Sacred Feast of Lughnasadh
August 1st, 2007.

Celebrate the Celtic festival of the first harvest called Lammas in a simple and homey way. Display and cook with seasonal veggies and fruits from your garden or picked up fresh from the market. Make a pretty centerpiece out of sunflowers; arrange them in a sturdy vase. Try arranging some glossy red or golden-yellow apples in a wooden bowl. Bake up a loaf of whole-wheat bread, drizzle it with honey, and share it with your family or coven. Light a golden candle and stop and take a moment to reflect and to honor this sabbat with this charm:

"Lammas, the celebration of the first harvest,
Abundance, joy, and prosperity I now request.
May the Earth's many blessings flow upon us,
May my loved ones
prosper and enjoy success."

Knowledge is like light, use it and it grows brighter, ignore it and it fades away.

Alexander Everett

Trapping Negative Energies

You will need:
- a small glass jar with a lid
- seven rough stones of similar size
- a single candle (any color, but white or natural beeswax is best)

After the sun has set, light the candle and place it on a flat surface, such as a tabletop. One by one, place the stones in a circle around the base of the candle. Place the jar on the table, between you and the candle.

With your left hand, take a stone and place it in the jar. Next, with your right hand hold the candle above the jar and speak aloud the following words:

"Candle's flame burning bright,
By your flame on this night,
Trap all evil?seal it well,
In each stone, make it remain,
Never to be loosed again."

Still using your right hand, drip at least three drops of wax from the burning candle into the bottom of the jar?more is fine?but no less. Return the candle to its original position on the table. Allow the wax to cool and harden?this should only take a minute or two.

Repeat the above steps, including speaking the words aloud, until all seven stones are in the jar.

When all seven stones are in the jar, place the lid on the jar and extinguish the candle. Place the jar in a dark and secret place and leave it undisturbed. Never open the jar and never remove the stones. You can repeat the spell as needed to capture negative energies, but new materials should be used each time.

Dianic Witchcraft is a Goddess-centered, nature religion practiced by women.

Dianic Witchcraft is similar to Wicca in that we work with the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit; many of us follow the rule "Harm None," and believe that any energy we send into the world will return to us - for good or for ill.

We differ from Wiccans in that we worship only Goddess (there is no god in our religion). That doesn't mean we don't believe in masculine power or divinity, it just doesn't apply in our method of worship. Dianic Witches are lesbian and straight, married and single, mothers and child-free, old and young and all varieties in between.

We understand Goddess to be whole unto Herself. She also manifests certain qualities and characteristics as a variety of goddesses. Dianic Witches will often adopt or be adopted by one or more of these goddesses, who will then serve as the woman's "Matron Goddess."

Dianic Witches follow a lunar calendar, and hold special rituals at new and full moon times. We often hold celebrations and rituals on the common pagan Sabbats and Esbats as well. Most Dianic Witches practice a solitary path, some out of choice and many because Dianic covens are hard to find - there are far fewer of us than other types of pagans!

Although we believe that our spiritual path is the best and most enlightened, we understand that religion and spirituality are personal issues. Although we are willing to discuss our belief system with others, particularly in response to honest queries, we do not preach or attempt to convert others to our path. Each woman will find the path that is right for her - the most we can do is to be open and available to those seeking another way.

Blessed be

The Goddess is the eternal feminine, the embodiment of female ethics and values. She is the creative life force of the universe in all its expressions. She birthed the universe, moon, earth, sun and all the species of life from her body. As a birth-giving, all-nurturing mother, she has much in common with every woman. As an embodiment of the universe, she is usually seen as immanent, as the earth herself, and as present in every living thing from a blade of grass or a crystal to a wolf or a woman doctor. The Goddess is the earth and universe and everything that lives. She is present in all things and all living Be-ings are the Goddess-within, containing divinity in themselves. Anyone who is Goddess-within has consequence in the world, and that is everyone. The Goddess is cycles within cycles. She is the changing moon, the rotating earth and the turning of the seasons. In her earth aspect, she has (as the land has and as life has) her designated times for being, growing up, maturing and experiencing sexuality, giving birth, growing old and dying. In her moon aspect, the form she is most often likened to, her cycle is similar but shorter, and she is Maiden, Mother and Crone. The all-giving mother is also the all-taking mother, in a cycle that moves through the ages of life.

In returning to the Goddess, women find deity/divinity within themselves and present in every aspect and part of living. Abuse of another is abuse of the Goddess, and since Goddess resides within, it's also abuse of thyself. Abuse of the earth is abuse of the Goddess and the self, and abuse of perfection. Every woman is Goddess, a Be-ing to honor and worship. Every living thing is Goddess. In worshiping deity as female, a woman worships her own divinity, herself as Goddess-within.

If Goddess created the earth, moon and universe, and if she is the earth, moon, and universe, and if women are Goddess, too - there is little an individual woman cannot accomplish. When women discover that they have personal power, have consequence, they discover that they can autonomously direct their lives as well as change and correct the problems of the world. The actual practice of witchcraft and worshiping the Goddess does not mean returning to what was done thousands of years ago---the remnants of knowledge from ancient times are too fragmented for that. Instead, it goes forward to what women need for living in the world we live in now and for reclaiming their self-image and consequence today.

Women practicing Dianic witchcraft and worshiping the Goddess perform rituals and celebrations. When we celebrate, we come together socially to enjoy and share a Sabbat, etc. When we do ritual, and we generally do Moon rituals, we are working to make a change in consciousness, creating a microcosm world in the cast circle to effect Goddess-within/consequence in the participants. They are creating the sacred rather than the social. This is usually done creating a sacred atmosphere that makes action safe, or by becoming in the ritual what they choose to be and then taking that power out to the larger world. Ritual, therefore, has focus and intent, while celebration is an unstructured gathering. Ritual has sacredness whereas celebration has sociability