Somehow we are already to our first of three harvest festivals in the wheel of 2019! This year is flying by crazy quick! I can’t believe July is already over and it’s time for Lughnasadh on August 1st! (Fun Fact: The Gaelic word for August is ‘Lunasa’ - Lughnasadh is pronounced Loo-Na-Sah!)
If you happened to catch my last post (if you didn’t, click here! ‘Lughnasadh vs. Lammas’) then you already know the difference between ‘Lughnasadh’ and ‘Lammas’, and some of the history, which means it’s time to get into the fun part...how to celebrate it!
To keep this post simple I’ll put it in list form, and I apologize in advance for mentioning some things more than once, there’s some things that end up being good crossover ideas, so sorry if it sounds repetitive at all! (Just your typical chronically apologizing Libra over here!)
I’ll start with some traditional ways to celebrate, then list the correspondences, THEN go into a longer list of celebration ideas! I’ll try to keep this short but there’s lots of info and I wanted to give plenty of options, so if you don’t see what you're looking for, just keep scrolling it’s probably there! ;) (It’s long, i’m sorry oh geez)
If not, I’m always available for messages and questions, and i’ll be posting craft ideas, recipes, and more ways to celebrate on my Instagram account that’s connected to this blog. Check the ‘Lughnasadh’ highlight and my story on August 1st for more! @selfcarewitchxo
Now let’s jump in!
How To Celebrate Traditionally
To start, I wanted to suggest some basic ways to celebrate in a more traditional way, and then go into a list with lots more options and details! Some of these might repeat in the list below so sorry in advance! (Libra problems again, I tried to organize the best I could...I’m so OCD)
Lughnasadh is about giving thanks for what has grown in summer, and for the abundance in our lives. We gather what has grown and begin to prep for winter and the darker, colder months, but not before celebrating a successful harvest season!
In the old days, it was tradition to climb a hill and bury or leave an offering of the first and best of your harvest to Lugh, usually the first loaf of bread you've baked. Offerings are left in exchange for blessings, gratitude, abundance, strength, protection, and growth. You can do the same hill idea, or leave your first loaf or other offering on your altar, or another special place.
Lughs’ original festival, was also focused on feasting, games, and athletic competition. Try recreating the same and have some friends over for a BBQ and some friendly competition!
Gods, Goddesses, Animals and Other Deities
The Celtic God Lugh is the patron deity for this festival, but if you’re not from a Celtic background, don’t use Lugh in your practice, or are from a Dianic tradition, there are many other Gods, Goddesses, animals and deities to choose from to incorporate into your Lughnasadh holiday.
Tailtiu (Lughs’ adoptive Mother who passed away, the festival is held in her honor) is a traditional female option, but any grain/agricultural/Mother Goddess/Father God figures make great picks.
For Goddesses, Rhiannon, Annona, Persephone, Cerridwen, Ceres, Demeter, and Isis are all options, and Odin, John Barley Corn, Dagon, Taranis, Vulcan, Mercury, Loki, Tammuz and Adonis are suggestions for the males! This is just to name a few of course!
As for animals, agricultural animals such as roosters, lambs, sheep, calves, and pigs are associated with the holiday, you can also use the majestic stag! For more mythological options, the centaur, phoenix and griffin are also associated.
Try adding statues, figurines, feathers, bones or other things associated with these Gods/Goddesses/deities/animals as altar decorations!
Decorations
How can you have a holiday without some festive decorations? Take some time to redo your altar space, room, or even your whole house if you want, to get into the holiday spirit! Being a harvest, nature based holiday, there are many cheap, easy, decorating ideas, that include many things we already have at home!
To start, use some seasonally scented candles, wax burners, or essential oils to make your sacred space smell like Lughnasadh vibes!
Candles in holiday colors, or tied with holiday colored ribbon, make a good altar addition! (See below for list of color correspondences)
Dried corn, rice, wheat, corn dollies, fallen twigs, dried straw, herbs, crystals, corn stalks, pumpkins, squash, dried oats, dried beans, a cornucopia, sunflower seeds, flowers, a scythe, a sickle, or a cauldron are quite seasonal options! (Keep reading for suggestions for crystals, scents and herbs!)
Crystals
These crystals are associated with Lughnasadh. Try using them as altar decorations, in your spellwork, or to meditate with during the holiday!
Amber, aventurine, carnelian, citrine, moss agate, topaz, golden topaz, obsidian, tigers eye, brown agate, clear quartz, cats eye, lodestones, peridot.
Plants/Herbs/Flowers/Scent Associations
Lumping this one a little since these have dual uses!
Wheat, Basil, Mint, Queen Anne’s Lace, Calendula, Yarrow, Sunflowers, Marigolds, Frankincense, Sandalwood, Rose, Rosemary, Rose hips, Blackthorn, Vervain, Peonies, Poppies, Ginseng, All Spice and Chamomile all have associations with Lughnasadh. Use these to decorate, make tea, cook or bake with, scent your home or altar space, or to leave as an offering! (Keep reading for suggestions on how to use these)
Colors
Try candles and ribbons in shades of green, brown, bronze, orange, yellow and gold. Personally, I always choose a yellow, brown, gold, and green candle for my Lughnasadh altar space.
Yellow represents solar energies, happiness, and transformation.
Brown represents earth energies, strength, protection, and animals.
Gold is to illuminate, for success, divine power, and the harvest.
Green represents abundance, prosperity, fertility, growth, wealth, life, and vegetation.
Food & Drink Ideas
As Lughnasadh is a feasting holiday to give thanks, consider having some friends and loved ones over for a BBQ or potluck! both are great traditional ideas. Try these food and drink suggestions to indulge in holiday flavors!
Drinks: Since wheat is a big thing, beer is a staple drink, but if you’re more of a wine person try elderberry, blackberry or blueberry wine. For alcohol free options, cherry or apple ciders are great, or plain apple juice.
Mint and chamomile are associated herbs, they make a great tea suggestion! Sweet mint, peppermint or spearmint make lovely iced teas. Blueberry or blackberry teas are also delicious!
I’m also personally adding mojitos to this list as a modern update. Since mint is associated, adding some from your garden in a refreshing mojito sounds like a good way to incorporate it to me!
Try some oats or blueberry pancakes in the morning with a seasonal juice or herbal tea, then do a bigger feast for dinner of lamb or chicken, with a beer, then pie for dessert!
More Ways to Celebrate
Bake Bread
There’s lots of recipes online for you to bake your very own loaf. Try adding herbs, or twisting the dough into Celtic knots for extra flair. You can also ‘paint’ the bread! Try Pinterest for some great recipe ideas. Bake extra to give away to a loved one or leave as an offering!
Have a Popcorn Party
Since Lughnasadh is associated with corn, try having a movie night wit friends and making different varieties of popcorn! Do you like spicy, or sweet kinds? This is a great idea to try with kids!
Have a Beer
As a grain holiday, relaxing with a cold brew is a good way to relax this Lughnasadh. Safely and responsibly of course.
Create a Besom
A besom is a witches broom. This is a good time of year to use dried straw, fallen twigs, ribbons and charms to create your own. Personally I love to see lavender in them, gorgeous!
Make Candles
If you have the supplies (even cooler if you have you own bees and wax!) try making candles. Bonus points for seasonal colors and scents, triple points for recycling old wax and bringing life back to old candles!
Harvest/Canning
Harvest your fruits, veggies, and herbs you’ve grown to use them in thanks in teas, tinctures, salves, your cooking, spellwork, and to hang up to dry. Make salsas, or preserves or jams to try on your Lughnasadh bread, or try canning to have a treat in the cold months!
Spend Time Outdoors
Take a walk, hike up a hill, have a picnic, visit a Farmer’s Market or produce stand for local goodies, or go pick fruits, like apples, berries or peaches at a local orchard! Find a way to soak up the last of the season’s warmth.
Have a Fire/Light a Candle
Have a bonfire solo or with friends, and consider burning away some things that need to be released. Throw things that don’t serve you (that are fire safe of course!) into the flames and let them be released. Let the fire ‘reap’ the bad from your life, and ‘sow’ positivity back into it.
If you can’t have a fire, choose a seasonally colored candle, or a few, and give thanks by it’s light! You can carve runes into them if you’d like also!
Spellwork
Lughnasadh works with themes of success and abundance, so it’s a great time of year to do spellwork involving your career, health or love life. If you or someone you know is trying for a new job, or hoping for a new relationship, or maybe buying a house, or moving to a new location, try a little spell to help you manifest your (or theirs!) goals.
Scrying/Divination
Break out your tarot, oracle cards and scrying/divination tools! This is a good time to try new methods you haven’t worked with before, such as bones or runes. If you’ve never tried fire scrying, use your Lughnasadh bonfire or candle as a first attempt!
Cooking/Baking/Drink Making
Feasting with friends or loved ones is a good way to celebrate! (Try the menu ideas above!) Try using herbs you’ve grown or purchased from a local stand in the recipes!
Make a Corn Dolly
Traditionally the least sheaf that was ceremonially cut was used to make a ‘corn dolly’, and carried to the village. The corn dolly would be made into a corn maiden (or corn mother) if the harvest was good, or a ‘cailleach’ (Celtic word for witch, hag) after a bad harvest. These dollies could be clothed, or dressed with ribbon. If you make a doll at Lughnasadh, she can be used again in six months for Imbolc, and can be dressed in spring colors. The harvest Mother, becomes the Spring bride! (Some traditions don’t believe in reusing the doll, but that depends on your practice!)
Smudge/Cleanse/Bless Your Space
Smudge away that negativity that’s been lingering, clear the air, and your life, so that you may grow bountiful! Buy a smudge stick or make your own with sage and added herbs if you’d like. Mugwort, rosemary, lavender and juniper are good additives. Open the windows, let the light and breeze in! Start fresh and clean this holiday, and reap those bad energy places!
Make a Gift
Acts of service and selflessness are important on Lughnasadh. We’re in a place of abundance, and it’s time to share the bounty and love with others. Make a gift for a friend, loved one or neighbor to share the holiday spirit. Try flowers you’ve picked, breads or foods you’ve made, jams or jellies you preserved, or another homemade craft item. Make it with love! They’ll be sure to feel the positive vibes. They’ll see this act of kindness, and pass it on...the world needs more love!
Acts of Service
Lughnasadh is centered around themes of prosperity, generosity, continued success, and giving thanks; which makes it a great time to help those around us, and share the blessings of our abundance with others.
Consider volunteering your time, organizing a community cleanup, picking up trash at the beach, having a friend, neighbor, or loved one over for a hot meal, or offering to help a neighbor with something they need. Devote your time, and watch the blessings come back to you.
Make a Gratitude List
What has ‘grown’ in you life this year that you’re thankful for? Have some seasonal tea, sit by a candle, and make a gratitude list of everything you’re blessed with in life.
Make a reap/ sow list
On that note, you can also try a reap/sow list. Write down what you’re proud to have “planted” in your life, and watched grow, and also what your’re not proud of. What needs to be ‘reaped’ from you life? What weeds are strangling you, that need to be pulled for a bountiful harvest next year? Use this time as personal reflection, and choose what to reap and sow to live your best life in alignment with your true self. Think in ‘Regrets’, ‘Farewells’, ‘Harvest’ and ‘Preserves’
Regrets: Think about things you meant to do this summer that did not come to fruition. Project your regrets onto fire safe objects, like pine cones, and throw them into your fire. You can also write on dried corn husks or paper.
Farewells: What’s passing from your life? What is over? Say goodbye. You can use visuals or writing for this, and also throw into the fire to release, or a lake or ocean. You could also use a flower bulb and plant it, to watch it grow back next year.
Harvest: What have you already harvested this year? What is sprouting? Find a way to represent those things and create a visual reminder to hang in your home.
Preserves: Think about the fruits you have gathered this year and how you can hold onto the sweet memories. Make a remembrance box, or box altar, to help remember special things, times and people.
Make a Craft
Lugh is the God of craftsmanship, so try making something festive to decorate your home or altar! Wheat can be used for wreaths and door decorations, apples can be turned into seasonal candle holders, or try making your own corn dolly or besom. Search Pinterest for these great ideas or check my Instagram account for the how-to’s! (@selfcarewitchxo)
Go to a Craft Fair
And again, on that note! Since Lugh is the God of this, see if there’s any local craft fairs in your area and buy some local goodies!
PHEW!
That’s it folks! Your complete guide to celebrate Lughnasadh! Thank you for being patient with me as I got this posted. If you hear from me on other sites you know I already typed this whole thing once and it got deleted! Ahh! I’m glad to have this up finally!
Connect with me on Instagram to see what i’ll be doing for the day, and send me the ideas you’ve decided to try out! I’d love to see your crafts or anything you’ve baked! Also if you have any ideas to add, let me know and I’ll post them!
if i started a witch groupchat would anyone join 🥺 it would be on telegram or discord (but probably telegram) i learn a lot easier by being taught instead of teaching myself so i think it would be cool to create a space where witches of all levels could learn together and teach each other!!
Cleansing is the process of clearing a magickal tool of past energies so they do not interfere with the energies required for future use. There are many ways to cleanse tools and the method to apply can vary depending on what it is exactly you are cleansing. Here are some favorite methods:
- Bury it
In a bowl of salt, the backyard, a potted plant, sand
- Anoint it
With charged essential oils, moon water, sun water, ash
- Rinse it
With running water from a natural spring, the ocean, rain, moon water, a faucet
- Smudge it
With incense, rosemary, pine, flowers, sage (when culturally appropriate)
What are some of the best online resources you can recommend for a witch juat starting out? Preferably ones that don't focus on/include religious practice, but I'll take anything at this point, there's honestly so much out there I don't know where to begin and/or what's legit and what's appropriated pseudo witchcraft and I really don't wanna get info from bad sources.
Yoooo! So I finally finished my own personal witchy aesthetic for 2019! At the moment this perfectly frames what I'm working on/toward currently since I'm still just a baby witch, and I have TONS to learn.
If you want your own, just download the app PhotoGrid, pic out some stunning witchy photos, and throw them altogether and POOF! YOU GOT YOURSELF YOUR OWN WITCHY MOODBOARD AESTHETIC!
Lemme know what yall think and tag your own aesthetics with #babywitchaesthetics I'd love to see a lot more of these!
I'm sure you've all seen the oh-so-pretty grimoires strewn across tumblr dot com. I'm sure you think you need a leather bound book and fancy pens and good handwriting. You don't. Really all you need is any old notebook and one (1) pack of colored pencils and and some pencil you ripped off a teacher. Perfect is a fantasy. Find perfection in the messiness of your book. Find it in the poorly drawn flowers and half erased pencil marks. In pictures and plants you taped in. Magic isn't perfection. It is chaos. Let your grimoire be just that, chaos.
