Before the harvest
Invitations to notice what is ripening
July. Fields are beginning to golden. Rambling blackberries are starting to bruise. Grasses bow beneath the weight of their seed heads, and apples hang heavier on their branches. Although we are still in summer, the turning has begun.
In just over a week’s time, the new Hay moon (14th July) begins the first lunar cycle traditionally associated with harvest season. Then, on the first of August, Lammas will arrive, when traditionally the first loaves were baked from newly harvested grain and communities paused to give thanks for what the earth had offered. These seasonal markers will be here soon enough, but if we look closely, the signs of harvest season have already started to appear.
Long before anything is gathered, we can look for what is ripening, noticing the growth that has evolved into fullness and abundance. And as always, the wild world guides us to consider how this seasonal phase - of nurturing and ripening - is showing up in our own lives, too. This isn’t a sudden realisation, rather an acknowledgement of the process of becoming that has been unfolding all year, and it is now that we are asked to witness our own ripening; to see clearly what has grown and transformed, and what changes may still lie ahead.
Below you’ll find six ways to engage with this ripening, designed to support you throughout July to reflect and prepare for harvest season. Some of these invitations may take only a few minutes, while others could quite happily stretch across the next few weeks. As always, follow your intuition and make them your own.
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