Step into the warmth of Lammas/Lughnasadh, a time of gratitude and the first abundant harvest. Discover the magic of this ancient festival and connect with its rich traditions.
Lammas, or Lughnasadh, marks the beginning of the harvest season. For me, it's a profound time of gratitude, recognizing the abundance of the Earth and the fruits of our labors. It’s a moment to pause, reflect on our personal growth, and acknowledge the seeds we’ve sown throughout the year that are now coming to fruition. It's a reminder of the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth, and the importance of honoring each stage.
The most important tradition for Lammas/Lughnasadh is the celebration of the grain harvest, particularly through baking and sharing bread. This bread, often made from the first grains, symbolizes the sacrifice of the grain god Lugh, ensuring continued sustenance. Other important activities include feasting, making corn dollies or effigies from straw to protect the harvest, and holding handfasting ceremonies as a blessing on unions. These traditions connect us to ancient agricultural rhythms and the simple yet profound act of expressing thanks for what we have received.
I hope that readers will feel a deep sense of peace and gratitude when they learn about Lammas/Lughnasadh. I wish for them to connect with the feeling of abundance, both in nature and in their own lives, and to recognize their personal harvests. It’s about celebrating accomplishments, big and small, and embracing the wisdom that comes from endings and new beginnings. Ultimately, I hope it inspires a feeling of contentment and a desire to honor the gifts of the Earth and their own hard work.
Also known as Lammas, or First Harvest, the name of this festival as Lughnasadh is Irish Gaelic for “Commemoration of Lugh”.
At Lughnasadh we see the fields of corn being cut, and for some this is the true time of the festival. In the fields John Barleycorn, who laid with the Lady in the woods at Beltane, has grown old, and now stands bent and bearded with a crooked cane. He looks to the Sun as he has changed from green to gold, and he known that his time has come. His life will feed the people, and it is this sacrifice that we honour at Lughnasadh.
(Loo-nas-ah) Major Sabbat (High Holiday) – Fire Festival August 1, 2
Other Names: Lunasa (meaning August), Lughnasaad, Lughnasa Celtic),First Harvest, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas, Feast of Bread, Tailltean Games(Irish), Teltain Cornucopia (Strega), Ceresalia (Ancient Roman) Harvest Home, Thingtide (Teutonic), Lammas (Christian). Laa Luanys, Elembious, Festival of Green Corn (Native American)
Animals and Mythical beings: Griffins, Basilisks, Roosters, Calves, Centaurs, Phoenix
Gemstones: aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx, yellow diamonds, citrine
Incense and Oils: wood aloes, rose, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, eucalyptus, safflower, corn, passionflower, frankincense, sandalwood
Colors: red, orange, golden yellow, green, light brown, gold, bronze, gray
Tools, Symbols, and Decorations: corn, cornucopias, red, yellow flowers, sheaves of grain (wheat, barley, oats), first fruits/vegetables of garden labor, corn dollies, baskets of bread, spear, cauldron, sickle, scythe, threshing tools, sacred loaf of bread, harvested herbs, bonfires, bilberries, God figures made of bread or cookie dough, phallic symbols
Goddesses: The Mother, Dana (Lugh&’s wife & queen ), Tailltiu (Welsh-Scottish), Demeter (Greek), Ceres (Roman grain goddess .. honored at Ceresalia), the Barley Mother, Seelu (Cherokee), Corn Mother, Isis (Her birthday is celebrated about this time), Luna (Roman Moon Goddess), other agricultural Goddesses, the waxing Goddess
Gods: Lugh (Celtic, one of the Tuatha De Danaan), John Barley Corn, Arianrhod’s golden haired son Lleu (Welsh God of the Sun & Corn where corn includes all grains, not just maize), Dagon (Phoenician Grain God), Tammuz/ Dummuzi (Sumerian), Dionysus, plus all sacrificial Gods who willingly shed
blood/give their life that their people/lands may prosper, all vegetation Gods & Tanus (Gaulish Thunder God), Taranis (Romano-Celtic Thunder God), Tina, (Etruscan-Thunder God), the waning God
Essence: fruitfulness, reaping, prosperity, reverence, purification, transformation, change, The Bread of Life, The Chalice of Plenty , The Ever-flowing Cup , the Groaning Board (Table of Plenty)
Meaning: Lugh’s wedding to Mother Earth, Birth of Lugh; Death of Lugh, Celtic Grain Festival
Purpose: Honoring the parent Deities, first harvest festival, first fruits grains & drink to the Goddess in appreciation of Her bounty, offering loaves of sacred bread in the form of the God (this is where the Gingerbread Man originated)
Rituals and Magicks: astrology, prosperity, generosity, continued success, good fortune, abundance, magickal picnic, meditate & visualize yourself completing a project you’ve started
Customs and Activities: games, the traditional riding of poles/staves, country fairs, breaking bread with friends, making corn dollys, harvesting herbs for charms/rituals, Lughnasadh fire with sacred wood & dried herbs, feasting, competitions, lammas towers (fire-building team competitions), spear tossing, gathering flowers for crowns, fencing/swordplay, games of skill, martial sports, chariot races, hand-fastings, trial marriages, dancing ’round a corn mother (doll)
Foods: loaves of homemade wheat, oat, & corn bread, barley cakes, corn, potatoes, summer squash, nuts, acorns, wild berries (any type), apples, rice, pears, berry pies, elderberry wine, crab apples, mead, crab, blackberries, meadowsweet tea, grapes, cider, beer
Herbs: grain, acacia, heather, ginseng, sloe, cornstalks, cyclamen, fenugreek, aloes, frankincense, sunflower, hollyhock, oak leaf, wheat, myrtle
Element: Fire
Gender: Female
Resources:
Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham
Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Tradition by Starhawk
My personal Book of Shadows
SetupItems for this ritual include: Two brown or yellow candles for the altar; Chalice; A basket of apples; enough for the circle boundary (they need not touch each other); Three additional apples; A sharp knife to cut the apples; Several gourds; Blackberry wine or juice; A small bowl of hazelnuts; Vines (real or from a craft store) to decorate your altar (optional); Drum (optional).
How to Perform a Lughnasadh RitualPlease gather:
Whether you’re practicing alone or with your coven, Litha calls for something joyful, golden and alive. This isn’t the time for subtlety — it’s the sun’s main act. So light a flame, crown your head in flowers, and step into your strength. Midsummer has long been considered one of the most powerful times of the year for magic.
Things You Will Need-paper/pen
Perform an Ostara RitualYou’ll need:
✧ Light the first candle & say, to yourself or out loud, in whatever words come to you:
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