Lughnasadh/ Lammas/ First Harvest

This weekend is the celebration of Lughnasadh/ Lammas/ First Harvest.
Personally, I like "Lammas," because a) easier to spell and b) sounds like Llamas. :)

This is considered one of the “greater sabbats” within the Wiccan wheel of the year. Usually celebrated on or around August 1, it’s the cross-quarter day that falls between Litha and Mabon. This is the time of the first harvest- the moment where all of the hard work you put in this year finally comes to fruition. The first harvest is the grain/corn harvest, though in many regions, many berries come into season at this time, too. This first harvest transcended cultures, and many regions throughout the world celebrated the harvest with feasts and wine. Many regions of the world had customs and traditions that they practiced at this time of the year. Some left the last sheaf of grain unharvested as an ode to the spirit of the field, that the field wouldn’t become fallow. Others saw this sheaf as sacred, believing that the Corn spirit/god lived in this sheaf. A corn dolly would be fashioned from this sheaf and kept safe and warm during the winter. This dolly was brought out in the spring, to awaken the spirit within the fields.

In the Celtic wheel of the year, Lughnasadh heralded the Tailtean Games, fifteen days of games honoring the Sun god Lugh’s foster mother, Tailte. At these games, crafts and merchanting were done, and Tailtean marriages (year and a day marriages similar to handfastings) took place, and of course, Tailtean marriages from the previous year may be dissolved. The name Lughnasadh was changed to Lammas by the Christians, as they slowly took over the land. Lammas means ‘loaf-mass’ and it still ties back to the harvest of grain.

Ideas to decorate your altar to reflect the Sabbat:
Anything gold
Gold, yellow, or orange altar cloths
Anything that you feel might symbolize the sun
Sunflowers
Bread, grain, wheat, bowl of berries
Candles, especially in orange, yellow, gold colors


Ideas for your Lammas/Lugh circles:
Honoring Lugh and Tailte
Center around what it means to ‘foster’
Getting rid of bad habits/ obstacles in your way to success
Offerings of bread or grain
Honor a Sun god
Honor a corn god/ field god
Focus on thanksgiving
Focus on sacrifice


Ideas for the holiday that you may like do outside of circle:
Harvest in your garden
Any other hard work
Volunteer at a soup kitchen
Make corn dollies
Bake bread
Can jams or jellies
Make wine


Long term project that could culminate at this Sabbat:
Food/ canned good drive.


I’m not going to add any recipes, but the main staples of the season are breads, grains, corn, wheat, and berries. You can find a whole lot of recipes, and one that will fit your tastes on allrecipes.com. I wish everyone a safe and blessed harvest! Photos from my covens altar will be on our coven’s blog at http://twilightmooncoven.blogspot.com.


Random thought: I see many Pagan ‘celebs’ with “official” blogs and it kind of makes me giggle a little bit. I don’t know why, but it does. Would I sound important if I labeled my blog “official?” This is the official “Beyond the Circle” blog! Hey. That sounds like a cool Podcast name. Uh-oh. :)