Spell of the month:
A home for the spirit of your harvest
I was gifted a lovely corn dolly, the meaning of these is “The spirit of the grain”. It was believed that this spirit became homeless when the fields were harvested, making a corn dolly was a way of giving the corn-spirit a comfortable home indoors, maybe hung by the hearth or placed on the altar. The following spring, it would be carried out into the fields and ploughed into the earth, releasing the spirit, to bring abundance to the next harvest.
This made me wonder how I can apply this intention into my practice today, living in an urban area, with no arable farm in the surrounding area to ask for some corn. I do have a small garden, however I wanted to think of something inclusive, that could be made by anyone; gardener, forager, windowsill/box grower, someone with limited mobility or a walker of local green spaces.
The notions I came up with were a poppet, jar, a pouch or a bag, sure you can think of other ideas, depending on how much flexibility you have in your hands, as well as what your intuition says is best for you.
What is important is the intention you put into your ‘doll’ for bounty, success and that the future will hold abundance and prosperity. The items you choose to use will depend on what is available to you, that connect for you with this intention. If you are a gardener, grow herbs or salad in a box or on your windowsill, some seeds or dried leaves/flowers from these plants could be used. However, you could easily collect seeds, leaves, feathers and twigs when out for a local walk, if you don’t have the space to grow anything yourself. For those with limited mobility, how about the seeds from apples, pears, plums; look at your herbs and spices; use anything which is native to your country.
I collected and dried seeds, leaves, petals and flower heads from each plant that I have growing in our garden.
I decided to make a poppet, choosing green felt for earth, luck, fertility, healing, balance, employment, prosperity, agriculture and growth; made into an upright triangle, symbolising the element of fire for change, passion, creativity, motivation, will power, drive and purity. I picked some charms that, for me, represent happiness and abundance to decorate my poppet, then placed all my dried harvest inside, with 9 silver coins. It is now on my altar, to keep the spirit of my harvest safe until Spring returns.
Have fun creating! Care for it until next Spring, when you can release the energy by returning the contents to where you found them, planting the seeds, composting or burying them.