On Lughnasadh (Lammas) we celebrate the first harvest and the sacrifice of John Barleycorn, spirit of the grain. The grain is cut down and dies that we may live. In His death is His own resurrection, not through mysticism, but through nature. In dying as grain, He becomes bread, in dying as bread, He becomes nourishment. He lives in all of us as we are fed by His sacrifice.
Imagine yourself in a field of wheat. The grain ripples in the breeze, like a golden sea of gentle waves. The movement of the golden waves is hypnotic, flowing in and out, in and out, as it catches the sun and sparkles in the light.
As the waves move in and out, back and forth, a shape emerges from them.
Now you see that the shape is a man. A golden man, wheat-colored and shining. He walks towards you. As you watch, he comes closer until he is facing you, only a few paces away.
Does he have something to say to you? Listen for a while. Spend as much time as you like with the golden man.
As you finish your time together, you notice that the light has changed. It is twilight, the sky is a sensual, deepening blue and the air is cooling. As you notice the twilight, you see a flash of light before you, like a gleam on metal, and John Barleycorn falls to the ground.
Step forward to where he has fallen. There is something there, where John Barleycorn fell. His body has disappeared, but something is in its place. Pick it up and hold it. It is the gift he left for you. What is it?
Bring this gift home with you to meditate on, and when you’re ready, open your eyes.
