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Symbol and Synecdoche at Lammas
This weekend, my household celebrated Lammas, the harvest festival midway between Midsummer and the Fall Equinox. Wearing masks to protect against the virus, we climbed a hill, poured libations, and made an offering of bread to represent the spirit of the harvested grain.
Most religions claim to be more than “just” a religion. They call themselves “a way of life.” What they usually mean by that is that they ask more of their followers than simply attending weekly congregational worship. Sunni Muslims pray five times each day. Orthodox Jews apply the rules of halakha to every aspect of their lives. A tradition makes a way of life out of itself by straining at the limits of the narrow, boxed-in category “religion.” The obligations, duties, and ethics grow so expansive that eventually, they spill out and fill the adherent’s whole life. You carry your religion with you every day of the week.
But Paganism takes the opposite approach. Instead of spreading religious requirements across daily life, Paganism takes the rhythms and processes of life and sanctifies them through ritual.
When you pour a libation, you’re expressing gratitude and reciprocity with the divine and natural worlds. The drink in your hands is part of what the gods have given you. Your body survives through nature’s abundance. By pouring part of it out, you return it to the…