Artemis & the Fairy Cattle 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 10th, a few weeks before the first harvest of 2025.
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 marks the 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, regeneration, and, likewise, resurrection. Peaceful yet protective, in fairy tales, 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 that the mythological stag is actually a horned doe, perhaps a reindeer, one of the few Cervidae species in which females carry the antlers, a crown of bone.
In folklore and stories from around the world, goddesses such as the Gaelic Cailleach, Germanic Frau Holle, Roman Diana, and Greek Artemis were often associated with 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 immortalized in lullabies.
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