Artemis, Fairy Cattle, & the Magick of July
“Most of what she knew, she’d learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
The Harvest gods will soon be knocking at our doors, scythes in hand, sights set on our golden fields (look for Lughnasadh lore later this month!), but not yet - not until we've met July's full moon and tasted her nectar, a blend of changing and untethered passions, a brew stirred by the one who wears the antlered crown.
This month, the full moon rises on July 21st, about a week before the first harvest of 2024.
Known as the Buck Moon, Hay Moon, and Thunder Moon, July marks our seventh full moon of the year. In some communities, July's moon is a seasonal send-off, when balmy, star-speckled nights mingle with the final notes of summer, the feral spells of becoming.
Dirt Witches might already know, but the nicknames for July's moon were inspired by the fields awaiting harvest, the voice of summer storms, and the buck's antlers – which are now full-grown.
Among spiritual communities, the stag's antlers are associated with the Tree of Life and psychic projection. Also regeneration, and likewise, resurrection. Peaceful yet protective, these horned creatures act as mediators between the earthly and spiritual realms. While the stag embodies strength and independence (traditionally viewed as masculine characteristics), this creature is part of an elegant, nimble, and cunning species. Some suggest the mythological stag is actually a horned doe, perhaps a reindeer, one of the few Cervidae where females carry the crown of bone.
In folklore and story, Goddesses like the Gaelic Cailleach, Germanic Frau Holle, Roman Diana, and Greek Artemis were linked to horned deer. Frau Holle would ride atop the creature's back, the Caillach had hooved feet, and Artemis transformed into a doe to evade enemies.
In the Scottish highlands, deer were rumored to be fairy cattle, shepherded by winged spirits and witches. Legend says that the Fae Folk milked their sacred animals under the cover of night, a practice that was captured in lullabies.
In the forests of ancient Greece, Artemis kept watch in sacred groves known as deer gardens. Theorists suggest that the name of her grove alludes to the goddess's annual hunting of the Stag King (similar to tales of the Horned God from Pagan lore), but it's not hard to imagine Artemis as a guardian of fairies.
“Many of the earlier representations of Artemis show her as a winged goddess, such as the image depicted on the Francois Vase and on a gold necklace found on Rhodes. In both these images she is shown as Potnia Theron, the Lady of the Beasts.”
Ruler of the mountains and wild land, Artemis is the daughter of the wolf goddess Leto and the Olympian, Zeus. Twin to Apollo (she acted as midwife to her mother during his delivery), Artemis is also a guardian of the moon and a protectress of women and children. Clever, capable, and fiercely independent, Artemis (unintentionally) acquires admirers near and far. However, she refuses any semblance of a traditional partnership, instead relying on her nymphs, hounds, and coven of feral, antlered friends for companionship.
The stories of women, feral friends, and priestesses of the earth have been our muses lately – so we are over the moon to tell you that Pointy Hat Press has a new tale to tell, a new bit of yarn to spin, a new bit of whimsy to weave…
Available as a free download for our literary coven, you can read the latest Little Witch Tale, The Witch & the Raven, here.
