July is a between-time called idir ait in Irish. It is a time between places, a time between our seasonal and astrological (equinoxes and solstices) celebrations, as we do not celebrate any this month. For many of us July can be a time between relishing the abundance of summer and wilting in the excess heat. It is an in-between time of abundant light yet slowly waning towards the darkening days.
Our Irish ancestors would have seen idir ait as a time between the blossoming and the harvest. The chaos of the abundant blossoming has eased and in the linear/ Gregorian month of July, nature has quieted a bit. Energy is flowing into the fruits and the grains, although this is a more inward process, not as visible as the showy flowers of early summer.
The trees even seem at ease as their full canopy is revealed in millions of leaves, swaying and rustling in the summer breeze. The trees invite us to pause with them, to gather under their embrace for a nap or a picnic or even a class, as I have been doing under trees this summer.
This last moon cycle of Beltaine, the season of summer on the Irish Wheel of the Year, offers a pause, as Lughnasa, the season of autumn, beckons, arriving with the month of August, a time when the light will noticeably diminish as the breezes cool and the first grain harvests begin to come in.
Yet we aren’t there yet. We are at this time of pause.
Ancestrally in Ireland, and even to this day, this pause may have included a pilgrimage. Because farming chores have lessened, between sowing and reaping, and because the weather in August is often clear and fine, the end of July is a popular pilgrimage time. The sacred site of Crough Patrick in County Mayo has been a pilgrimage place, since pre-Christian times, with the main event occurring the last weekend in July when thousands climb the conical peak.
One of my favorite Brighid holy wells in Ireland, at Liscannor, near the Cliffs of Moher and Hag’s Head in County Clare, is still an active pilgrimage place at the end of July. There is a grotto there where people light votive candles, a place where people can soak their feet in the healing waters and above in the graveyard they can walk a rosary path. Pilgrimage is a time of sacred pause so of course it seems fitting that it would fall during the idir ait.
This year we find ourselves at a unique in-between as we (in the States and much of Europe) move from active pandemic times into easing into the beginning of what is next. It is a bit awkward and uncomfortable, it is freeing and hopeful. It is a dance with continued dualities as we navigate through and into what is next.
Even so, much of the world is still in active pandemic times, with slow vaccine roll-out and availability. So as wild and free as we may feel, it is everso important that this likely comes from a place of privilege. And the coronavirus has not released its hold, by any means, no matter where you are. It is important to remain ever diligent and responsible to self and community.
I am taking pause at this time, to really reflect where I have been, where we have been collectively and where I hope to go, individually and collectively. I invite you to step back a minute before plunging into the re-opening. Pause to reflect and consider. A pause is an act of resistance in this world of busyness, mindlessness, going, going, going. Take a deep breath and make the decision to slow down, not speed up. Spend time reflecting on the following questions and bring these questions into your communities and families. The more we talk about it, the more we will mindfully move into what’s next.
Where do you feel idir ait in your own life?
In this place of pause, reflect on what you have learned/ discovered this pandemic year.
In this place of pause, consider what has changed for you, within and without.
In this time of in-between the blossom and the harvest, where and to what will you recommit?
