This year the amount of heavy rain that has fallen here in Cornwall has affected the crops of the Lughnasad harvest - many are too damp to gather, and others have not grown properly. A reminder that Mother Nature is still a force to be reckoned with! The festival created by Lugh, in memory of his Foster Mother Tailtu, who died after clearing the forests of Meath to become prime agricultural land, had little evidence of those important first fruits..... By the Autumn Equinox the days will have become shorter and the nights longer, and thoughts will be turning inwards. Grandmother Kernow watches as  many of us turn our minds towards learning new skills and increasing our wisdom and life experiences. The trees relax and breathe out, letting their sap go back into their roots to sustain them for the colder months of winter. As the leaves turn colour and fall we celebrate Samhain. This festival, where the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest once marked the end of one year and the beginning of the next. The Celtic tradition was ''dark before light' so they began their year at the start of winter, and their days at dusk. Grandmother Kernow reminds us that we carry a bright light within us all through the darkest times, and that it is in our darkest times that we can learn most wisdom. The seasons of our lives are like the seasons of nature, they all pass in a never ending cycle of spiral experience. If we wait out the dark days as best as we can, we will emerge again into the bright long days of summer..... Samhain is a time to remember our past, and especially the people who have been a part of our lives and who are no longer with us, and the wisdom we gained from knowing them. Grandmother Kernow reminds us that the dark days of winter can bring us many fresh starts and opportunities for gestating new growth.

Charge of the Grandmother of Time

Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:
who has been known by many names - some feared, and some loved, but none ever ignored.

She has been called Crone, Hecate, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma, Anna Perenna, Spider Woman

She is the Ancient Grandmother who brings the wisdom and the awareness of eternity that we carry in our bones.

In the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore that shaped our lives. She sat in honour amongst us. She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws. She gave focus to our changing seasons.

She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.

Come, honour her as of old, listen now to the words of the Wise One, the ancient Seer, the Grandmother, the Crone!

‘I have been the Maiden, and remember that joy.

I have been the Mother, and recall that pleasure.

 But Time has changed me, and taught me the mysteries of the Wheel that is ever turning, the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.

I bring an understanding of the past, and a glimpse of the future. For, in the turning of the Wheel, the past is the future, and the future is the past.

My touch, however harsh, is love. Do not be afraid to know me, or to face my wisdom and my truth, for my truth will set you free’.