Calendar of the Sun 4 Winterfyllith Jejunium Cereris: Fast for Demeter
Colour: Brown Element: Earth Altar: Upon cloth of brown place a clay cup of water, empty bowls, plates, and an empty cornucopia. Offerings: Give food to the hungry. Daily Meal: Fasting today, from the night before until Hesperis. Jejunium Cereris Invocation Demeter weeps. She mourns all losses, All that passes from our hands Into the gaping earth of the Mother's womb. Across the land, there are places Where the Earth is barren, and no mouths Shall be fed from Her soil. The people starve, they cry out, they fall, But there is no mercy for them Until the Wheel turns yet again. So if we cannot feed them all, If we cannot be Demeter Herself, For our hands are too few, Our work is too little, Our efforts fall like a drop into a wasteland, Let us still be that drop of hope And let us, for one day, mourn with them. For all that we have not, there are others Who have less, and on this day We give out some of what we have, For true wealth is counted only By how much you can give away. For today, we shall fast with them And we shall remember. Blessed be Demeter in Her weeping, Blessed be Demeter in Her mourning, May we be blessed with Her tears. Chant: By the dust of the Earth we live By the work of our hands we give By the work of our hearts we open the world.
[source:paganbookofhours.org]