August 2025 Witch Guide
New Moon: August 23rd
First Quarter: August 1st
Full moon: August 9th
Last Quarter: August 16th
Sabbats: Lammas-August 1st
August Grain Moon
Also known as: Dispute Moon, Hazel Moon, Hot Moon(Tunica), Ricing Moon(Ojibwe) & Sturgeon Moon
Element: Fire
Zodiac: Leo & Virgo
Nature spirts: Dryads
Deities: Diana, Ganesha, Hathor, Hecate, Mars, Nemesis, Thoth & Vulcan
Animals: Lion & sphinx
Mythical: Dragon & phoenix
Birds: Crane, Eagle, falcon
Trees: Alder, cedar, hazel
Herbs: Angelica, basil, bay, fennel, orange, rosemary, rue & St John's wort
Colors: Dark-green, gold, orange, red & yellow
Flowers: Chamomile, marigold & sunflower
Scents: Frankincense & heliotrope
Stones: Carnelian, cat's eye, emerald, fire agate, garnet jade, jasper, moonstone, peridot, sardonyx, red agate, topaz & tourmaline
Issues, intentions & powers: Abundance, animal magic, prophecy, prosperity & wisdom
Energy: Authority, appreciation, courage, entertainment, finding your voice, friendships, gathering, harvesting energy, health, love, pleasures, power & vitality
August gets it's moon name because this was the time of the first harvest of the year & like to celebrate the occasion with feasts & festivals.
This was also an ideal time to resolve disputes between neighbors. This tradition of summertime legalese continued well into the 19th Century in different parts of Britain, where August 1st ( Lughnasadh & Lammas) was a traditional time to collect rent & pay workers. Today the August Full Moon is a time to celebrate all your work & progress during the year, knowing that you are also prepared for the months ahead.
• Sturgeon Moon was popularized by Farmers almanac. 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.
Lughnasadh
Known as: Bron-Trogain, Lammas, August Eve & Feast of Bread
Season: Summer
Element: Fire
Symbols: Corn, corn dolls, cornucopias, pentacles, rowan cross & shafts of grains
Colors: Blue, gold, golden-yellow, green, indigo, light-brown, maroon orange, red, red-brown, violet & yellow
Oils/Incense: Aloe, apple, blackberry, corn, cinnamon, eucalyptus, marigold, patchouli, rose, safflower & sandalwood
Animals: Bull, calf, dog, lion stag & squirrel
Birds: Chicken & Eagle
Stones: Aventurine, carnelian, citrine, diamond, peridot, onyx, quartz, topaz & sardonyx
Food: Apples, apple cider, barely cakes, berries, berry pie, breads, corn, colcannon, honey, grains, lamb, mead nuts, potatoes, rice, squash & wine
Herbs/Plants: Alfalfa, allspice, aloe, basil, bay, blackberry, corn, cornsilk, cornstalk, crab apple, fennel, fenugreek, frankincense, ginseng, golden seal, gorse, grapes, meadowsweet, oak-leaves, pear, rosemary, rye & wheat
Flowers: Clycamen, heather, hollyhocks, sunflower
Trees: Acacia, apple, hazelnut, holly, myrtle, oak & rowan
Goddesses: Aine, Alphito, Artemis, Bracacia, Carmen, Ceres, Damia, Danu, Demeter, Diana, Dryads, Ereshkigal, Freya, Frigga, Hathor, Hecate, Inanna, Ishtar, Isis, Juturna, Kait, Luannotar, Nemesis, Ops, Persephone, Pomona, Stata Mater, Sul, Taillte, Tailtiu Tea & Zaramama
Gods: Athtar, Bes, Bran, Consus, Dagon, Dumuzi, Ebisu, Ghanan, Howtu, Liber, Loki, Lono, Lugh, Neper, Odin, Osiris, Ragbod, Thor, Thoth, Vulcan, Xiuhtecuhtli, Xochipilli
Tarot cards: Strength, The Sun, Seven of Pentacles, Ten of Pentacles, Four of Wands, Justice & Wheel of Fortune
Spellwork: Abundance, bounty, communication with the dead, fire magic, honoring ancestors, growth, personal transformation prosperity, rituals of thanks & sun magic
Issues, Intentions & Powers: Abundance, accomplishments, agriculture, challenges, celebration, darkness, death, endings, gratitude, protection, release ,strength, & transformation
Activities:
• Bake fresh bread
• Weave wheat
• Take walks in nature or along bodies of water
• Craft a corn doll out of husks
• 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”.
Other Celebrations:
• Ganesh Chaturthi: August 27th
Is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Ganesh. This festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's murtis (devotional representations of a deity) privately in homes & publicly on elaborate pandals.
Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers & vrata(fasting). Offerings & prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak because it is believed to be a favourite of Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the murti is carried in a public procession with music & group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi.
Sources:
Farmersalmanac .com
Wikipedia
Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines
A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs
Llewellyn 2025 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living
Mabonhouse.com
aianta.org/native-american-moon-names
Llewellyn's Sabbat Essentials: Lughnasadh