{"id":14555,"date":"2017-08-01T01:10:08","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=15079"},"modified":"2017-07-31T20:56:55","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T01:56:55","slug":"goodgod-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/08\/01\/goodgod-8\/","title":{"rendered":"GoodGod!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet the Gods: Barleycorn<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Merry meet.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Lughnasadh is celebrated this month \u2013 traditionally on the 1st, astrologically on the 7th. It is the first harvest, a festival of grain. <\/span><\/span>While traditionally in Europe, corn meant grain, many Americans have come to think of corn only as maize. Because I know of no fields of rye, oats or barley here in Connecticut, maize has been my go-to grain. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s found its way into my rituals as corn muffins, corn dollies and fry bread \u2013 to go with the bounty from my garden \u2013 I had never sought to welcome the corn god to my circle. This year I will.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most cultures have a god of grains, fields or agriculture.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Frey)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the Norse tradition, Frey was the Corn God, the Lord of the Fields. He rode a great white horse and his hair was the golden color of wheat. Every year, he rode into the field where only the last sheath of grain remained standing. He sacrificed himself as it was cut, dying for the good of all as his blood enriched the field to assure next year\u2019s harvest was bountiful.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Osiris)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In Egyptian mythology, it is Osiris who is associated with grain and its lifecycle. He is represents fertility as each year he is harvested and killed. The dead Osiris is put into the ground as seeds which grow to be grain, bringing him to life again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Yum Kaaz)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Maya god of corn and wild vegetation is Yum Kaaz, Lord of the Forest. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is portrayed as a young man with an ear of corn growing out of his head,\u201d according to AllAboutHistory.org<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Centeotl)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Centeotl is the Aztec God (or Goddess) of Maize. Farmers would offer him fruits and grains from their fields that he might protect their fields from wild animals. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the best known corn king and harvest god is John Barleycorn. In the English tradition, August 1 marked the sacrificial death of the Horned God in his incarnations as the Corn King or John Barleycorn whose reign began on the Summer Solstice. He is the personification of the lifecycle of grain \u2013 from planting to harvest, then malting to make whiskey and beer, and then to planting again. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a ballad sung about him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Barleycorn is the spirit of the fields that at this time are full crops given life by the sun. And it is in the last sheaf or stalk harvested that his spirit is strongest, so he\u2019s dressed in fine clothing, or formed into the shape of a man and this effigy would be cut and typically burned with much celebrating. His sacrifice for the land, for the people and for the goddess became beer and malt whiskey and bread. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Druid\u2019s sacrificial burning of a larger-than-life wicker man may have been the inspiration for Burning Man. Both rituals are associated with death and rebirth of the god of the grain. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lughnasadh<\/span><\/span> is a time of transformation, of rebirth and new beginnings. It\u2019s a time of plenty, a time to reap the bounty of your efforts and celebrate abundance that will sustain us as the wheel turns.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After calling the quarters, plan to light a candle shaped like an ear of corn to welcome one or more of these gods. Meanwhile, I would like to know how you\u2019ve worked with them in your practice.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Merry part; and merry meet again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet the Gods: Barleycorn Merry meet. Lughnasadh is celebrated this month \u2013 traditionally on the 1st, astrologically on the 7th. It is the first harvest, a festival of grain. While traditionally in Europe, corn meant grain, many Americans have come to think of corn only as maize. Because I know of no fields of rye, oats or barley here in Connecticut, maize has been my go-to grain. While it\u2019s found its way into my rituals as corn muffins, corn dollies and fry bread \u2013 to go with the bounty from my garden \u2013 I had never sought to welcome the corn god to my circle. This year I will. Most cultures have a god of grains, fields or agriculture.   (Frey) In the Norse tradition, Frey was the Corn God, the Lord of the Fields. He rode a great white horse and his hair was the golden color of wheat. Every year, he rode into the field where only the last sheath of grain remained standing. He sacrificed himself as it was cut, dying for the good of all as his blood enriched the field to assure next year\u2019s harvest was bountiful.   (Osiris) In Egyptian mythology, it is Osiris who is associated with grain and its lifecycle. He is represents fertility as each year he is harvested and killed. The dead Osiris is put into the ground as seeds which grow to be grain, bringing him to life again.   (Yum Kaaz) The Maya god of corn and wild vegetation is Yum Kaaz, Lord of the Forest. \u201cHe is portrayed as a young man with an ear of corn growing out of his head,\u201d according to AllAboutHistory.org.   (Centeotl) Centeotl is the Aztec God (or Goddess) of Maize. Farmers would offer him fruits and grains from their fields that he might protect their fields from wild animals. Perhaps the best known corn king and harvest god is John Barleycorn. In the English tradition, August 1 marked the sacrificial death of the Horned God in his incarnations as the Corn King or John Barleycorn whose reign began on the Summer Solstice. He is the personification of the lifecycle of grain \u2013 from planting to harvest, then malting to make whiskey and beer, and then to planting again. There is a ballad sung about him.   John Barleycorn is the spirit of the fields that at this time are full crops given life by the sun. And it is in the last sheaf or stalk harvested that his spirit is strongest, so he\u2019s dressed in fine clothing, or formed into the shape of a man and this effigy would be cut and typically burned with much celebrating. His sacrifice for the land, for the people and for the goddess became beer and malt whiskey and bread. The Druid\u2019s sacrificial burning of a larger-than-life wicker man may have been the inspiration for Burning Man. Both rituals are associated with death and rebirth of the god of the grain. Lughnasadh is a time of transformation, of rebirth and new beginnings. It\u2019s a time of plenty, a time to reap the bounty of your efforts and celebrate abundance that will sustain us as the wheel turns. After calling the quarters, plan to light a candle shaped like an ear of corn to welcome one or more of these gods. Meanwhile, I would like to know how you\u2019ve worked with them in your practice. Merry part; and merry meet again.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}