
Physical Setting & Preparation
รite-ullachaidh | Physical Preparation
Find yourself in a verdant space where July's abundance surrounds youโbeneath the spreading canopy of oak or maple, in a garden where roses unfurl their velvet petals, or by an open window where the evening air carries the perfume of honeysuckle and the distant hum of bees. The earth beneath you should feel warm and alive, still holding the day's solar blessing. If indoors, gather tokens of summer's glory: fresh herbs, blooming flowers, or a bowl of clear water that reflects the sky.
Let your body settle into the fullness of early summer. Feel your breath deepen as you inhale the rich, green sweetness of chlorophyll and growth. Allow your shoulders to soften like leaves receiving gentle rain, your spine to lengthen like a sapling reaching toward light.
Opening Invocation | Fosgladh
Gairm na Talmhainn | Call of the Earth
Mathair na Talmhainn, cluinn ar gairm Mother of Earth, hear our call
Anns an t-samhradh รฒg, tha sinn a' tilleadh In the young summer, we return
Gu do chridhe blร th, gu do anail bheรฒ To your warm heart, to your living breath
Place your palms upon the earth or floor, feeling the pulse of life beneath. The July sun has awakened every root, every seed, every dormant dream within the soil. You are connecting with the great mother who nurtures all becoming, whose body holds both the fierce hunger of growth and the tender vulnerability of new life.
In this moment, as the wheel of the year turns toward summer's height, we acknowledge the dual nature of this season: the yearning that drives all green things skyward, and the vulnerable openness required to bloom fully. Both emotions live within us now, as natural as the interplay of sunlight and shadow beneath the leaves.
Body of the Working | Corp
Cuairt na Bliadhna | The Year's Journey
July 5th arrives as a thresholdโwinter's harsh lessons now transformed into summer's generous teaching. The earth has moved from the tentative green whispers of April to the bold declarations of early summer. Hawthorn blossoms have given way to the first wild roses, and the air thrums with the industry of life fully engaged in its purpose.
Yearning | Miann-dรนrachd
Feel into the yearning that permeates this season. It pulses in the climbing roses reaching for the fence top, in the morning glory vines spiraling toward the light, in the young birds calling from their nests for more, always more. This is not the desperate hunger of scarcity, but the sacred longing of life expressing its fundamental natureโto grow, to reach, to become.
Tha am miann-dรนrachd a' ruith tro gach freumh The yearning runs through every root
Mar shruth nach urrainn stad Like a stream that cannot stop
This yearning lives in your body now. Notice where it sitsโperhaps as a pulling sensation in your chest, a restlessness in your limbs, a tingling awareness of possibility. The earth mother teaches us that yearning is not suffering but sacred motivation, the force that draws nutrients up through the stem, that pulls the moth to the flame, that calls us toward our own becoming.
Vulnerability | So-leรฒntachd
Yet to yearn is to be vulnerable. Every bud that opens risks the frost, every flower that blooms offers its tender center to the world. The strawberry plant must trust the earth to hold its runners, the apple tree must commit its energy to fruit that may never ripen.
Anns an fhosgladh, tha neart In the opening, there is strength
Anns an lagachd, tha gliocas In the weakness, there is wisdom
Feel this vulnerability as a doorway rather than a danger. Your heart, like the morning glory, must open to receive the light. Your dreams, like seeds, must crack their protective shells to grow. The earth mother holds both the yearning and the vulnerability, showing us that true strength lies not in armor but in the courage to remain soft in a world that often demands hardness.
The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain
Ceangal ris a' Mhathair | Connection with the Mother
Mathair na Talmhainn, gabh mi ri do chridhe Mother of Earth, take me to your heart
Seall dhomh mar a dh'fhร sas an gaol Show me how love grows
Tro mhiann is so-leรฒntachd, tro dhรฒchas is eagal Through yearning and vulnerability, through hope and fear
Sink deeper into connection with the earth mother. Feel her ancient wisdom flowing through the mycorrhizal networks beneath your feet, through the water table that nourishes every root, through the carbon cycle that connects your breath to every growing thing.
She whispers the secret of July's teaching: that yearning and vulnerability are not opposites but partners in the dance of growth. The oak tree yearns for the sky but remains vulnerable to the storm. The rose yearns for the sun but remains vulnerable to the thorn. You, too, can hold bothโthe fierce desire for growth and the tender openness required for transformation.
Anns an t-samhradh รฒg, tha sinn ag ionnsachadh In the young summer, we learn
Gum feum sinn a bhith fosgailte That we must be open
Gus an urrainn dhuinn fร s In order to grow
Let the earth mother's energy flow through you now. Feel the yearning as a golden thread pulling you toward your highest potential. Feel the vulnerability as a silver doorway opening to receive wisdom, love, and growth. Both are necessary. Both are sacred. Both are held within the mother's infinite embrace.
Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh
Take a moment to contemplate:
Dรจ na tha thu ag iarraidh fhร s annadsa an-diugh? What seeks to grow within you today?
Agus dรจ na tha thu toilichte a bhith so-leรฒnte airson? And what are you willing to be vulnerable for?
As you sit in the fullness of early summer, consider how these two forcesโyearning and vulnerabilityโshow up in your own life. Where do you feel the pull toward growth, toward becoming more fully yourself? And where are you being called to soften, to open, to trust the process even when you cannot see the outcome?
The earth mother reminds us that every seed contains both the hunger for light and the willingness to be broken open. Every flower holds both the desire to be seen and the courage to offer its beauty to the world. You, too, are both the yearning and the vulnerability, the reaching and the receiving, the question and the answer blooming in the garden of your becoming.
Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh
Beannachd na Talmhainn | Blessing of the Earth
Mathair na Talmhainn, tapadh leat Mother of Earth, thank you
Airson a bhith a' cumail ar miann-dรนrachd For holding our yearning
Agus a' dรฌon ar so-leรฒntachd And protecting our vulnerability
Gu robh sinn a' fร s mar na luibhean May we grow like the plants
Le freumhaichean domhainn is meangan ร rd With deep roots and high branches
Gu robh sinn fosgailte don t-solas May we be open to the light
Agus dรฌonach san dorchadas And protected in the darkness
Slร inte mhath, a Mhathair Good health, Mother
Gu coinneamh a-rithist Until we meet again
As you rise from this meditation, carry with you the wisdom of July's teaching. Let yourself yearn with the fierce joy of summer growth, and let yourself be vulnerable with the tender courage of the opening flower. The earth mother holds both, and so can you.
Beannachd leat | Blessing be with you
Thanks Wendy and to all of you. Lots of courage, love and peace to everyone