“But here I am in July, and why am I thinking about Christmas pudding? Probably because we always pine for what we do not have. The winter seems cozy and romantic in the hell of summer, but hot beaches and sunlight are what we yearn for all winter.” ― Joanna Franklin Bell
July Dates of Interest:
- July 1 - International Joke Day, American Zoo Day
- July 2 - World UFO Day
- July 3 - Dog Days of Summer begin
- July 4 - Alice in WOnderland Day
- July 7 - International Peace & Love Day / World Chocolate Day
- July 10 - Full Buck Moon @ 1:36 pm
- July 10 - Teddy Bear Picnic Day, National Kitten Day, Don't Step On a Bee Day
- July 14 - Bastille Day
- July 18 - World Listening Day, Nelson Mandela International Day
- July 20 - National Moon Day, International Chess Day
- July 19 - ICS Presents: Magickal Bread Making
- July 19 - Pagan Crafting: Candle Magic Lecture
- July 23 - Hot Enough For Ya Day
- July 24 - New Moon in Leo @ 12:11 pm
- July 24 - International Self Care Day, National Tequila Day
- July 27 - National Scotch Day, Bagpipe Appreciation Day
- July 28 - World Nature Conservation Day
- July 30 - International Day of Friendship
- July 31 - Harry Potter's Birthday!
Bread of life:
A History of Bread in Egypt
Bread is called “Khobz” in standard Arabic, and it is the most prevalent name for it in Arab nations excluding Egypt. Egyptians refer to bread as “Aish baladi.”
In English, Baladi means “traditional”,” but the term “Aish” is the key to understanding the importance of bread in Egyptian culture. Since ancient times, Egyptians have seen bread as “life.” Egyptians regard bread to be a need in their daily diet. It may be found on every table, from breakfast to dinner. It never fails to make one feel satisfied and joyful. It’s a mood gauge.
Everyone, affluent or poor, consumes bread. If someone is hungry and doesn’t have any money, all they need is a loaf of “Aish baladi” and a cup of tea. When a farmer needs a break from his job, he eats “Aish” with onions, arugula, or cottage cheese.
Bread in Ancient Egyptians
Evidence from predynastic archaeological sites suggests that Egypt has known how to make bread for about 5800 years. Bread was manufactured from emmer, an ancient wheat species with a low gluten concentration, making it difficult to construct homogenous loaves since gluten provides bread dough flexibility. Manually grinding the grains took a long time, and the flour was combined with water and left to leaven. Ancient bread samples were also found to have natural yeast and lactic acid bacteria components.
Yeast is required to make the bread loaves fluffy and porous, as well as to increase their volume and improve their taste and scent. Because it was leavened with natural yeast, researchers have linked this ancient bread to today’s Shamsi bread.
Bread manufacture in Ancient Egypt is well documented because to wall images and inscriptions found on tombs and temples. The bread offerings may be seen at the New Kingdom Tomb of Nefertari. We know that wheat was ground into coarse flour, that the dough was combined in various shaped moulds, that it was allowed to rise, and that it was then placed on platters to be baked in mudbrick ovens. Bread loaves were also included in tomb scenes that included a variety of forms and sizes of bread offerings.
Eish shamsi:
Sun bread is an ancient Luxor bread. The name is derived from how it was created. The dough is fermented by the women in the sun. On the temple walls, this feast was shown. A circle is still drawn on the dough by women nowadays. This is a representation of the sun god, “Ra.”
Eish baladi:
In current times, skilled local Egyptian bakers oversee the creation of classic Egyptian flatbread, which is interesting to observe. Bakers knead a well-hydrated sticky dough and divide it into evenly proportioned pieces.They flatten each piece of loaf, and in a large wooden tray lined with bran, they lay one by one, and finally place them inside the oven.
Although the classic Egyptian baladi flatbread has evolved through time, one constant remains: no machine could replicate the unique breadmaking method developed by local Egyptian master bakers. Nothing beats the pleasure of slicing a freshly baked baladi bread, seeing the steam rise, and taking that first healthful fresh taste; plain or with your favourite dip.
Baking bread at home was popular in cities until the twentieth century, and it is still popular in communities. Buying bread from private or government-run bakeries is a relatively recent trend, and it is mostly associated with urban inhabitants who are unable to bake their own bread at home owing to space and facility constraints. Home baking of bread declined further as the bread subsidy system grew, with state bakeries selling wholewheat baladi bread at subsidised costs.
Interested in learning about 'Magical Bread Baking'? Be sure and join Inner Circle Sanctuary this month (July 19th), when they host "Magical Bread Baking" - you will learn about setting intentions into your baking and go home with a delicious fresh baked loaf of bread! You don't want to miss it! Follow the link in the calendar for more information. ~ Priestess Laurelinn
“Long has paled that sunny sky: Echoes fade and memories die: Autumn frosts have slain July. Still she haunts me, phantomwise, Alice moving under skies Never seen by waking eyes.” ― Lewis Carroll
Good is the Grain
Beautiful song performed for our Lammas Ritual by Abigail Spinner McBride
Good is the grain
Rising from the earth
Love of the Mother,
Eternal rebirth.
Sweet is the fruit
Burst forth on the vine
Father, transform us
As grapes to fine wine.
We promote supporting our local artists and musicians! Please consider making a contribution to Spinner's tip jar
Music by Abigail Spinner McBride - All Rights Reserved
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AI generated Image of Demeter
Lammas Lughnasadh
First Harvest Celebration
August 1
By Priestess Novaembre
In August the days grow visibly shorter. The astrological point of the change is when the sun is at 15 degrees Leo, but tradition sets August 1 as the day this change in the seasons is celebrated. This date is a power point of the Zodiac and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the four fixed signs of the Zodiac. The Lion denotes strength and nobility, but also generosity and mercifulness.
Modern Pagans call this holiday Lammas, or sometimes Lughnasadh. It is one of the eight sabbats, or spokes, in what is called the Wheel of the Year. Four of the sabbats are solar observations based upon the stations of the sun. These are the two solstices, Yule, the longest night and shortest day, and Midsummer, the longest day and shortest night, and the spring and autumn equinoxes when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. The other four sabbats observe the seasons of the Earth and all bear difficult to spell and pronounce Gaelic names: Samhain, Imbolg, Beltane, and Lammas or Lughnasadh. These are not human made holidays, they don’t commemorate any historical event. They existed before humans - they are as old as Earth herself.
In the lands of northwest Europe, Lammas was the first of three harvests before winter was upon them. Lammas is the beginning of fall and the ending of summer.
Lammas was the medieval name for the holiday in northern Europe, and in Saxon it means “loaf-mas,” or “celebration of bread” because this was the day that loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest. The word comes from the Old English “hlaf” meaning “loaf” and “maesse” meaning “feast.”
In Irish Gaelic, the festival was called “Lugnasadh” and was said to be a Celtic feast to commemorate the funeral games of the Irish sun god Lugh - but this is confusing as Lugh, the god of light, does not really die, at least mythically, until the Autumn Equinox. Digging deeper, it seems that it is not Lugh’s death that is commemorated, but that of his foster mother, who died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. In addition to being a solar deity, Lugh symbolized the grain that is sacrificed with the harvest only to be reborn in the new shoots of spring.
Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies shall be reborn. Corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls shall rise again.
This time of year was also celebrated in ancient Egypt. The days between July 24 and August 24 are called the Dog Days of summer - I thought it was because dogs lay panting in the heat, - but actually it is because at that time Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, or large dog, thus it is called the Dog Star, appeared. This is the brightest star in the sky except for the sun. Sirius appeared just before the Nile flooded, so was a watchdog for the Egyptians, telling them to expect the annual inundation which made possible the planting of crops and the continuance of life. This was the Egyptian New Year, and August 1, was the first day of the Egyptian calendar. It was a time of feasting, drinking and merry making.
Festivals at this time of year were found throughout the northern hemisphere - and they have similar meanings. This is when the first crops are cut in the fields, the harvesting of the grain. The grain dies so that the people might live. Eating this bread, this sacred gift, gives us life. Grain has always been associated with deities who die and are then resurrected from the underworld by the Goddess. This was the story of Ishtar and Tammuz, Inanna and Dumuzi, Aphrodite and Adonis, and Isis and Osiris. It is the story of Demeter and Persephone - it is the cycle of the death and rebirth of the grain. When the sacred grain, the gift of the Goddess, has been gathered, when it has been threshed by the flail and winnowed to separate the wheat from the chaff, when it has been ground to a fine flour between the stones of a mill, then mixed with water, the fluid of life, and with a little magic added in the yeast, then baked in a womb like oven, then the sacred loaf will be broken and shared at the Lammas feast. So sacred is the ancient process and the grain it involves, that it was once presided over only by Priestesses.
Bread has long been thought to be the one essential food, the bare necessity, along with water, for survival. It has been the sustenance of prisoners and penitents, sinners and saints. Bread has come to symbolize food itself.
As a symbol for life, bread represented and was revered as the body of the deity whose gift it was. When the development of agriculture heralded the birth of the Neolithic, it was the body of the Goddess that was commemorated in this way.
The sabbats, or spokes, on the Pagan Wheel of the Year, are liminal times, times of change, when one has not quite left one season and not quite entered another.
The mental and emotional indications of the changing season are more visible at Lammas than are the physical ones. Change is in the air. There is anticipation - anticipation of the coming autumn, of going back to school, of cooler weather to come. Anticipation of the fall holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Yule. And because of this anticipation, there is a surge of energy.
It is a time to look back over the preceding year, especially the time since Yule, but not just that. It is a time to examine your life. You are even now reaping what you have sown. What are you harvesting at this time? What seeds have you planted that are sprouting? It is time to look within ourselves. If you like it, how do you continue it? If you don’t like it, then what needs to be done to change it - how can you cultivate positive words, deeds and emotions for the future? How can you rid yourself of words, deeds, and emotions that produced an ineffective harvest? Now is the time to replace them with ones that will bring success, happiness, health and joy into your life and the lives of those around us. May the good that we have spread be increased and may the pain we have caused be diminished.
“Die tonight to be reborn again in the fire of Lugh” ― Anujj Elviis
~ July's Lunar Spotlight ~
New / Full Moon Astrology Excerpts from Elite Daily!
by: Megan Lacreta
Get ready for a heat wave. Whether your local weather man is predicting clear skies or cloudy days ahead, the astrological forecast is certainly heating up. This July, get ready to step out of your comfort zone, and into the summer sun.
The theme for this month can be boiled down to three words: main character energy. After a few months of cosmic chaos and inner turmoil, leading to confusion and hesitation, July arrives with its foot firmly on the gas pedal. Beginning with the full moon in Capricorn on July 10, this month brings a period of certainty — it’s time to determine what’s actually helping you reach your goals, and what’s simply keeping you busy.
June was meant for recharging, but come July, it’s time to exert that stored energy. The start of Leo season, on July 22, brings with it a drastic shift from the introspective Cancer season. The new moon in Leo follows close behind, on July 24. The astrological energy during the time is extroverted, creative, and self-expressive — use it wisely!
According to astrology expert and founder of Cosmic Fusion Michelle Bell, Cancers, Taureans, and Leos can expect a lucky month ahead, while Aries, Sagittarians, and Aquarians may face some obstacles along the road to a hot girl summer.
Leos in particular are in for a treat, as the stars begin to align in their favor. “Once your season hits, you’ll feel unstoppable,” the expert says. “Spotlight energy meets confidence boost.”
The full moon in Capricorn represents a time of culmination and reflection on personal and professional ambitions. It highlights the balance between emotional needs and career responsibilities, urging individuals to assess their progress toward long-term goals. This full moon encourages a focus on structure, discipline, and the practical aspects of life, making it an ideal time to evaluate achievements and set new intentions for the future.
Themes to Consider:
- Goal Assessment: This is a perfect opportunity to reflect on what you have accomplished and what adjustments may be necessary to stay on track with your ambitions.
- Balancing Personal and Professional Life: The Capricorn full moon invites you to find harmony between your home life and career, emphasizing the importance of both.
- Emotional Energy: Expect heightened emotions during this time, as full moons often bring feelings to the surface, prompting introspection and clarity.
The Capricorn full moon on July 10, 2025, is a powerful time for reflection and realignment with your goals. Embrace this period to evaluate your path and make necessary changes to achieve your aspirations.
The New Moon in Leo is an excellent opportunity to set intentions related to creativity, romance, and self-confidence. This lunar phase encourages individuals to focus on personal goals, enhance their creative endeavors, and build healthy pride in themselves. It is a time to embrace the qualities associated with Leo, such as generosity, warmth, and leadership.
Key Themes to Explore:
- Creativity and Self-Expression: This is a powerful time to explore artistic pursuits and express your individuality.
- Romantic Relationships: Focus on enhancing your romantic life and connections with children or loved ones.
- Personal Growth: Reflect on your self-image and consider ways to boost your confidence and assertiveness.
During this New Moon, it is also beneficial to meditate on the characteristics of Leo, such as being proud, noble, and open-hearted. The energy of this lunation can lead to significant changes in your life, especially if you take the time to set clear intentions and plans for the future.
Embrace this New Moon as a chance to awaken your inner child and find new ways to express yourself creatively!
The full Moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by.
ALTERNATIVE JULY MOON NAMES
Other names for this month’s Moon also reference animals, including
- Feather Molting Moon (Cree)
- Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested.
Plants and weather also feature prominently in July’s Moon names. Some of our favorites are:
- Berry Moon (Anishinaabe)
- Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota)
- Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee)
- Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe)
- Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki)
- Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe)
A moon-flooded prairie; a straying Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying Of far away watching dogs; a dreaming Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming Of fireflies eddying nigh, and that is July! ~James N. Matthews
JULY MOON FACTS:
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon. He also placed the U.S. flag there.
On July 31, 1999, the ashes of astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker were deposited on the Moon.
Adapted From The Farmer's Almanac July Full Moon
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
July's Full Moon Magic
July Blessing Moon
Blessing Moon by: Patti Wiggington
July's full moon is known as the Blessing Moon, although it's also called the Meadow Moon. July was originally called Quintilus but was later renamed in honor of Julius Caesar. Falling in the heat of the middle of summer, this moon phase takes place when we're all feeling a bit lazy and sluggish - after all, going outside can seem like a chore as the heat index climbs. Physically, we're often a bit slower than usual in July, which is why this is a good time of the year to focus on meditation and dream work.
This is indeed a season of blessings - if you've got a garden growing, July is when you're starting to see fat tomatoes form on the vine, plump peppers, watermelons, and the beginnings of squash for later harvesting. Your flowers are blooming, and corn stalks are on their way to being tall and bountiful. If you have herbs growing, now is the perfect season to start thinking about harvesting and drying them for later magical use.
Correspondences:
- Colors: Green, silver, blue-gray
- Gemstones: Moonstone, white agate, opals or pearls
- Trees: Ash and oak
- Gods: Juno, Venus, Cerridwen, Athena, Nephthys, Lugh
- Herbs: Mugwort, hyssop, lemon balm
- Element: Water
Blessing Moon Magic:
This is a great time to do divination and dreamwork. For a bit of moon magic divination, consider doing some full moon water scrying.
If you've ever thought about creating a dream journal, this month is a good time to start one. Dreams can be prophetic, in that they may tell us of things yet to come, or they can be therapeutic, a way of our subconscious acknowledging problems that have to be resolved. Write down your dreams so you can try to interpret their messages later, and see how they'll apply to your life in the coming months.
Find a way to incorporate the watery energy of the Blessing Moon into your spell crafting and ritual. Enjoy the relaxing feeling of July's full moon and use it in your personal meditation. If you garden, get outside and do some weeding. Turn it into a meditative exercise, pulling weeds as a way of getting rid of the emotional and spiritual clutter that may be stifling your happiness.
July Full Moon Journal Prompts:
- Take a moment to congratulate yourself on any achievements you’ve had recently! Make a list and bask in the happiness and pride in your hard work.
- Write about how July’s Blessing Moon makes you feel. What are your favorite ways to celebrate?
- Name a book or movie you’d like to read or watch before the year ends. Why?
- How can you be more intentional with your time?
- What are some magical spaces in your local area you love to explore? Go visit this space and write about it in detail.
- Keep a journal next to your bed to record your dreams. This will be a wonderful reference for you to refer back to and interpret later on.
“Drink in the moon as though you might die of thirst.” ― Sanober Khan
It's Lughnasadh, the time for the First Harvest. In the High Desert, it's challenging to remember that this signifies the beginning of the three harvest festivals of autumn...
Lammas
Poetry of the Harvest
By: The Gypsy
Summer heat is at its peak
The energy of a waning sun
The blessed union’s first fruits
Abundant and awaiting
Harvesting commences
The one of the three
An eternal thankfulness
The fullness of the moment
True by unrealized,
Twice providing for mankind
Sustenance for the frigid months ahead
And seed for the next rebirth
The Celebration Ceremony
The sun God surrenders his life
Freely and without remorse
So his earthly children may survive
Never really abandoning us,
His spirit consumed in the bread
And stored in the planting grain
For the many, so goes the one
Yet fear not for the dying
Instead think towards the resurrection
Celebrate the first fruits
Give thanks to the land
Give thanks to the Goddess
Summon her strength as your own
Stay the course of all that is noble
Share without reward
Embrace in the plenty
Image - "The Kern Baby"
by: Benjamin Stone
For anyone (like me!) pining away for those cozy 'Ber Months, I've found this lovely screen-saver type escape...ENJOY! ~ Priestess Laurelinn
~ The Witch's Cauldron ~
Sekhmet’s Flame-Kissed Shawarma
An offering from our 2025 Feast of Sekhmet
Born of fire and forged in reverence, this Vegan Shawarma of Baby Bella Mushrooms is a sacred offering to Sekhmet, the Eye of Ra, the solar lioness whose roar awakens both destruction and divine healing.
The Baby Bella mushrooms, earthy and resilient, are marinated in a solar elixir of cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, garlic, and lemon—each spice chosen to mirror Sekhmet’s dual nature: fierce protector and sacred healer. As they sear on the flame, the mushrooms release their essence like incense rising to the heavens, a smoky tribute to the goddess of flame and fury.
Wrapped in sun-warmed flatbread, the shawarma is adorned with vibrant offerings: crimson pickled onions for blood and rebirth, cooling cucumber for balance, and a golden tahini sauce—smooth as desert sands and rich as temple oils. Each bite is a ritual, a communion with the lioness who burns away illusion and awakens truth.
Best served under the noonday sun or at twilight, when the veil between the mortal and divine flickers like torchlight. Eat with intention. Offer a portion to the flame. Speak her name with reverence.
Sekhmet. She Who Roars. She Who Heals. She Who Feeds the Fire Within.
~ Crafty Corner ~
Solar-Infused Spell Jar
From Ariel @ Soft Spirituality!
Enchanting Witchy Crafts for July: Sun-Kissed Magic and Summer Spellwork!
Welcome to July’s Magic!
July is a month bathed in golden sunlight, brimming with warmth, energy, and abundance. It’s the peak of summer, a time when nature is in full bloom, the days are long, and the energy of the sun is at its most potent. This is a perfect time to embrace solar magic, water rituals, and elemental crafting.
As we move toward Lammas (August 1st)—the first harvest festival—July invites us to honor both fire and water, the two dominant elements of the season. Whether you craft under the blazing sun or near the cooling waves of the ocean, this month is an opportunity to infuse your creativity with magic.
So lets make a jar filled with herbs, crystals, and symbols of solar power for confidence and abundance....
You'll Need:
- Small glass jar with a lid
- Sunstone or citrine crystal
- Dried chamomile and calendula
- A pinch of cinnamon
- A small piece of parchment or paper
- Yellow or gold ribbon
Instructions:
- Cleanse the jar by passing it through incense smoke, sunlight, or moonlight.
- Add your crystal to the jar, charging it with your intent.
- Layer the herbs—chamomile and calendula for solar energy, cinnamon for passion and success.
- Write your intention on a small piece of parchment, roll it up, and place it inside.
- Seal the jar and tie a yellow or gold ribbon around the lid.
- Place it in the sun for a few hours to charge with solar energy.
- Use it on your altar, carry it for confidence, or place it in a special spot to radiate summer magic.
Such a lovely little craft! Ariel has 4 other crafts for July, if you are interested simply follow the link below! Happy Crafting!
A Monthly Book Review!
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” ― George R.R. Martin
Perigee Moon:
Poems from a Pagan Summer
By:
This collection is a re-release of a poetry collection first published in 2012 by The Moon Publishing and Printing. Perigee Moon is a paean to the beauty and magic of nature, the night sky, and the goddess Diana. Elegant, lyrical, passionate, and energetic, these poems dance with spirited optimism and devotion as they chronicle the poet's exploration of her spirituality and the divinity of nature.
Book contents:
- Author’s Note
- Summer’s Advent
- Beginnings
- Ursula
- Forest Queen
- Blackberries
- Three Days
- Sky Dancer
- Wandering Farther
- Seeking
- Pleiades
- Poem XV: Diana
- After
- Running After
- Darkness
- Clarity Spell
- The Prayer
- A Play
- Moonshine, Moon Liquor
- Tree Branches and Red Candles
- Cauldron Dance
- Crossing Over
- Blessed
- A Witch’s Memories of Summer
About the Author:
Clarabelle Fields previously enjoyed a thriving writing career under the name Belle DiMonté, her work featured in places such as Swords and Sorcery Magazine, Danse Macabre, The Moon, Eternal Haunted Summer, and The Essential Herbal. Her writing took a brief pause while she was at college pursuing a classics degree, but she now plans to return her focus to writing full-time. She serves as a staff writer for Sir Socks Le Chat, as well as managing editor for Carmina Magazine, a publication that seeks to blend creative writing and classics in meaningful ways. More recently, Clarabelle’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Barren Magazine, Enheduanna, and Corvid Queen.
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ― Stephen King
July Laughs:
Write for Goddess Speak!
Goddess Speak accepts submissions for articles, stories, poetry, recipes, guided meditations, creative fiction, chants, artwork, photography and more. Please send submissions to Laurelinn, in care of goddessspeakeditor@gmail.com. If your submission is selected you will be notified by email.
Credits:
As Noted