my take on the Sementivae
happy Sementivae to those who are celebrating it today, have already celebrated or have yet to celebrate it!
i thought it could be a good idea to make a little post about the Sementivae and how i've decided to celebrate it in case someone is interested. as always, i've decided to give it my own spin while still drawing on the sources that i have.
the Sementivae is a Roman festival of sowing, held in between the sowing that took place in autumn and the one that happened in spring, meaning that it was probably about things like seeking protection over the crops and promoting their growth rather than sowing itself (Scullard, 68).
since i live in an urban environment, i have to do quite a bit of adapting with this one. i started with taking a cleansing shower in the morning and decorating my room with a few bows, emulating the garlands that were put on ploughing oxen in ancient tradition (Scullard, 68).
now, in the times of the Roman Republic the Sementivae was traditionally held over two days, one day dedicated to Tellus usually around the 24th-26th of January and the other a week later dedicated to Ceres. Tellus was perceived as the Earth itself that provides the place for the seed and Ceres is the one that causes it or helps it to grow (Pasco-Pranger, 138). if i understand it correctly, in the time of the Roman Empire, the festival was collapsed into one day.
i've decided to honour both goddesses today and maybe do the second part of the festival next week, depending on some outside factors.
now for the rest of this post, i will be discussing what i still plan to do, since i will be doing it later in the day after publishing this.
one of the the traditional offerings was the sacrifice of a pregnant sow, and while i've been thinking about emulating and modernising this kind of sacrifice (without harming any animals) i've not been able to put it to work yet, so i'll have to skip this one. the other traditional offering is spelt cakes, and i've not had the opportunity to do my version of these either, yet.
instead, i will offer some seeds and grains. i will also take the time to either find or write a prayer for this occasion and do a whole ritual in the afternoon or evening.
i will dispose of this offering by throwing it on some soil afterwards and then potentially repeat the same (or similar) offering and ritual next week on the 2nd of February for the second part of the festival.
Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic - H. H. Scullard
Founding the Year: Ovid's Fasti And the Poetics of the Roman Calendar - Molly Pasco-Pranger
