HARVEST HOME
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There were three men came out of the
West, Their fortunes for to try, And these three men made a solemn vow,
John Barleycorn must die...
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Despite the bad publicity generated
by Thomas Tryon's novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays.
Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is
symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John
Barleycorn.
Occurring 1/4 of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents
mid-autumn, autumn's height. It is also the Autumnal Equinox, one of the
quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern
Witchcraft.
Technically, an equinox is an
astronomical point and, due to the fact that the earth wobbles on its axis slightly (rather like a top
that's slowing down), the date
may vary by a few days depending on the year. The autumnal equinox
occurs when the sun crosses the equator on it's apparent journey
southward, and we experience a day and a night that are of equal
duration. Up until Harvest Home, the hours of daylight have been greater
than the hours from dusk to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds
true. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign
of Libra, the Balance (an appropriate symbol of a balanced day and
night). This year (1988) it will occur
2:29
pm CDT on September 22nd.
However, since most European
peasants were not accomplished at calculating the exact date of the
equinox, they celebrated the event a fixed calendar date, September
25th, a holiday the medieval
Church
Christianized under the name of 'Michaelmas', the feast of the Archangel
Michael. (One wonders if, at some point, the R.C. Church contemplated assigning the four quarter days of the year to the four
Archangels, just as they assigned the four cross-quarter days to the
four gospel-writers. Further evidence for this may be seen in the fact
that there was a brief flirtation with calling the Vernal Equinox 'Gabrielmas',
ostensibly to commemorate the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary on
Lady Day.) Again, it must be remembered that the Celts reckoned their
days from sundown to sundown, so the September 25th festivities actually
begin on the previous sundown (our September 24th).
Although our Pagan ancestors
probably celebrated Harvest Home on September 25th, modern Witches and
Pagans, with their desk-top computers for making finer calculations,
seem to prefer the actual equinox point, beginning the celebration on
its eve (this year, sunset on September 21st).
Mythically, this is the day of the
year when the god of light is defeated by his twin and alter-ego, the
god of darkness. It is the time of the year when night conquers day. And
as I have recently shown in my seasonal reconstruction of the Welsh myth
of Blodeuwedd, the Autumnal Equinox is the only day of the whole year
when Llew (light) is vulnerable and it is possible to defeat him. Llew
now stands on the balance (Libra/autumnal equinox), with one foot on the
cauldron (Cancer/summer solstice) and his other foot on the goat
(Capricorn/winter solstice). Thus he is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the
Virgin (Virgo) and transformed into an Eagle (Scorpio).
Two things are now likely to occur
mythically, in rapid succession. Having defeated Llew, Goronwy
(darkness) now takes over Llew's functions, both as lover to Blodeuwedd,
the Goddess, and as
King of our own world. Although
Goronwy, the Horned King, now sits on Llew's throne and begins his rule
immediately, his formal coronation will not be for another six weeks,
occurring at Samhain (Halloween) or the beginning of Winter, when he
becomes the Winter Lord, the Dark King, Lord of Misrule. Goronwy's other
function has more immediate results, however. He mates with the virgin
goddess, and Blodeuwedd conceives, and will give birth -- nine months
later (at the Summer Solstice) -- to Goronwy's son, who is really
another incarnation of himself, the Dark Child.
Llew's sacrificial death at Harvest
Home also identifies him with John Barleycorn, spirit of the fields.
Thus, Llew represents not only the sun's power, but also the sun's life
trapped and crystallized in the corn. Often this corn spirit was
believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested,
which was dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like
man-shaped form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field,
and usually burned,
amidst
much rejoicing. So one may see Blodeuwedd and Goronwy in a new guise,
not as conspirators who murder their king, but as kindly farmers who
harvest the crop which they had planted and so lovingly cared for. And
yet, anyone who knows the old ballad of John Barleycorn knows that we
have not heard the last of him.
They let him stand till
midsummer's day,
Till he looked both pale and wan,
And little Sir John's grown a long, long beard And so become a
man...
Incidentally, this annual mock
sacrifice of a large wicker-work figure (representing the vegetation spirit) may have been the origin
of the misconception that
Druids made human sacrifices. This charge was first made by Julius
Caesar (who may not have had the most unbiased of motives), and has been
re-stated many times since. However, as has often been pointed out, the
only historians besides Caesar who make this accusation are those who
have read Caesar. And in fact, upon reading Caesar's 'Gallic Wars'
closely, one discovers that Caesar never claims to have actually
witnessed such a sacrifice. Nor does he claim to have talked to anyone
else who did. In fact, there is not one single eyewitness account of a
human sacrifice performed by Druids in all of history!
Nor is there any archeological
evidence to support the charge. If, for example, human sacrifices had
been performed at the same ritual sites year after year, there would be
physical traces. Yet there is not a scrap. Nor is there any native
tradition or history which lends support. In fact, insular tradition
seems to point in the opposite direction. The Druid's reverence for life
was so strict that they refused to lift a sword to defend themselves
when massacred by Roman soldiers on the Isle of Mona. Irish brehon laws
forbade a Druid to touch a weapon, and any soul rash enough to unsheathe
a sword in the presence of a Druid would be executed for such an
outrage!
Jesse Weston, in her brilliant study
of the Four Hallows of British myth, 'From Ritual to Romance', points
out that British folk tradition is, however, full of MOCK sacrifices. In
the case of the wicker-man, such figures were referred to in very
personified terms, dressed in clothes, addressed by name, etc. In such a
religious ritual drama, everybody played along.
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They've hired men with scythes so
sharp, To cut him off at the knee,
They've rolled him and tied him by the waist Serving him most
barbarously...
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