{"id":2208,"date":"2010-05-13T18:01:04","date_gmt":"2010-05-13T22:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2010-05-13T18:01:04","modified_gmt":"2010-05-13T22:01:04","slug":"sumer%e2%80%99-is-a-comin%e2%80%99-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=2208","title":{"rendered":"Sumer\u2019 Is A Comin\u2019 In"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lady Passion<\/p>\n

\u201cSummer is a comin\u2019 in,
\nLoudly sing \u2018Cuckoo\u2019!
\nSeeds grow, and meadows blow \u2014
\nThe forest springs anew\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 English translation, earliest printed European folksong<\/p>\n

Many know the bare-bones basics of planting by the lunar cycle (plant during the moon\u2019s waxing or full phase, and weed and harvest during the waning or new moon times), etc. However, there are many ancient wise words whose efficacy we can rely on to remember what to do when and that convey profound religious meanings, as well. For example, consider the deep spiritual implications contained in the following Old English seed-sowing rhyme:<\/p>\n

Four seeds in a hole.
\nOne for the rook, and one for the crow.
\nOne to rot, and one to grow.
\nFour seeds in a hole.<\/p>\n

To many gardeners and farmers, putting quadruple seeds into a single hole is an
\narbitrary waste of time and effort to be roundly rejected. What a frustrating
\nslowing down of frenetic activity! I mean, the gall of it all to be charged to
\ncarefully count out four minute seeds per poke \u2014 why not three or five, instead?
\nThey consider it a waste of space as well \u2014 some hackneyed, old wives\u2019 folly
\nthat will inevitably result in the shoots competing against each other when
\nstruggling to sprout, as they\u2019ve obviously been planted in too confined a place.<\/p>\n

Yet, this country charm packs perceptive wisdom in its seemingly simplistic,
\nsing song verse. The first two lines teach, respectively, that each seed stands for
\none of the four Elements \u2014 the very Earth, Air, Fire, and Water that plants
\nrequire in order to germinate, blossom, and thrive, and that precise patience from
\nplanting to fruition is required in order to coax any life form from seed to its fullest
\nexpression.<\/p>\n

The inclusion of rook and crow acknowledges the inherent give-and-take
\nreciprocity that comprises Life. Birds may, in fact, eat one or two of the seeds
\npost-planting \u2014 and this is just, as things of the wing deserve their portion from
\nhuman labor, for we depend on their eating bugs that pester us when we\u2019re
\nweeding a field. More subtly, though, it warns of the likelihood that the Air itself
\nat once the bringer of rains that water our rows may as swiftly waft aloft a seed or
\ntwo, despite our attempts to prevent it.<\/p>\n

The reference to rot reminds that, as with corrupt people, not all seeds are viable.
\nAs some folks wallow in sorrow, drown in drink, or mold with madness, some
\nseeds resist nurturing: They shrink from the brink of greatness, decompose in
\nfertile soil, and never know their full potential.<\/p>\n

Thus, by Fate or whim of Chance, but one in four seeds sown is likely to beat the
\nodds and burst though the earthen ceiling; to bloom as it should and we desire.
\nThis tenacious tendril equates with the 1% of humans that are truly spiritual
\nthey who accept and even embrace the unique quirkiness of their genetic
\npredispositions and the whisperings of their conscience derived from their ethical
\ndirectives.<\/p>\n

These suffer no less than others the buffeting by modern perils; they simply
\nchoose to do so with grace. And, duly tempered by the Elements and their
\nongoing experiences, transcend the slings and arrows of their environment to
\nbecome strong, free \u2014 lush of self.<\/p>\n

The charm concludes reiterating how it began, in a cycle, a round that proves
\nperpetual impermanence. It ends stressing the importance of not eschewing the
\nnature of Nature.<\/p>\n

In the Craft, as in Life, two types of folks exist: Those who see simplicity in the
\ncomplex, and those who see complexity in the painfully simple.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy for many these days to see the forest but not the trees \u2014 to insist that
\nfolk magic is essentially simple, and hence, fail to consider, see, and even
\ndisdain the ancients\u2019 ability to impart insight in a few strokes, minimal lines.<\/p>\n

Equally easy it is for their opposite kind to flog a metaphor past all semblance of
\nreasonableness \u2014 to create meaning out of whole-cloth for the sake of sounding
\nclever.<\/p>\n

But transparent as a petal it should be that, during this time of food and herbal
\nmedicine-wont, eroded land and floral extinctions, any who would plant or nurture
\nthe uncontaminated remainder heed the wisdom of ages past \u2014 both to nurture
\nthe plants and trees that can save them, and for the spiritual \u2018juice\u2019 rhyme charms
\ncan provide their soul.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>About the Author:<\/strong>
\nLady Passion is co-author of The Goodly Spellbook: Olde Spells For Modern Problems. She’s been an R.N. for 24 years, and High Priestess of the 501(c)(3) religious nonprofit Coven Oldenwilde in Asheville, NC for 16 years. She may be reached at: oldenwilde.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"