(The
flowing Water Tide, from Lammas to Mabon)
This, like the planting time
from Eostara to Beltane, is a period of intense hard work. It is a time when
work comes to fruition, and the rewards of past work can be reaped. There will,
however, be a lot to do to accomplish this, and it may feel as though the time
is too short. It is a time of intense activity, both work and play.
The Mother at this time is at
the height of Her power, her breasts flowing with milk at the very sound of a
child's cry. Honor Her with works of healing and compassion, and by with a
portion of each thing you earn or reap. The Mother of All Living tells us that
she demands no sacrifice. She tells us this because she needs make no such demand; a portion of
every labor and every love returns to Her by the law of Nature. When that
return is brought to Her consciously and with gratitude, she rewards Her
children by opening to them the storehouse of Her wisdom; the truth which lies there is our own, which
She has saved for us from our gifts of past seasons. Thus at this season we eat
new fruit and old meat, new achievements and old wisdom.
Love and labor are one in the
Mother at this season. Seek to perform all your work with love, and work to
sustain your love for others.
Like the Planting Time this is a season which,
in the old days, required the give-and-take of community effort, as large teams
harvested one farm after another. Look carefully at the patterns of reciprocity
in your relationships with those love and care about, ask yourself whether they
are balanced and fair, and what you can do to improve their equilibrium.
Try to float to the surface
of the Tide, to take a long and broad view of things so as to maintain your
perspective. Take time from your full and busy days to study and contemplate
the huge expanses of space and time--the shape and time of the Universe, karma, your past
lives.
This is the most productive Tide for trance divination, for traveling
in trance and dream the roads that lead to the future and the past.
