The Second Harvest Festival
Needed: Big Loaf of Bread (to be shared, not sliced)
Grape Juice or cider (to be shared)
Basket or box of donated food
Speaker 1: Gather to the circle, Come to the Harvest Festival (to get everyone’s attention and
have them join the group
Speaker 2: All Earth is scared, and all space just as so. But it’s not always clean. With that
being said, we make this space clean with breath and movement. (have everyone walk around
and make sure that the area is clean of debris) Now to finish the cleansing: Find someone you
have never met, or you don’t’ know very well, and introduce yourself. Greet them in your
tradition, and allow them to greet you in theirs. That we come together in respect, a fresh breath,
and good spirits.
Speaker 1: The harvest is a time of thanks, and also a time of balance -- after all, there are equal
hours of daylight and darkness. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the
soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind
us, cold lies ahead. So today, we celebrate what we have, and give to those who have nothing.
Speaker 3: The world passes from light into darkness, and the golden fields of the earth bring
the promise of food and nourishment through the winter. (North)
Speaker 4: I stand on the threshold of the darkness, and know that the summer breezes give way
to autumn chill, which bring forth the blazes of color in the trees. (East)
Speaker 5: I call upon the wise ones, the ancient gods, as the sun moves away and fire fades,
to be replaced with the chill of the night. (South)
Speaker 6: I will reflect on the guidance of the gods, and let the cool autumn rains wash over
me, cleansing my heart and soul. (West)
Speaker 1: Ladies of the Harvest, Earth Mother,
As the balance of nature starts its shift from Mother to Crone.
We look within to partake of the knowledge and wisdom you have given to us.
We call upon you to help guide the way.
Blessed Be.
Speaker 2: Lords of the Harvest, Great Warrior,
Now is the time of the second harvest, when the sun enters his waning time.
Before the last rays of light descend behind the night.
Illuminate our path to our inner being. We call upon you to help guide the way.
Blessed Be.
Pass out seed packets.
Speaker 1: Now is the time to reap what we have sown. Think upon what you have spent the
last year doing and creating, and being and destroying. And remember here in your hands lie a
world of new opportunities. As you think of what you are reaping, think now to what you will
sow. Plant your seeds with your intentions in gardens and dreams. Treat them well and nourish
them throughout the winter, so that in the spring you will begin to see the fruits of your labors, to
be recharged at their growth through the summer, till you begin to reap again in the fall.
Allow everyone to mediate over their seeds
Spoken Over the Bread and Wine:
Leaves fall, The days grow cold.
The Goddess pulls her mantle of Earth around Her
As You, O Great Sun God, sail toward the West
To the land of eternal enchantment,
Wrapped in the coolness of night.
Fruits ripen, Seeds drip,
The hours of day and night are balanced.
Chill winds blow in from the North wailing laments.
In this seeming extinction of nature's power, O Blessed
Earth, I know that life continues.
For spring is impossible without the second harvest,
As we must sow to reap and reap to sow again
As surely as life is impossible without death.
Blessings upon you, O Fallen God, as you journey into
The lands of winter and into the Goddess' loving arms.
Over the basket/Box of donations:
O Gracious Lord and Lady, of all types of fertility,
We have sown and reaped the fruits of our actions, good and bad.
Grant us the courage to plant seeds of joy and love in
The coming year, banishing misery and hate. Teach me the secrets
Of wise existence with the planet.
As you share bread and juice, have everyone share what they are thankful for this year.
And have everyone rejoice with them, applauding and everything if you can get them to do
it. And thank each other for attending.
Speaker 2: As we leave our gathering, remember the faces you see before you, for we
are community and must rely on each other to face the coming winter.