New School Year equals New Lessons

As the summer begins to end with the start of a new school year, now is a perfect time to implement the use of new rituals with our children. Rituals that will help guide them on the Pagan path with lessons on the Elements. An example of such a ritual would be during bath time in the evenings. Believe it or not, but bath time is a perfect time to teach and discuss the Elements, especially Water, with your young ones.

In the path I follow, the Element of Water is associated with the direction of West and represents the sunset, otherwise seen as the beginning of the end. Bath time is the beginning to the end of a child’s day, which is generally done just before bedtime. When bathing your children have a discussion on Water and the importance of this Element. Talk about how Water helps cleanse them of the worries and troubles of that day to give their personal energy a “clean” slate so they can start the next day refreshed and renewed. During this discussion, you can also bring up the various associations of Water and discuss why these associations are important to know, like deities such as Poseidon. Remember, raising pagans is suppose to be fun, so create a song or chant you both can sing during this time to help them remember what Water is and why Water is important.

What is comes down to is this, each of our mundane rituals, like bathing, are a great opportunity to teach our children about paganism, because paganism is not just a spiritual path, but also a lifestyle. You might be surprised to learn how easy it is to raise your children pagan by simply leading through example. 

Lammas

This year will be the first time I celebrate Lammas with my daughters. Up to now, Yule has been the only sabbat I have openly celebrated with them. I wish I had good reasons to share as to why I have not included them in earlier sabbat celebrations, but regardless of my previous actions, tomorrow we will celebrate Lammas as one. 

I have been thinking all morning about how I would explain the purpose and importance of this holiday to them. In the Wiccan tradition I follow, Lammas means the following –

It is the first harvest festival, which celebrates the grains of the field. With the cutting of the grain, the god begins to weaken. Yet, as he weakens, the goddess begins to fully feel the strength of their child growing within.

After some thought, it occurred to me I should write a short poem to read to my daughters which would explain the sabbat's significance. What I came up with was this –

Lammas

The first harvest in the Wheel of the Year,

Farmers cutting the grains will draw us near,

To the God who will soon become the Sage,

As the wheel moves toward Samhain and the dawn of a new age.

I plan for tomorrow’s celebration to be simple. We will honor this holiday by making corn bread loaves as a family. The loaves will then be shared with family and neighbors. Since corn is a grain and Lammas is the celebration of its harvest, making corn bread loaves will be an appropriate working for this sabbat.

How will you celebrate Lammas with your children this year?

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