hey everyone! with Lammas coming up soon, I thought I would start a new series of posts - giving a basic overview of each of the Sabbats as they come along. I know quite a few people do this on tumblr, but I hope that my personal take on each of the Sabbats can be helpful and interesting to some of you.
Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh is a celebration of the first harvest festival, usually celebrated on the 1st August. Its’ main themes are as the feast of the hearth and home, and as a celebration of reaping the rewards for your hard labour.
The name origins of Lammas refer back to the old English for loaf-mass, referring back to the harvest loaf. This is a loaf of bread that was made with the first harvest of wheat and offered in church for the harvest festival. This is also something which is done nearer the time of Mabon, which is celebrated around the 22nd September. The festivals’ other name, Lughnasadh, refers to the Celtic/Irish deity Lugh. Lugh is the god of harvests and is sometimes associated as a sun god. The two different names reflect the different origins of the festival, with Lammas being the English festival of the beginning of the harvest season, and Lughnasadh is the Irish and Western Scottish festival of the same theme. As such, for modern Pagans and witches, they are often considered the same.
As Lammas is the celebration of the harvest season, food and drink play a central role in its’ celebration. Making and sharing a harvest loaf or other bread is great fun, and something I do with my mum on most years. It is also a great time to make food and drink with plants that you have harvested from your garden, such as the first strawberries that have ripened. Weaving and craft-magic is also great for this time of year, as Lugh is the deity associated with craft and the arts. Decorate your altar or work space in yellows, golds and oranges - showcase the flowers that are blooming at the moment.
Now is a brilliant time of the year for spells and magic to do with self-love and self-confidence - reflecting on the achievements that you have had so far this year.
Other simple things to do:
have a self-love bath ritual
use of citrine, tigers eye, rose quartz
decorating with roses, buttercups and other seasonal flowers
start a craft or art project
take a walk in a wild place
Drink wine, or fruit juice
“We know that every grain and seed, is a record of ancient time, a promise of all that’s yet to be” - Katrina Rasbold