Harvest Ornament
The beginning of the harvest season is a transitional time. Summer is starting to wane but has yet to fully relinquish its grasp to Fall. Still rare are the few trees that have a patch of color where the leaves have started to turn. Here in Tennessee, the closer we get to August the more storms arrive. Once August is in full swing, the real oppressive heat and scorch of Summer hits. August is typically the hottest month for us and is further affected by the humidity that comes with the end of July rains. It is a beautiful time of transition. A time when the slow Summer heat and broiling sun can be quickly extinguished by a violent summer storm. A time of growing and of change. It is a harvest time but also a time of unpredictability that lasts until the end of August.
In Europe, grain and corn are king at this time. Lughnasadh is a Gaelic festival that marks the beginning of the harvest season. Lammas is the English equivalent to Lughnasadh, but with different traditions and observances. Lughnasadh centers on the offering of the first corn, a feast of the new food and of bilberries, the sacrifice of a bull and a ritual dance-play. Lammas centers on the first grain or wheat harvests and includes offerings of bread made from the first grain harvests and feasts of foods from the harvest. Both of these holidays are a significant time that marks the first of the harvest festivals in the Neo-Pagan calendar, the Wheel of the Year. Traditionally these holidays were an extended time of celebration of the harvest that could go on for weeks, but in modern times for many Neo-Pagans, is now observed on August 1 and marks the halfway point between the Summer solstice and the Autumn equinox.
Supplies:
-Wood ornament or shape- Most craft stores have branch or tree rounds, wood shapes, or find a downed tree or branch and saw off a slice. I used a small board of thin cherry wood from a local woodworking shop that I sawed into a square and sanded to round the corners and sides.
-Pyrography tool, pen, marker, colored pencil, or paint for applying the design
- Assorted decorations: feathers, beads, wire, string, jewelry pins, whatever else feels appropriate
-Rounded needle nose pliers and wire cutters, scissors, and if needed a hacksaw for cutting limbs or boards, sandpaper, a drill for hanging or eye screws to feed ribbon through as a hanger if using a thick enough piece of wood
-Wood seal such as wax, sealing spray, or paint on sealant or stain or leave untreated
This is not a step by step how-to but is instead a jumping off point for your own harvest ornament.
This ornament, to me, represents the late Summer and early Autumnal American harvest season. The wood is cherry wood that has a simple beeswax and coconut oil seal to bring out the beautiful color of the wood and to protect it a bit. The wood is a beautiful warm color that speaks to the fiery feel of the Summer and early Fall time. The symbol on the wood is stylized wheat stalks that are cut and uncut. This is burned into the wood using a wood burner or Pyrography tool. July and August in Tennessee is typically the hottest months and burning the image into the wood reminds me of the heat of the sun and the bonfires around harvest time. The orange bead represents the sun and the first leaves of the season that are starting to change to mark the beginnings of Fall. Silver has always had a mystical quality to me with its pure clean look and ability to reflect the colors it is surrounded by. The spiral of silver wire and the leaf represents the turning of time, cycle of life, and the seasons.
The feathers are from a Canadian goose and a robin. This time of year is molting season for many birds, including the Canadian goose. Feathers can be found readily where they are raising their young from the late spring early summer hatchings. I take short walks throughout the day to get fresh air and there is water culvert and collection pond that provided the perfect nesting ground for a family of Canadian geese. I have been watching them through out these last few months and I was able to find a few feathers from their molting. The American robin is a common sight on lawns across North America and are one of my favorite wild bird species. They are found year round in Tennessee and have always been a bird I enjoy watching as they hop through the yard, no matter the season, looking for worms.
