Tag: Porridge

Calendar of the Sun for October 15th

Calendar of the Sun

15 Winterfyllith

Winter Nights: Day of the Freya and the Disir

Color: Grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of grey place the last sheaf of grain harvested for the year, and the last vegetables pulled from the ground. Place there also many tankards of mead.
Offerings: Food to the Ancestors. Also divination.
Daily Meal: Porridge and root vegetables.

Winter Nights Invocation

(One stands forth and pours out the first tankard of mead as a libation, and says:)

Hail to the Disir!
Hail to the mothers, the grandmothers,
The great-grandmothers, and their mothers,
The ancestral wombs from whence we all came!
Hail to those wise eyes that watch our families!
The red line of blood extends back into the mists,
Umbilical to umbilical, we all came through
That line of doors, as will those who come
After us into the world.

(One stands forth and pours out the second tankard of mead, and says:)

Hail to Freya the Vanadis!
Lady of the Vanir whose soul
Is bound to the Earth, the seeds that grow
And yet stretches forth into the mists!
In the winter we hail you as Lady of Love,
Warming our cold nights with your smile.
In the spring we hail you as Earth-Awakener,
Breaking open the seed that sprouts.
In the summer we hail you as Gatherer of Warriors,
Taking those to your breast who catch your eye.
In the autumn we now hail you as Lady of Seidh,
Wise sorceress who speaks with spirits.
Open the veil of vision for us, wise Vanadis,
And may our sight penetrate down the line of blood to the future.

(All come forth one at a time and kneel to the Disir, and then arise and pour out a tankard of mead for their own grandmothers. Then divination shall be done, in Freya’s name, for any questions that may have arisen during the past weeks.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Monday, August 12th

Calendar of the Sun

12 Weodmonath

Amaranth and Quinoa Day

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set an armload of amaranth stalks, a basket of quinoa stalks, a jug of water, bowls of the threshed grain, amaranth flour bread and quinoa porridge.
Offering: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Amaranth bread and quinoa porridge.

Amaranth and Quinoa Invocation

(The jug of water is passed and the remainder poured out as a libation.)

I sing the praises of Amaranth,
Great grain of the Mexican desert,
Sacred grain growing taller than a man
Yet with the smallest seed of all,
Abundance in the dry time
Savior in a drought,
I sing the praises of Amaranth.

(The amaranth bread is passed and the remainder scattered in the garden.)

I sing the praises of Quinoa,
Great grain of the high mountains,
Nourishment of the south continent,
Reaching closest to the sky,
Porridge and cleanser,
Ground under the gleam of gold,
I sing the praises of Quinoa.

(The quinoa porridge is passed until it is finished.)

Song: Lammas Prayer

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 12

Calendar of the Sun

12 Weodmonath

Amaranth and Quinoa Day

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set an armload of amaranth stalks, a basket of quinoa stalks, a jug of water, bowls of the threshed grain, amaranth flour bread and quinoa porridge.
Offering: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Amaranth bread and quinoa porridge.

Amaranth and Quinoa Invocation

(The jug of water is passed and the remainder poured out as a libation.)

I sing the praises of Amaranth,
Great grain of the Mexican desert,
Sacred grain growing taller than a man
Yet with the smallest seed of all,
Abundance in the dry time
Savior in a drought,
I sing the praises of Amaranth.

(The amaranth bread is passed and the remainder scattered in the garden.)

I sing the praises of Quinoa,
Great grain of the high mountains,
Nourishment of the south continent,
Reaching closest to the sky,
Porridge and cleanser,
Ground under the gleam of gold,
I sing the praises of Quinoa.

(The quinoa porridge is passed until it is finished.)

Song: Lammas Prayer

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 10th

Calendar of the Sun

10 Weodmonath

Oats And Maize Day

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set a scythe, a basket of unthreshed oat stalks, ears of corn and cornstalks, a clay jug of milk, a loaf of cornbread or cornmeal flatbread, and a bowl of oatmeal.
Offering: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Oatmeal and oat flour cookies.

Oats And Maize Invocation

(Pass the milk around, and pour the remainder out as a libation.)

I sing the praises of oats!
Fed to the horses in England
But fed to the warriors of Scotland,
Porridge that fills the belly
Of the men with the woad paint
For thousands of years.
You grow in the cold, wet mud
Where wheat cannot stand.
You are forgiving of foul weather,
Bringing forth each feathery oat-baby
To be devoured by us.
I sing the praises of oats!

(Pass the oatmeal around until it is eaten.)

I sing the praises of Maize,
Great corn of the North Continent,
Yellow, white, red, blue, and black,
Colors of the four directions
And the center of spirit,
Whose name means “Life” –
I sing the praises of Maize.

Song: Corn Rigs

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 4

Calendar of the Sun

4 Weodmonath

Buckwheat Day

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth lay stalks of buckwheat in a basket, a clay cup of milk, and a bowl of buckwheat porridge.
Offerings: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Buckwheat porridge or pancakes.

Buckwheat Invocation

I sing the praises of grain,
That which sustained our foremothers
That which strengthened our foremothers
That which fed all children’s hungry mouths
That which multiplies from the earth,
Giving back more than we give in turn.
I sing the praises of the sacrifice
That is cut down
That we may live.

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

I sing the praises of Buckwheat,
Grain of high Tibet,
Field of leaves like hearts
And delicate white flowers,
Grain shaped like the pyramids,
Beloved of bees,
I sing the praises of Buckwheat.

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

Chant:
Like bees to honey
We are drawn to the Gods.
Like honey to bees
Our nourishment give.
May we be flowers
That open to the Sun.
May we be golden
To sweetness transformed.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 2

Calendar of the Sun

2 Weodmonath

Barley Day

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set a clay jug of beer, a bowl of barley porridge, a sickle, and a sheaf of barley.
Offerings: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Cooked barley porridge.

Barley Invocation

I sing the praises of grain,
That which sustained our foremothers
That which strengthened our foremothers
That which fed all children’s hungry mouths
That which multiplies from the earth,
Giving back more than we give in turn.
I sing the praises of the sacrifice
That is cut down
That we may live.

(The jug of beer is passed around, and the last of it poured out as a libation.)

I sing the praises of Barley,
Growing in the footsteps of Frey
Cut down in the body of Ing
Brewed to make the drink
That makes hearts high and warms the family circle
Grain of companionship,
Grain of Rune of Sacrifice,
I sing the praises of Barley.

(The bowl of barley is passed around, and the last of it poured out as a libation.)

Song: John Barleycorn

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for July 7

Calendar of the Moon

7 Duir/Skirophorion

Day of the Dagda

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth lay a wand made of an oak branch, a great cup of ale, a bowl of porridge, and four brown candles.
Offerings: Feed the hungry.
Daily Meal: Soup, stew, or porridge, enough to feed more than just the House. Let the rest be given to those who need it.

Invocation to the Dagda

Hail Eochaid Ollathair, Father of All!
Hail Ruad Ro-fhessa, Lord of Perfect Knowledge!
Lord of the Oak Tree,
Phallus of the summer saplings,
Rough as tree bark is your wisdom,
Yet deep as sunken roots.
You who can call the seasons with your harp,
You are called upon by the common people
For your gift of fair weather.
You whose club is so great
That nine men are required to carry it
And even then it plows a great ditch;
Whose terrible end slays hundreds at a blow
And whose other end can restore them to life;
You stake your life on the fertility of the land
That others may survive the cold winters.
You who build great fortresses,
You know what it is to be the sole protection
Of those you love, and to go forth
In battle to save their lives.
You are a king, yet you go among the people
In the rough clothing of a peasant,
Rejecting the trappings of the wealthy.
Your great cauldron is never empty,
Nourisher of your people, and of all people.

(The ale is passed, and then poured out as a libation. The stew is ceremonially carried into the kitchen, and the day’s chant sung over the kitchen table.)

Chant: May you never hunger, may you never thirst.

[Pagan Book of Hours]