Calendar of the Moon 1 Gort/Puanepsion Day of the Ivy Colour: Sky blue Element: Earth Altar: Upon a sky-blue cloth set a pot of ivy, a single sky-blue candle, a pot of soil, seeds of some rare medicinal herb, a bowl of water, and a bell. Offerings: Plant seeds. Do a spiral walking meditation. Daily Meal: Vegan Invocation to the Green Man of the Ivy Hail, Green Man of the Autumn! Ivy that twines up stone walls, Who can hold up a house or tear it down, Spiral dancer whose twisting Echoes the material we are made of, Wreath of the Maenads, Kin to the red-caps in the faery rings, You remind us that there is a price For your twining sister's intoxication. Mute swan who outstretched wings Are your elegant speech to the sky, Ivy-girl of the final harvest, You bind the last sheaf of wheat, As mute testament to the failure Of those whose work has not Matched the speed of the turning year. We bow our heads in supplication Before you, ivy that winds us And our dead in their sleeping places. We hail you, sacred ivy, Green Man of the Autumn, On this the day of your binding. (Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, "Hail Green Man of the Earth!" Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Then all join hands and move in a silent spiral dance to the sound of slow drumming. Ring bell and dismiss.)
[source:paganbookofhours.org]