Wicc'ed Ways~Children of the Corn Dollies
By Katharine Clark Corn Dollies and Corn Dollie photos by Gillian Nott

It is a time before Christianity and before the coming of the machine age. The fields across England, and the Celtic lands, have turned from green to gold. Harvest has arrived, and the community comes together--with sickles, scythes and pitchforks--to cut the crops and take them to the barns for thrashing.

One by one, the lands are cleared until the last shock of wheat (corn), oats or barley remains upright in the final field. In some places, this is called the hag or the Cailleach (which means hag), in other places the neck; the spirit of the Crone, the mature goddess of the Harvest. It is the responsibility--and honor--of the field's owner or renter to cut and bind this last dwelling place of fertility. In other areas, the farmers take turns throwing their sickles at this last bundle of growing grain, the honor going to the one who's blade finally severs it from the earth.

With great ceremony, this bundle of wheat is walked in procession to the landlord's manor house. There, the landlord and his wife accept this representation of the Goddess into their home and there it will remain until the spring plowing. At that time, it will be walked back to the field and returned to the earth, a rite of returning fertility and new growth back to the land.

For those who worked the fields and brought in the harvest, the landlord prepares a feast, and all celebrate the bounty of the Fall. “Corn dollies” or wheat weavings are made and taken home in order to bring the Goddess spirit into each farmer's dwelling.

Time moves on, and the Church is now the dominant spiritual force in Europe. The harvest traditions continue, only now the priest or pastor blesses the field, the harvest, and the cutting of the final bundle. It is now led in procession to the local church, where a rite of thanksgiving is held, after which the community gathers to celebrate the end of their labors.

The decades flow. The Industrial Age comes to agriculture and now machines cut, clear and bundle the crops in a fraction of the time it took to do manually. Now a farmer can clear his own land, and harvest is no longer a community endeavor. The old customs fade, and are nearly forgotten.

It is only through the efforts of such groups as The Old Cornwall Society (who have done this since the 1920's) that the older customs are remembered and re-enacted every Autumn. Gillian Nott, a member of the Guild of Straw Craftsmen in the U.K., was kind enough to share with us her photos of this re-enactment (called “Crying the neck”), as well as some of her corn dollies.

The Society and visitors gather, the president of the Old Cornwall Society gives a welcome, and the local rector offers a prayer.

The owner of the field cuts all but the last bundle of stalks with his scythe.

The final stalks are bundled together and tied.

The farmer shouts, “I have it, I have it, I have it!”
Those present ask, “What have 'ee, what have 'ee, what have 'ee?”
The farmer answers, “a neck, a neck, a neck!”
And all present cry, “hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!”

They repeat the exchange in Cornish, and then the neck is carried to the church for a short service.

Corn dollies made to celebrate the harvest often now have both Pagan and Christian meanings:

The Baby Rattle represents fertility. Pagans hang it in a baby's room and shake it once in a while to drive away anything negative that could disturb the child. Christians use it as a christening gift and to celebrate new life.

To Christians, the Moon and Eye is similar to the “eye of god” design made with yarn in some countries. To Pagans, it's the moon and star symbol of the Goddess.

For both Christian and Pagans, the Welsh Fan is a house blessing.

To Pagans, the Mother Figure is the representative of the Goddess, for Christians she is Mother Nature. Either way, she represents the spirit of the fields.

The Neck is probably the most traditional form of the corn dollie, said to hold the spirit of the harvest. It would be returned to the field at spring plowing.

When done with twelve stalks of wheat, the Glory Braid represents the twelve apostles. This is the braid that is made in my Wiccan tradition, every Mabon, using nine stalks (3x3 for the goddess and god in their triple aspects, as well as mind, body and spirit). We use eight knots--one for each Sabbat. Unfortunately, ours never look as nice as the one Gillian has made. Then again, we're usually sitting in the dark, around a fire in the middle of the trees!

We thank Gillian for her help with this installment of Wicc'ed Ways--we couldn't have done it without her! Guild of Straw Craftsmen has a web site full of interesting information and even simple wheat plaits that you can try!

May you all enjoy the bounty of the Autumn!