wine is passed, and the remainder poured out as a libation.)

It is the nature of sacrifice
To be difficult.
If it was easy to throw away,
It was no sacrifice.
If it was did not miss it
It was no sacrifice.
If it was not the best you could give
It was no sacrifice.
If it was not agonizing to choose,
It was no sacrifice.
If it did not make you waver at least once in your choice,
It was no sacrifice.
If it did not make you weep,
It was no sacrifice.

(The bowl of blood is poured out as a libation.)

Song: Lammas Prayer

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 3

Calendar of the Sun

3 Weodmonath

Day of the Dryads

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth patterned with leaves lay many live green branches in the shape of a woman, with a green cloth over her for a dress, and a woman’s mask.
Offering: Plant a tree.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Dryads

Hail, Keeper of the Trees!
Hail, Spirits of the Old Ones!
You who are the living breath of the forest,
You who are the living soul of the wood,
You who raise your arms to the wind,
You who are stripped by the autumn
And grow full again in spring,
We honor you today, not merely with words,
But with deeds; we will work the earth
And plant more of you than we cut down.
You give us warmth in winter, and heat for cooking food,
And fruit, and nuts, and most important,
The very air we breathe.
Hail, dryads of the forest!
We give you honor on this day.

Song: The Dryad’s Song

(All should go out and spend the work-hours planting trees.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]