My Body, my Blood...

Merry Meet Beautiful Family and Friends!

This is the chant that we'd sung under an amazing starlit sky, before a roaring fire, in the presence of all those beloved people that I call...Clan.

Last weekend, we celebrated the Sabbat of Lammas. Lammas is the first of three harvest festivals on the Wiccan/Pagan Wheel of the Year. It represents a time of reflection and sacrifice, of reaping what has been sown and of thanks for that which will sustain us during the darker months ahead. Technically, for us, Lammas heralds the beginning of Autumn.

This ritual was especially poignant for me in that it was the first in which I circled with my daughter, Kyla. Of my two children, Kyla has shown the least interest in Paganism.

My daughter was baptized Catholic. Her christening broke tradition in that it didn't take place in a church, but was instead performed in our backyard on a beautiful Summer's day. While neither my husband nor I were active in the Catholic church, we agreed to christen our daughter more to appease her grandparents, rather than because of any deep connection to Catholicism. To consider doing otherwise would have simply been ungodly! Some believe that should a child die prior to baptism, their soul would remain in limbo for all eternity. Charming sentiment, isn't it?

As a kid, I could remember going through the motions of communion and confirmation. But communing with whom and confirming what? I had absolutely no idea! It was horribly stressful! Neither of my parents were very religious and I never truly embraced Christianity. The only reason I was doing any of it was because it was more (or less) a rite of passage for a loosely defined Christian growing up in our house. I however, felt as if I was an outsider looking in on something I had no significant connection to.

At an age much younger than Kyla's 14 years, I would have gladly sold the house right out from under my family to have been invited to participate in a REAL Wiccan ritual! I was completely and utterly enthralled with anything to do with Witches or Witchcraft. Little has changed since then, with the exception that I wouldn't sell the house out from under my family. I don't have to. Now the rituals are held here!

All this being said, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I casually asked Kyla if she wanted to participate in our Lammas Rite and instead of declining, she asked to borrow a robe! I could have sworn I heard the Elementals singing!

There were other kids her age who were participating as well, that having been raised Pagan, are very well versed in ritual etiquette. I worried that Kyla might feel awkward or out of place having never been this involved before. Again, she impressed me with a better understanding of the history and symbolism behind the Sabbat than I expected!

I have to face the undeniable truth however. Kyla may very well have participated in our ritual in hopes that she would attain honorary Wiccan status, thereby entitling her to celebrate the Wiccan holidays with a day off from school. That remains to be seen. But, Mom's not that kind of Wiccan! I take my beliefs very seriously and one ritual does not a Witch make!

I will say this much for her. The girl invokes and banishes a mean pentagram! Better than some people I know that have been practicing for years, so I'm definitely hopeful!

In Darkness, Light!


Tracy