The Modern Pilgrimage

Article from DailyOm

Since the dawn of spirituality, men and women have sought communion with numerous gods, goddesses, and traditions by leaving the everyday world behind and embarking on a sacred journey.

Thus talk of the spirit and of the soul is full of references to travel: leaving yourself behind, walking the walk, and journeys of the soul. Making a pilgrimage is a deeply tangible way of connecting with your spirituality and discovering truths within yourself. The destination isn't as important as devotion and receptiveness, because it is while traveling (by foot, horse, canoe, or car) that you can meditate most deeply on your motivations for undertaking the pilgrimage.The experience is nearly always a quiet one, devoid of television, ringing phones, e-mail, or jostling crowds because a true pilgrimage takes you away from familiar surroundings in order to help you find divinity, healing, clarity, inspiration, or a new perspective.`

Pilgrimage to a sacred site of any kind puts the traveler in situations where they must think and behave differently. A sacred journey can take one to far flung places such as Mecca, Kyoto, Europe, Guadalupe, or Cambodia, or camping in hushed forests, sailing through rough waters, or climbing mountains in one's home country.Your yearly vacation can become a pilgrimage, if that is your intent and you are willing to voluntarily give up some of the security of your normal life to experience a new and vibrant setting in a spiritual way.

Choose one or more special places and spend a few days getting to know them intimately.Pack lightly, leaving the trappings of your world behind, and let go. Visit areas where people of importance to you, be they family members, heroes, or otherwise, lived, spoke, walked, and died. A trip to the grave of a favorite author can be a pilgrimage as much as a trip to a religious shrine.Pilgrimages were considered vital to spiritual growth during much of history and, today, people are once again seeking that growth through travel. But, on such a journey, it is important to remember that most pilgrimages bring about gradual change.

The stirring of the soul can happen anywhere. And it can solidify a spiritual experience, end doubt, and help you gain confidence in your chosen path.A new outlook may very well emerge from it.

Lughnasadh

Dear all

I must apologise for not keeping The Old Ways up to date. I have been wrapped up in writing, research and trying to learn how to play the guitar (which I might add is much more difficult than you would expect!). Little enough time has been spent online lately. I have missed Midsummer completely, wrapped in work and the warmth of the baking sun...sadly, not at the same time.

So, I am making up for my laxness by posting a bit about the First Harvesting.

Lughnasadh 2nd-4th August

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity
Ne'er fail in old Scotland!

Lughnasadh (pronouced ‘loo’nass’ah’) comes at the beginning of August. It is one of the Pagan festivals of Celtic origin which split the year into four. Celts held the festival of the Irish god Lugh at this time and later, the Anglo-Saxons marked the festival of hlaefmass, loaf mass or Lammas at this time.For these agricultural communities this was the first day of the harvest, when the fields would be glowing with corn and reaping would begin. The harvest period would continue until Samhain when the last stores for the winter months would be put away. Lughnasadh is still seen as a harvest festival by Pagans and symbols connected with the reaping of corn predominate in its rites.

Set an orange candle on either side of the caldron.

On a piece of paper (small) write the things you have harvested over the past year,light the paper from one of the candles and let it burn in the cauldron.

After it is done put some corn (or squash) seeds in the cauldron.

“Stir” the seeds with your wand, visualizing white ligh tcoming from the tip of the wand, filling the cauldron and entering the seeds.

When you feel the seeds have absorbed their fill, stop, put the seeds into another container to be kept on the altar until next year’s planting.