Themes of an Ozark Summer Thermstice

Celebrating the Cross-Quarter Day of Summer Thermstice (Lúnasa) in America is different from in the Old Countries. There is a lack of continuity in tradition for it; unlike the Halloween and May Day traditions that held on throughout those ancestors’ New World immigrations. Yet, there remains a seasonal event to commemorate. 

Here, corn (maize) is the prominent grain. Though the harvest start times can vary widely in this country, there is a corn harvest starting around mid-August for Arkansas and Oklahoma. Around the first weekend in August, there is a grape festival held in Tontitown Arkansas. So we see those same themes of first fruit and grain, but in quite a different context.

We have many traditions surrounding corn. Cornmeal is a traditional land spirit offering here, and it’s used many different ways in our breads, often combined with wheat flour. It is also used as the base ingredient in herbal powders used for magic. In Appalachia, fodder of corn stalks is placed about the home as a magical charm to ensure the family always has food. Red corn necklaces are made to help with fevers and bleeding. Dried corn cobs are attached above the doorway to the house, so that haints, or evil spirits, have to count each hole in the cob before entering. In the Ozarks, dried corn cobs are used in a similar way to feather and egg sweeping traditions; it is rubbed over the body then burned to destroy sickness. When you talk about “corn dollies” here, people’s first thought is of corn husk dolls, not the grain dollies of Europe. Cornsilk is prized for its many herbal and magical uses as well, as it is used much like Irish moss in prosperity spells, and as hair for poppet dolls.

Mid-august is also when pawpaws are beginning to ripen, though this sacred food may not be fully ready until the next harvest holiday. This is also the time to see if the incredibly delicious muscadine grapes are ready for harvest.

The days here in August are the hottest, as we’re in the middle of the dog days of summer. It’s much hotter here than in the countries our ancestors came from. Many Southern Pagans celebrate this holiday with an emphasis on water, for without it, an outdoor gathering would be unbearable in our August heat. Yet this is in keeping with some of the lesser known Lúnasa traditions which symbolized a quenching of the now oppressive sun.

Looking to the realm of folklore, we have our Summer Thermstice theme there as well. The Appalachian story “Old Fire Dragaman” has some parallels with Lúgh’s story: there is the symbolism of securing the land against (a Fomorian-like) force of nature, to claim the land itself, and to secure a harvest. Jack is like Lúgh in many ways. He is small and crafty; a triumphant underdog figure. Jack may not be as bold as Lúgh, but he is sneakily clever. Unlike Lúgh, Jack returns to ordinary life after every adventure. 

Following the symbolism of the story of Whitebear Whittington as a cyclical seasonal narrative, we find ourselves at the point in the story where Whitebear and his wife have three children. These three children can be seen as symbolic of the three harvests of the year. 

Also, in the latter part of the story of Ashpet, she is held prisoner by a Wild Man figure, who may represent a chaotic or Fomorian element of Nature, threatening to take back sovereignty. Like the goddess Bloddewydd, she learns her captor’s weaknesses, and relays them to her rescuer so that she may rejoin her true love. But unlike Bloddewydd, Ashpet then returns to civilization and resumes her happy ending. 

(Note: I include a lot of Appalachian lore in my Ozark Paganism because they are linked, often overlapping, and can inform and fill in the gaps for a more fleshed out tradition. We are, after all, a part of “Greater Appalachia”.)

So what might an Ozark Summer Thermstice look like? A trip to a harvest festival such as the Tontitown Grape Festival, or a “pick your own” berry farm (if not from your own garden), or maybe a trip to a favorite swimming hole may be just the thing. It’s a time to enjoy regional foods of the season; like cornbread casserole, Arkansas tomatoes, and for dessert- Ozark berry cobbler or gooseberry pie. It may also be a time for corn magic, and for ritual, one of the aforementioned tales could be played out, and/or the themes displayed in arts & crafts or altars of the day.

Bonus: a playlist!

•Dawn Chorus by Maiden Radio
•Rise Sun by The Infamous Stringdusters
•Summertime by Billy Strings
•Ozark Summer by Jed Melton Band
•Snakes and Waterfalls by Nick Shoulders
•Sweet Sunny South by Maiden Radio
•Mighty River by Railroad Earth
•Meet Me at the Creek by Billy Strings
•There Is a Time by Whiskey Shivers
•Thunderbolt’s Goodnight by Josh Ritter

Naturalistic Terms for Pagan Holidays

Many of the most popular Neopagan terms for the holidays we commemorate are problematic. This is largely due to those specific names being popularized after being published in the Green Egg in the 1970’s. Don’t even get me started on why “Mabon” isn’t a good choice of naming for the Autumn Equinox. If you don’t already know, you can go see John Halstead’s article, the Worst Named Pagan Holiday. 

Many of these names have very cultural/mythological based themes. In the past, I am someone who has explored several of the cultures of my ancestors as inspiration for my Pagan practices. But in recent years, I’ve come to the realization that I need to turn my focus to my own here-and-now culture. No matter how much they inspire me, I will never be a part of those other cultures. I am separated from them by an ocean and by hundreds of years. 

My aim is to live the best aspects of my own culture, as much as possible. So I began using some of my culture’s names for holidays, but they’re incomplete, and sometimes Christianized. There are also instances in which there is no equivalent holiday in my culture, but I want there to be one to complete the seasonal narrative. (I mean, we have “Groundhog’s Day” but no equivalent of Lùnasa at the opposite end of the year? What’s that about?!)

Now I know there will be those who are quick to point out that there was never a single ancient culture that commemorated all eight holidays of the modern Neopagan “Wheel of the Year”. Yet, they are events in Nature. Having evenly placed commemorations in the cycle of seasons seems highly appropriate for a Nature-based spirituality (though I know not all Pagans are Nature-based). There is something in Nature to celebrate or commemorate at every turn of the cycle. If there are no outward signs of its marking in my culture, then that needs adjusting.

So my solution for the names I use for the holidays– for the solstices and equinoxes, it’s simple, as they have long established scientific names. But a little lesser known is that the Cross-Quarter days have similarly established naturalistic or scientific names. They are the thermstices and the equitherms.

So the solstices mark the extreme points of the daylight cycle for the year; Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night, and Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night. Then, the thermstices mark the extreme points of the thermal cycle for the year. This is because the thermal/heat cycle lags the daylight cycle- it takes a while to feel the effects of the solstices. So… Winter Therstice is the approximate coldest part of the year, and Summer Thermstice is the approximate hottest point of the year. 

It’s along similar lines for the equinoxes; the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are times of equal day and night, but the Spring and Autumn Equitherms are when that equilibrium has caught up in terms of temperature, as days that are likely to feel truer to the season.

Just as the dates of the solstices and equinoxes change from year to year, so do the Cross-Quarter dates of the thermstices and equitherms, and they’re often on different dates from what cultural customs dictate. The scientific method of determining the date can be more complicated than just finding the exact middle between two dates as it also takes into account local terrain shifts. You can find accurate Cross Quarter dates for your region, as well as the solstice and equinox dates for any given year- on the archaeoastronomy website.

Harvest Dollies for Modern Pagans

Historically, grain dollies were made from the last sheaf harvested, and either left in the field or placed wherever grains were stored. It was often tied or plaited to be roughly human shaped, but in some places shaped like an animal. It was representative of the Spirit of the Harvest, or the Corn Mother. In Ireland, the grain harvest is associated with Lúnasa. But the god Lúgh is not a grain god or earth god. He’s not John Barleycorn (who is English, and more about the production of beer). Lúgh isn’t a sun god either, but I’ll get to that later.

The grain dolly from the previous harvest would be ploughed into the first furrow of the new season in the spring, or else otherwise destroyed in some way to release the spirit of the previous year’s grain. Another tradition, the one that most Pagans follow (and I don’t know the origin), states that it is to be kept to insure a bountiful crop through the next harvest season and burned around the time that a new one is made from the last sheaf.

Since Neopagans have three harvest holidays (Lúnasa, Autumn Equinox, and Samhain) in the widely observed “wheel of the year”, there is some debate over which holiday to burn a grain dolly. I would think the answer would be to make it close to one’s local grain harvest date. Arkansas grows soft red winter wheat as a commercial crop. Harvest begins in May and ends as late as the first week of July. So, for our locality, if you want to burn your grain dolly at the end of harvest, it makes sense to do so at Lúnasa, rather than at any of the later harvest holidays. That, and because it’s the harvest holiday that has a strong grain theme.

Note that I’m calling them grain dollies instead of the more traditional “corn dolly”. This is because Americans have confused traditional use of the word corn to exclusively mean maize. To the Europeans, corn meant grain. Corn dollies were not corn husk dolls. They didn’t have maize back then. Corn dollies were made of whatever grain various European cultures predominantly ate, like wheat or oats.

But we do live in the modern western world, and many would say that we need to adapt traditions to where we are and the way we live now. Americans in general do eat a lot of corn, both as a vegetable and as a grain, and as a sweetener (although Arkansas doesn’t grow much maize commercially). Corn husk dolls are easier to make than wheat dolls, which is probably a big part of why most American Pagans make corn husk dolls instead of the more traditional grain dollies for harvest holidays. The materials are also easier to find. Not many people grow wheat in their backyard garden but plenty grow corn, or could get corn in the husk at any farmer’s market or grocery store. Maize harvest starts mid August in Arkansas and can last late into September or even October, so it would make sense to burn your cornhusk harvest dolls at the Autumnal Equinox or Samhain if you are so inclined.

Unless you are a farmer or a gardener who grows grains, your harvest doll is purely symbolic anyway, not made from the last sheaf of anything, but symbolic of the harvest for you personally. So make it of whatever materials represent the harvest for you (you’ll notice that one of the dollies in the picture below is made of both cornhusks and wheat), and burn or bury it at whichever of the harvest (or spring) holidays that you feel drawn to do so.

Kids’ Activities for Lúnasa / Summer Thermstice

Here are some ideas and resources for celebrating Lúnasa/Lammas/Summer Thermstice or Freyfaxi with children. These three early to mid- August holidays overlap and share some common themes; the grain (and berry) harvest, fertility of the land, and sporting events and fairs that include horse races.

I disagree with the notion that this was a time of honoring the waning sun. I think that idea comes from the Victorian-era notion that Lúgh is a sun god. The Celtic god Lúgh is most likely a lightning god; his name means “flashing light” and his epithet lonnbeimnech means “fierce striker”. In County Mayo thunderstorms were referred to as battles between Lúgh and Balor. Balor’s evil eye represents the scorching late-summer sun. Lúgh’s defeat of Balor represents August storms defeating the crop-threatening summer heat and drought. Lightning strikes help fertilize the soil with nitrogen, and of course, the rain that comes along with the thunder and lightning is essential for a good harvest.

Many of the (otherwise somewhat useful) books and stories suggested below have a few lines or words in them describing Lúgh as a sun god. Unfortunately, this is true of many, if not most, children’s mythology books. When I find some that are more accurate, I will happily (joyfully!) update this list. So, as with anything, read to yourself before reading aloud to your kids to correct historical mistakes and inaccuracies.

EXPLANATION & INFORMATION

• “The Ancient Celtic Festivals and How We Celebrate Then Today” (page 24) by Clare Walker Leslie and Frank E. Gerace (for ages 9-12). This book isn’t 100% accurate, but has a lot of good information and is nicely illustrated.

STORIES

• “The Tale of John Barleycorn” by Mary Azarian (for ages 9-12)

• “The Coming of Lugh” from “Celtic Wonder Tales” by Ella Young (for ages 9-12)- available to read online at sacred texts, “Moytura” from The Names Upon the Harp, Irish Myth and Legend by Marie Heaney (ages 9 and up), or “The Second Battle of Moytura” from Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic Mythology by Anne Ross (for ages 11 and up).

• Stories of Llew from “Tales from the Mabinogion” by Gwyn Thomas (for ages 9-12)

• “Sif’s Golden Hair” from “D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths” by Ingri & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire (for ages 5 and up).

• “How Thor got his Hammer” from Gods & Heroes from Viking Mythology by Brian Branston or The Adventures of Thor the Thunder God” by Lise Lunge-Larsen (for ages 9 and up)

• “Saving Freyfaxi” by Christy Lenzi, a four-part story starting in the July/August 2010 issue of Cricket magazine. The story is about a Viking girl who is put in charge of a sacred horse, Freyfaxi, dedicated to the god Frey.

GAMES Games are of special significance for this holiday; the death of Lúgh’s foster-mother, Tailtiu, is commemorated by the Lúnasa Games.

• Traditional Gaelic sports include hurling, camogie, football, handball, road bowling, stick play, and wrestling.

• More familiar games well suited to this holiday are horseshoes/ ring toss, footraces, tug-of-war, and sack races, etc.

• Idea for an indoor game: play the board game “Hi-ho Cherry-O” with real blueberries instead of the plastic cherries.

CRAFTS / ACTIVITIES

• Go berry-picking.

• Visit a horse sanctuary. Horses are associated with both Lúgh, and with the Norse god Freyr.

• Help a grown-up with bread-baking; practice kneading and shaping dough into harvest knots and other shapes.

• Make deity coloring pages to decorate your altar; use an internet image search to find one you like, save it, and go to a photo editing website like ScrapColoring to convert your image.

• Try wheat weaving. Braided wheat straw decorations are symbols of good luck and prosperity. They are part of the harvest celebrations of many cultures. They are often called “corn dollies”, but this kind of corn dolly is not shaped like a person. (Also, corn dollies are not made with corn husks. In Europe, corn means a grain like wheat, barley, or rye.) For a simple first wheat weaving project, take three wheat stalks of equal length and soak the stems in warm water until they bend easily. Line them up beside each other. Starting at the wheat heads, braid the stalks all the way to the end, loop it around and tie to just above the wheat heads with a red ribbon. Find a book at the library on wheat weaving and work your way up to making more difficult wheat weaving designs.

Countdown to Lúnasa / Summer Thermstice – Holiday Planner

July  8th – 14th

• Decorate home for the holiday / make crafts to decorate home, like wheat weaving and dough crafts.

• Take seasonal (outdoor) pictures with family/friends.

• Firm up ritual plans, if you haven’t already. Will you be attending a festival, local event, a family event, or doing something on your own? If you are planning the ritual, decide on location and script/liturgy.

• In addition to any ritual plans, you may want to plan on attending a local harvest festival or fair; check community calendars and plan accordingly.

July 15th – 21st

• Make a Lúnasa playlist.

• Make menu plans and grocery list.

• Find some good berry patches and places to pick pawpaws.

• Line up Lúnasa activities for the kids.

July 22nd – 31st

• Shop for menu items.

• Forage paw paws (if ready) and wild berries.

• Prepare some menu items in advance (breads and desserts, for example).

August 1st

• Prepare feast (or potluck dish).

• Have ritual, attend any other festivities, and celebrate!

My Summer Thermstice (Lúnasa/Lammas) Playlist

• Call the Circle – Jenneth Graham

• The Berry Song – Linda Hirschhorn (Gather Round: Songs of Celebration and Renewal)

• John Barleycorn – Steeleye Span (Below the Salt)

• Reaphook and the Sickle – Waterson Carthy (Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man)

• Comin’ Thro The Rye – Honeychild Coleman (Bereket Window)

• Lughnasadh – Hymir’s Kettle (Journey to Utgard)

• Corn Rigs – Magnet (The Wicker Man Original Soundtrack Recording)

• Scarborough Fair – Simon & Garfunkel (Greatest Hits)

• Lughnasadh – Omnia (Pagan Folk)

• Harvest Moon – Neil Young (Harvest Moon)

• August – Anúna (Songs of the Whispering Things)

• Lammastide – from the musical “The Woman in White”

• The Wind That Shakes The Barley – Solas (Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers)

• The Hills of Connemara – Gaelic Storm (Gaelic Storm)

• Brigg Fair – Richard Grainger (War Horse)

• Heartbeat of Harvest – Cernunnos Rising (Wild Soul)

• Sonnenreigen – Faun (Midgard)

• The Coarncraik – Deaf Shepherd (Synergy)

• King Harvest – The Band (Greatest Hits)

• Fields of Gold – Tyler Ward & Lindsey Stirling & Peter Hollens

• Storm Comin’ – Wailin’ Jennys (Bright Morning Stars)

• The Scythe – Gaia Consort (Evolve)

• Fall Down as the Rain – Joe Crookston (Fall Down as the Rain)

You can listen to them all on one playlist here.