Circle of the Hearth Lammas 2014 
Written by Adrianne

Parts
HPS, Corn King, Person to lead each dance/spiral (flowers then wheat, Drummer, Music player

Circle Set Up
Large cauldron in the centre of the circle
Bread in the cauldron (covered)
Wheat bunch for the Corn King to hold
A shroud for the Corn King
Flowers and grains for the participants to carry
Scythe for HPS
Crown for the Corn King

Music
Slow drum beat for invocation
Flower spiral: Various tracks ‘Tapas’ Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Wheat spiral: Various tracks ‘Tapas’ Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

Ritual
A shrouded figure is standing in the middle of the circle. Before him is a cauldron containing a loaf of covered bread. He is holding a bunch of wheat.

People carry in bunches of flowers, grains etc as they enter the circle (they hold on to them during the circle cast etc).

All form a circle 

HPS consecrates elements and takes them around the circle

HPS casts circle

Quarter calls

HPS introduces season
Welcome to the circle of Lammas, a time to celebrate the harvest, to give thanks and to experience the mystery contained within the turning of the season. We welcome to the centre of our circle the representation of the fertile fields and the maturing crops. We welcome the Corn King to the celebration of our season.

HPS picks up wand and the crown and stands in front of the Corn King ready to invoke.

Drummer moves to the side of the circle and begins a slow drum beat.

Person leading the dance signals for everyone to begin to slowly dance around the figure in the middle beginning to raise energy. 

When the energy has built, the HPS invokes Corn King into shrouded figure while everyone continues to dance.

HPS: 		We call to the King who is sovereign of the sunlit fields
		He who dances at night in the light of the crescent moon
		He whose light radiates deep within the seed in the earth
		Rising with the grain

		We call to the King of the maturing corn and wheat
		He who is at his height and in the fullness of his power
		He who is held firm within the fertile earth
		Growing beneath the Sun

		We call to the King of the summer
		Whose head is kissed by the season’s breeze
		He whose body feels the heartbeat of the earth; 
		Reaching for the sky

		King of the Corn, King of the fields, King of the Sun we invoke thee!

(Alternative: Sing “Song Of Amergin to harmonium and drum)

The drumming and the dancing ceases at the end of the invocation and the HPS crowns the Corn King and gives him a kiss to welcome him. The drummer moves back into the circle. The HPS also moves back to the edge of the circle.

HPS:	We hold in our arms the spirit of the harvest, the beauty and the bounty of the earth. We thank the Corn King who presided over the summer for the gifts we hold dear to our heart and we give back to the land a token of that thanks. As you spiral in, place your flowers at the feet of the God and give thanks for that which has come into your life and give thanks for the fruits and flowers and the grains of the harvest. 

HPS begins music:

The person nominated to lead begins and all spiral in with their flowers etc one by one and place them around the shrouded figure on the ground and around the cauldron giving thanks for the season and the harvests in their lives and spiral out again. The HPS goes last and spirals back out again to the edge of the circle.

HPS speaks about the harvest and the sacrifice that must also be made:

From the height of sovereignty to the place of greatest darkness and back again. We honour the sacrifice that the Corn King must now make. For the wheel to turn and the season to continue we must harvest all of the grain from the land, leaving none to waste and wither, we must take the last of the season.

HPS begins music:

The person nominated to lead begins and all spiral in one by one and take a wheat stalk from the Corn King and spiral out again (making sure there is at least one stalk left at the end).  The women give him a kiss as they take the wheat.

HPS picks up the scythe from the altar and spirals in last and stands opposite the shrouded figure.

HPS gives the Corn King kiss through the shroud and says:

O Great Mother of us all, Receiver of sacrifice, bridger of worlds, Goddess of the  cauldron of transformation, contained in the cup of the waters of life, you who holds the mystery of our season, accept our sacrifice of thanks to you so the wheel must spin once more.

She takes her sickle and then cuts the remaining wheat in the Corn Kings arms and sings John Barley Corn.

John Barley Corn is cut down dead
It is his time to die
The sun that warmed our summer days
No longer is so high
We thank him and our Goddess fair
We thank them for the corn
We gather in the harvest now
And lave the fields forlorn

Corn King falls to ground and a silence is allowed to descend upon the circle.

HPS:	Close your eyes now and give thanks to the God and the Goddess as they journey ever forth.

As this happens, the Corn King is unshrouded by the HPS and assisted back into the circle. His crown and shroud are placed inside the cauldron.

When the HPS feels it is right, she takes the bread from the cauldron and presents it to the circle.

HPS:	When you are ready, open your eyes. Behold! The wheel turns in the seed of the grain and the mystery of the season is revealed. All things grow, all things fade, all things are reborn. The sacrifice made renews all life. The felling of the wheat at its height creates the bread that sustains us as the wheel turns once more.

The bread is passed around the circle and then the HPS places it in front of the cauldron.

Cakes and ale – HPS and Corn King

Farewells and close