Lammas/ Lughnasadh

(Celebrated July 31^st -August 1^st)

Lammas, also known as Lammas Day (loaf-mass day), Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo na sa), Lughnasa, Summer’s End, Lady Day, the witches 1st harvest, the feast of bread, festival of green corn, Ceresalia, August Eve, Comucopia, Elembiuos, the Comng of the Dark, The Wheat and Fruit Harvest, The Wane of the Light, Feast of Gardenias, harvest home, is the 6th sabbat of the Wiccan year. The celebration proper begins at sundown on July 31st, since the Celts reckon their days from sundown to sundown.

Another name for Lammas is Lughnasa/ Lughnasadh- the Celtic sun god, Lugh (pronounced Loo) dies as the sun begins to wane. Lughnasadh means the funeral games of Lugh, referring to Lugh, the Irish sun god. The funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster mother Tailte. For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time. This day originally coincided with the first reapings of the harvest. He is also called ‘John Barleycorn’ whose energy has gone into the grains and is cut down as a sacrifice to the fertility of the land.

This is the 1st of 3 harvest festivals. Lammas is the start of the end of summer, the beginning of autumn, and is particularly associated with the deities of the corn and grain. The days now grow visibly shorter and by the time we’ve reached autumn’s end (October 31), we will have run the gamut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold snow of November. . Lammas is a cross quarter festival which falls around 1 August, when summer is at its height. The plants of spring wither and drop their fruits or seeds for our use as well to ensure future crops. It heralds the beginning of the gathering of corn and other crops for the harvest. It is the beginning of the long harvest period. Lammas literally means ‘loaf mass’- a celebration of the bread made from the first cutting of grain.

This festival feels the presence of more than one earth spirit as the different aspects of the sun and grain all contribute their energies, but predominantly it is the Celtic sun god Lugh who rules Lammas. He inaugurated the festival to commemorate mother earth. The sun king’s energy has caused the grain to ripen and the spirit of John Barleycorn plays the sacrificial king as the grain is cut. In Wicca tradition, the triple goddess is now in her mother phase as she gives birth to first harvest of wheat and corn. The god of light is descending into the underworld. The god of darkness is taking over the skies.

Lammas is a time of the fullness of life, and a celebration of the bountiful earth. It is a time of the sacrificial mating of the Goddess and God, where the Corn King, given life by the Goddess and tasting of her love is sacrificed and transformed into bread and ale which feeds us. The main themes of Lammas may therefore be seen as thanksgiving to the Goddess for her bountiful harvest, stating our hopes for what we wish to harvest, sacrifice, transformation, and a sharing of the energy of the Corn King. The focus of Lammas is on the gifts of summer and the bounty of the earth. This is also a good time to harvest herbs for magical use.

At this time of year it feels like summer will go on forever, but this is the first warning of the coming winter. Food must be gathered and preserved but from now until the last of the autumnal nuts have been collected. According to Pagan beliefs, as the corn is cut, the corn mother’s energy retreats into the last stand of grain. Traditionally, this sheaf is ceremonially cut and made into a corn dolly.

In ancient days, the prosperity of the tribe relied upon the fertility of the land and its people. Harvesting grain was laborious work and each grain was considered to be precious. Threshing floors had a board nailed across so none was lost and this is remembered nowadays when a couple are newly married- the husband carries his wife over the threshold.

Because of its association with Lugh, the skilled god, Lammas is also a time to celebrate talents and craftsmanship. It’s a traditional time of year for craft festivals, and for skilled artisans to peddle their wares. In medieval Europe, guilds would arrange for their members to set up booths around a village green, festooned with bright ribbons and fall colors.

Lugh is also known in some traditions as the patron of bards and magicians. Now is a great time of year to work on honoring your own talents. Learn a new craft or get better at an old one. Put on a play, write a story or poem, take up a musical instrument, or sing a song. Whatever you choose to do, this is the right season for rebirth and renewal, so set August 1 as the day to share your new skill with your friends and family.

From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,