Sultry August Days
Welcome Lughnasadh
I have such mixed feelings about the month of August. It marks the first harvest, and we start to feel the shift in the vibration preparing us for the coming fall, reminding us that the seasons are ever-changing.
August adopts its re-naming in honor of Emporer Augustus. Although August falls in the season of summer, it is also a month that is often associated with the end of summer and the start of a new academic year. It is a time for students and families to prepare for the return to school in September, with shopping for supplies and getting back into a regular routine.
The first day of school is often a significant event at the end of August, marking the end of summer vacation. It is a time for students to reconnect with friends, meet their teachers, and get excited about learning.
August is a time for many other holidays and celebrations. August is a month that is associated with several unique events and phenomena. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which is one of the most active and reliable meteor showers of the year, peaks in August. The meteor shower is caused by debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, and it can produce up to 100 shooting stars per hour at its peak.
Overall, August is a month of transition and preparation, with a mix of holidays and events that celebrate the end of summer and the start of a new academic year. So, it is a very special month for many people around the world.
As August rolls around, the air is filled with the anticipation of the first harvest of the season. For farmers, this is a time of hard work and long days as they race against the clock to bring in the crops before the weather turns. Coming from a farming community and having a family of farmers this time of year holds a lot of anticipation and eagerness to get into the fields to reap the rewards of the planting season back in April and May.
One of the key activities during the first harvest is combining. This involves using a large machine to cut the crops, separate the grain from the chaff, and collect the grain in a storage area. Combining can be a challenging process, as the machine needs to be adjusted for the specific type of crop being harvested and the conditions of the field.
While the fields are being harvested, many people are also busy in their gardens, picking the fruits and vegetables that have been growing all summer. From ripe, juicy tomatoes to crisp, crunchy cucumbers, the August garden is a treasure trove of delicious produce.
As the days pass and the harvest continues, the air is filled with the sound of machines at work and the scent of freshly cut crops. It is a time of hard work and long days, but it is also a time of great satisfaction as the fruits of the farmers’ labor are finally brought in.
Whether in the fields or in the garden, the August harvest is a time to celebrate the abundance of the season and to look forward to the bounty of the year to come. So, it is a very special time for all of us, especially for the farming community.
Correspondences
Moon Phases: New Moon – August 4, First Quarter – August 12, Full Moon – August 19, Last Quarter – August 26
Zodiac: Leo and Virgo
Celtic Zodiac: Collie or Hazel Tree
Elements: Fire and Earth
Herbs: chamomile, fennel, feverfew
colours: yellow, light green, and red
Flowers: Gladiolus, poppy, lily
Gemstones: peridot, sardonyx, spinel
animals: Lion, stork
Essential oils: lemon, peppermint
symbols: Sun Lion
Sabbat: Lammas also called Lughnasadh
Lughnasadh, also known as the First Harvest or Lammas, is a Celtic holiday that celebrates the beginning of the first harvest season. It falls on August 1st in the Northern Hemisphere and February 1st in the Southern Hemisphere.
Lughnasadh has its roots in Celtic paganism and was a time for honoring the god Lugh, who was the patron of craftspeople and artisans. The holiday was also a time for giving thanks for the abundance of the earth and for the hard work of the farmers and laborers who helped to bring in the crops.
There are many ways to celebrate Lughnasadh, and it can be a deeply personal and meaningful experience for those who observe it. Some common ways to celebrate include:
- Honoring the god Lugh: Many people choose to honor the god Lugh on Lughnasadh by creating crafts or performing rituals in his honor. This could include making baskets, weaving, or carving wooden objects.
- Giving thanks for the harvest: Lughnasadh is a time to give thanks for the abundance of the earth and the hard work of those who bring in the crops. You could do this by creating a gratitude altar or by offering thanks during a ritual or ceremony.
- Celebrating the harvest: Many people choose to celebrate the harvest by cooking and eating traditional harvest foods, such as bread, fruits, and vegetables. You could also visit a farmer’s market or go apple picking to connect with the abundance of the earth.
- Holding a feast or community gathering: Lughnasadh was originally a time for community gatherings and feasts, and many people continue this tradition today. You could hold a potluck with friends and family, or attend a public event or festival in honor of the holiday.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Lughnasadh, it’s a time to honor the god Lugh, give thanks for the abundance of the earth, and celebrate the hard work of those who bring in the crops.
How to Make:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the peanut butter and the honey to the hot milk and stir to combine.
Let rise again until doubled. Bake at 375ºF until golden; it should make a hollow sound when tapped.
Yield: 1 large or 2 regular-sized loaves
https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/bread/other-bread/lammas-bread-and-protection-spell.html
Lammas Bread And Protection Spell
Ingredients
Lamma Bread Protection Spell
A book of Anglo-Saxon charms advised the crumbling of the Lammas loaf into four pieces and the burying of them in the four corners of the barn to make it safe for all the grain that would be stored there. You can use this old spellcraft in a protection spell for your home.
Bake a Lammas loaf, and when it is cool break it into four pieces don’t cut it with a knife and take one to each corner of your property with the words:
I call on the spirits
Of north, and south, east and west
Protect this place
Now, at the time of the Blessing.
Leave the bread for the birds to eat or bury the pieces.
Note: bake two so you can actually eat one.
You can also make the dough into a wicker man for Lammas or as a altar or table centerpiece wreath for candles as shown in pics
Mini Ritual – Bread and Blessing
Taken from Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essential Lughnasadh
Like any Sabbat, Lughnasadh or Lammas, can be a very busy time, what with all the planning and preparation and cooking and such that’s often involved. Here’s a quick and easy Lughnasadh ritual you can do in just a few minutes to get you re-centered and re-focused on the deeper meaning of this special day whenever stress threatens to make your holiday feel hectic.
The purpose of this ritual is to express gratitude for your blessings and to attract even greater food fortune, leaving you feeling centered, focused, relaxed, and ready to enjoy a wonderful sabbat.
Setting: a piece of bread, a glass of water compass (although optional).
Pre-ritual preparations begin by shaking your body vigorously (yes you read that correctly) and moving your arms and legs head and neck, this will help release any lingering stress and get you ready to enter a magickal mindset. You’ll also want to determine the cardinal directions, using a compass if necessary to find North, South, East, and West.
The Ritual:
Carry the piece of bread and glass of water outside, and stand tall, holding these objects in our hands. Think of how it feels to be hungry and thirsty, and how that piece of bread and glass of after can mean so much when we are in a place of need. Think of the blessings in your life – food, water, friends and family, the sunshine, and the earth beneath your feet. Break the bread into four pieces, and moving clockwise, place a piece in each of the four directions, north, south, east, and west.
Each cardinal point corresponds to one of the four elements (North- Earth, East – Air, South – Fire, West – Water) As you place the bread in the northern quadrant, express your thanks for the good things in life you associate with the earth element – material wealth, security, stability, manifestation, the food, the harvest, the soil, the crops and the wild vegetation. As you place the bread in the eastern quadrant, express your gratitude for any blessing you associate with air element – change, movement, circulation, breath, the atmosphere, fluidity, thought, intelligence, and conscious action as you place bread in south quadrant, express thanks for any good fortune you’ve had in areas of your life associated with the element of fire – transformation, light, warmth, the sun, illumination, energy and cleansing destruction. As you place the final bread in the western quadrant express your thanks for the blessing you associate with the element of water – love, emotion, life, blood, the currents of creativity and creation. To conclude the ritual turn clockwise around the circle once more, this time slowly pouring out a ring of water from the glass as you rotate. While making this final rotation, say out loud or to yourself:
“I give my thanks to the powers that be!
to these powers, connect
the powers to me!
This, we will it, so it will be!”
Repeat the chant for as long as it takes you to make the full roation around the circle. Reserve a final sip of water for yourself, and drink it to conclude the ritual.
According to MacNeill, the main theme that emerges from the folklore and rituals of Lughnasadh is a struggle for the harvest between two gods. One god – usually called crohm dubh – guards the grain as his treasure. The other god – Lugh – must seize it for mankind. Sometimes, this was portrayed as a struggle over a woman called eithne who represents the grain. Lugh also fights and defeats a figure representing blight. MacNeill says that these themes can be seen in earlier Irish mythology, particularly in the tale of Lugh defeating Balor, which seems to represent the overcoming of blight, drought and the scorching summer sun. In surviving folklore, Lugh is usually replaced by St Patrick, while Crom Dubh is a pagan chief who owns a granary or a bull and who opposes Patrick, but is overcome and converted. Crom Dubh is likely the same figure as Crom Cruatch and shares some traits with the Dagda and DonnHe may be based on an underworld god like Hades and Pluto who kidnaps the grain goddess Persephone but is forced to let her return to the world above before harvest time.