Hello, August. It’s time to harvest the first lessons of 2020.

There’s no denying that life continues to be strange, a bit chaotic, and worrisome all around the world. I think it’s safe to say that 2020 is changing everything. I feel that already I am not at all the same person now, in August, as I was when the year started. So, I cannot even imagine how it will be in 5 months.

But, we have officially crossed the midpoint and entered the second half of the year. And, I hope that you have had some time, whether it be summer or winter where you are, to pause during the last month and use it as a portal or gateway or reset. A time to catch your breath, center your soul, and reimagine how you want to move forward. For me, July was just that. It was my 4 week vacation and I intentionally decided to use it to rest, restore, reset, and reimagine my soul + her purpose.

But, now, August has arrived with her golden, warm glow. And a feeling of summer’s end, returning home, settling in, preparing + creating, hard work, magic + craft, and the first harvest. Wheat fields, corn fields, and apple trees all are reaching their maturity, ready to be gathered and brought in.

Yet, this is not only the season for harvesting the first grains + fruits/vegetables that have grown to maturity, but also for harvesting how and what we have grown.

And, given that it is 2020, we have perhaps grown in ways that we never imagined. 

So, in celebrating the Gaelic harvest festival of Lammas/Lughnasadh with the beginning of August, we are also called to celebrate what our souls are harvesting after a winter, spring, and summer of challenges, adventures, work, play, worry, sadness, celebration, simplicity, change, life, and death. 

Mind you, this is the first harvest of our souls, just as it is with the earth. There are 2 more harvest celebrations throughout Autumn before we sink deep into the darkness of winter again. Therefore, we are not harvesting everything right now. Some soul lessons have yet to be learned, some need a bit more time. But, there are some, that are ripe and ready. And this is the perfect time to slow down, recognize how we have grown, and the harvest those lessons so we can use them + move onward.

Think back over the year so far and ask yourself these questions…
– How have I grown since the solstice? throughout 2020?
– What is ready to be harvested from my soul in August?
– What is not quite mature enough yet? What is still growing?
– How can I begin to prepare for the dark, inward season ahead?

Take some time to really contemplate these questions. Come up with some of your own. Journal your thoughts. Pull oracle or tarot cards. Discuss them with a partner. Pray + meditate on them in silence or on a walk. Use them as inspiration for during the full moon tomorrow (Monday).

The sacred summer portal is ending for me today. I return to work tomorrow morning. Ready + not quite ready all at the same time. I could have endless vacation time… where I am free to keep it slow + simple. But, with August, I am called back into everyday life. I am called to return from the sacred space of summer… inspired so that I can now inspire.

August means that I have grown + matured, just as the earth has brought forth her own abundance. It is time to get to work and to begin to bring in the first harvest – both of nature’s bounties + of the lessons of my soul. This is a time of work, creativity, and preparation for the months ahead. And, yet, there are still late summer moments to be soaked in. So, balance is what I am after for the next few weeks until the Autumn equinox arrives. 

These are the remaining days before the dark half of the year. Days to be lived simply, slowly, and mindfully – even as I get to work both literally + spiritually, harvesting the first lessons of 2020 that will lead me inward + downward into the dark days ahead. 

For now, though, I bask in the late golden sun. I warm myself under the heat. I soak in the light energy. And I begin to gather all that is ready to be harvested + used for the rest of the year. 

Lammas + August blessings to you, dear friend. May golden light radiate through you. And may your first harvest be one of wild abundance.

xoxo. liz.