August 2024 Witch Guide
New Moon: August 4th
First Quarter: August 12th
Full moon: August 19th
Last Quarter: August 26th
Sabbats: Lughnasadh/Lammas- August 1st
August Sturgeon Moon
Also known as: Barely Moon, Black Cherries Moon, Corn moon, Dispute Moon, Harvest moon, Herb Moon, grain moon, Mountain Shadows Moon, Red moon, Ricing Moon, Weodmonath & Wyrt moon
Element: Fire
Zodiac: Leo & Virgo
Animal spirts: Dryads
Deities: Diana, Ganesha, Hathor, Hecate, Mars, Nemesis, Thot & Vulcan
Animals: Dragon, lion, phoenix & sphinx
Birds: Crane, eagle & falcon
Trees: Alder, cedar & hazel
Herbs: Basil, bay, fennel, orange, rosemary, rue & St.John's wort
Flowers: Angelica, chamomile, marigold & sunflower
Scents: Frankincense & heliotrope
Stones: Carnelian, cats/tiger's eye, emerald, fire agate, garnet, jade, moonstone, peridot, red jasper, red agate, sardonyx, topaz & tourmaline
Colors: Dark green, gold, orange, red & yellow
Energy: Abundance, appreciation, authority, courage, entertainment, finding your voice, friendship, gathering, harvesting energy, health, love, pleasures, power, prophecy, prosperity, vitality & wisdom
The name Sturgeon Moon comes from the giant lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes & Lake Champlain; this native freshwater fish was readily caught during this part of summer & an important food staple for Native Americans who lived in the region. At one time the lake sturgeon was quite abundant in late summer, though they are rarer today.
• August's full moon is the first Supermoon of the year, which means that it will appear bigger & brighter than the full Moons we have seen so far!
Lughnasadh
Known as: Lammas, August Eve & Feast of Bread
Season: Summer
Element: Fire
Symbols: corn, grain dollies & shafts of grain
Colors: Gold, golden yellow, green, light brown, orange, purple, red & yellow
Oils/Incense: Aloe, apple, corn, eucalyptus, safflower, rose & sandalwood
Animals: Cattle (bull & calf)
Birds: Chicken/Rooster
Stones: Aventurine, carnelian, citrine, peridot, sardonyx & yellow diamond
Food: Apples, barely cakes, berries, berry pies, breads, colcannon, cider, corn, grains, honey, lamb, nuts, potatoes, rice, sun-shaped cookies & wild berries
Herbs/Plants: Alfalfa, aloe, blackberry, bramble, corn, cornsilk, corn stalk, crab apple, fenugreek, frankincense, ginseng, goldenseal, gorse, grape, medowsweet, oak leaves, pear, rye, sloe & wheat
Flowers: Clyclamen, heather hollyhock & sunflower
Trees: Acacia, apple, myrtle,oak & rowan
Goddesses: Aine, Alphito, Bracacia, Carmen, Ceres, Damina, Danu, Demeter, Ereshkigal, Freya, Frigga, Gaia, Inanna Ishtar, Kait, Persephone, Sul, Taillte, Tea & Zaramama
Gods: Athar, Bes, Bran, Dagon, Dumuzi, Ebisu, Ghanan, Howtu, Liber, Lono, Lugh, Neper, Odin & Xochipilli
Issues, Intentions & Powers: Accomplishment, agriculture, challenges, darkness, death, endings, release & transformation
Spellwork: Abundance, bounty, fire magick, rituals of thanks & sun magick
Activities:
• Bake fresh bread
• Weave wheat
• Take walks in nature or along bodies of water
• Craft a corn doll
• Learn a new skill
• Watch the sunrise/sunset
• Leave grains and seeds in a place where birds, squirrels and other small animals can appreciate them
• Eat outside with family/friends/coven members
• Donate to your local foodbank
• Prepare a feast with your garden harvest
• Give thanks & offerings to the Earth
• Trade crafts of make deals
• Gather and/or dry herbs to use for the upcoming year
• Celebrate/honor the god Lugh by hosting a competition of games
• Participate in matchmaking or handfasting ceremonies
• Decorate your altar with symbols of the season
• Clean up a space in nature
• Plant saved seeds or save seeds to use in the future
Lughnasadh or Lammas is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland & the Isle of Man. Traditionally it is held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice & autumn equinox. In recent centuries some of the celebrations have shifted to the Sunday nearest this date.
Lughnasadh is mentioned in early Irish literature & has pagan origins. The festival is named after Lugh the god of craftsmanship. It was also founded by the god Lugh as a funeral feast & athletic competition/funeral games in memory of his foster-mother Tailtiu. She was said to have died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture.
• Tailtiu may have been an earth goddess who represented the dying vegetation that fed mankind.
• Another tale says that Lugh founded the festival in memory of his two wives, the sisters Nás & Bói.
In the Middle Ages it involved great gatherings that included ceremonies, athletic contests (most notably the Tailteann Games which were extremely dangerous), horse racing, feasting, matchmaking & trading.
• With the coming of Christianity to the Celtic lands, the old festival of Lughnasadh took on Christian symbolism. Loaves of bread were baked from the first of the harvested grain & placed on the church altar on the first Sunday of August. The Christianized name for the feast of Lughnasadh is Lammas which means “loaf mass”.
Some believe this is the time where the God has weakened & is losing his strength as seen in the waning of the day's light. The Goddess is pregnant with the young God who will be born on Yule.
Sources:
Farmersalmanac .com
Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines
Wikipedia
A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs
Encyclopedia britannica
Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living