Here in my corner of the world (central Scotland,) on the 1st of August, we celebrate the gateway to a new season—known as the Hairst in the Scots language.
Throughout July, we begin to harvest the hay and throughout August, we focus on bringing home the grain from the fields. Come September, we hope to welcome an abundance of fruit and vegetables.
This year of 2024 has seen a wet Winter, Spring and Summer and temperatures have been cool for the most part. As we approach the Equinox, I marvel that any produce is available—what a massive effort the farmers have put in to provide anything for our table.
It’s also the start of a fresh academic year and I always find myself a wee bit antsy at this time.
This August, I was lucky to enjoy sunny and warm climes in the heart of France and now that I’m back in Scotland, I’m properly feeling the turning of the year’s wheel.
Developing the ALIGNMENT program for Mandala Magic has helped me work with my feelings as I reckon with the descent of the Sun and the shift towards the dark half of the year.
It was easier to imagine that Summer was still present as I drifted through fields of golden sunflowers and enjoyed the blazing midday sun in France. Now that I’m back home in the North, the rapidly reducing daylight hours are unsettling.
But, there are still a few weeks until Equinox. The weather is still cool, grey and wet, but the season has not ended. There is still time…
Now is the time to delve back into the work of the Hairst, for archetypally, this season is a reminder that we have much to sort through.
Before I return to work as usual, I’ve been looking at what the first half of the year has brought to my table. What has already been reaped and what is still ripening?
If you haven’t yet completed the exercises in the Lugnasadh/Lùnastal/Lammas Module in ALIGNMENT, might you venture in before we greet the next gateway? Working with the round in a different way, I’m particularly fond of the Beading Values exercise.
Anyway, here is a wee film I made back in 2021 to welcome the season. It’s interesting to see that we’d experienced a heat wave in Scotland that year. It’s also fascinating to compare the beginning of a season with it’s ending.