Lammas: Honoring the God Lugh

If your celebrations focus more on the god Lugh, observe the Sabbat from an artisan’s point of view. Place symbols of your craft or skill on the altar—a notebook, your special paints for artists, a pen for writers, other tools of your creativity.

Lammas , The Festival and its Meaning

The two names “Lammas and Lughnasadh” for the festival points to the fact that it is both a time to celebrate and remember the passing of the god and the year. At Lammas we celebrate the first harvest. Fruits and berries are ripening, seeds are being scattered and the first of the corn is being cut. But the days are noticeably getting shorter: the colours of the countryside are the browns of dry grasses, dotted with mourning purples, whites and blood scarlet poppies. Although the weather may still be hot and the time of year means holidays for many people, the sun is dropping and the year is starting to die.

Where ever you may be living,  it may be a nice idea to get outside and view the changes that are taking place. In the countryside hedgerows and tall dry grasses will now be dropping their seeds.  The first of the blackberries may be starting to appear ready for consumption. In the parks and towns, you may be able to view the colours of the annual flowers. Seeds will be flying from sycamore trees and rowan berries will be turning red.

At Lammas we may look at the tasks that we set ourselves and the start of the year are coming along. Some of these tasks may be complete and they will make up our first harvest. We may acknowledge that, for the sake of this harvest and also for the sake of the harvest grain all over the world, the god has made a willing sacrifice and the Goddess has willingly let him go.

It may be time for us to think of how great a role the Goddess and Gods play in our lives and give thanks for it all. At Lammas we may make a “Mary Barleycorn” as a symbol of the Goddess, hold her up in our rituals and hang her up in the house. We may count our blessings and pledge to share out gifts as we acknowledge the Gods sacrifices by promising to make a sacrifice of our own for someone in need. Like the wild grasses, we scatter seeds, hoping they will do some good in the world. At the end of this, we may celebrate.

lammas: Crafts, Song and Celebration

Because of its association with Lugh, the skilled god, Lammas (Lughnasadh) 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. Perhaps this is why so many modern Renaissance Festivals begin around this time of year!

Lugh is also known in some traditions as the patron of bards and magicians. Now is a great time of year to work on honing 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.

Lammas: Symbols of the Harvest

The harvest is here, and that means it’s time to include symbols of the fields on your altar. Sickles and scythes are appropriate, as are baskets. Sheaves of grain, fresh picked fruits and vegetables, a jar of honey, or loaves of bread are perfect for the Lammastide altar. Other symbols of Lammas, or Lughnasadh, that you might wish to use include:

    • Grapes and wine: grapevines are abundant this time of year! Get some fresh grapes in a bowl, add a bottle of wine—local wineries are a great place to visit during this season—or decorate with the wide, green leaves and long pliable vines of the grape plant.
    • Corn dolls: the corn doll is a harvest craft that has been found in societies the world over. Make one of your own using the husks of freshly picked corn. If you live in an agricultural area, many farmers are happy to give you the loose husks once they’ve harvested their crops.
    • Ears of corn: Use corn in rituals involving growth and transformation. After all, a single kernel brings you a tall stalk full of (you guessed it!) more kernels! You can also associate it with self-sustainability and fertility, both of people and of the land.
    • Iron, such as tools, weaponry, or armor: in many magical traditions, this time of year is associated with protection magic. If you have access to weaponry, think about adding some to your altar. If you’re not into weapons, that’s no problem—many agricultural tools are made of iron. Find a scythe, sickle, or other iron implement to add to your altar.
  • Fall flowers, such as cornflowers or poppies, are abundant during the late summer and early fall. Put a vase of fresh ones, or even dried blossoms on your altar to celebrate the first harvest of the year.
  • Straw braids are often found at agricultural craft markets, but you can make your own with the detritus from your garden. Braid some grain stalks or straw together to form a braid, representing the three aspects of the land, the sea, and the sky.
  • Onions, carrots, and root vegetables are ready to be harvested soon—grow your own and dig them up for Lammas, or collect fresh ones from a local farmer’s market stand, and add them to your altar, either loose or in a bowl.

Corn Dolly

A ritual doll, or variation of a poppet, used in traditional seasonal rites for the fertility of the land. The corn dolly is a harvest figure made of either the last or first sheaves of grain. It is placed in the fields or used as a charm in fertility rites or as a centerpiece in seasonal celebrations. Corn dollies are hung in homes or fed to livestock as a magical charm for their well-being.

Modern corn dollies are made in various shapes, especially for hanging in the home, such as bells, cornucopias, or plaited into intricate patterns.

Corn dollies have many names, such as corn-mother, grandmother, mother of the grain, harvest-mother, mother-sheaf, old woman, old wife, the Cailleach, the hag, the queen, the Bride, the maiden, the Ceres and the Demeter. The latter two are the Greek and Roman names, respectively, for the goddess of the grain and harvest.

Lammas: Honoring the Past

In some modern Pagan traditions, Lammas is also a day of honoring Lugh, the Celtic craftsman god. He is a god of many skills, and was honored in various aspects by societies both in the British Isles and in Europe. Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-NAS-ah) is still celebrated in many parts of the world today. Lugh’s influence appears in the names of several European towns.

In our modern world, it’s often easy to forget the trials and tribulations our ancestors had to endure. For us, if we need a loaf of bread, we simply drive over to the local grocery store and buy a few bags of prepackaged bread. If we run out, it’s no big deal, we just go and get more. When our ancestors lived, hundreds and thousands of years ago, the harvesting and processing of grain was crucial. If crops were left in the fields too long, or the bread not baked in time, families could starve. Taking care of one’s crops meant the difference between life and death.

By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they must have had to do in order to survive. This is a good time to give thanks for the abundance we have in our lives, and to be grateful for the food on our tables. Lammas is a time of transformation, of rebirth and new beginnings.

Lammas: Bread Sacrifice Ritual

Lammas is a time of celebrating the beginning of the harvest, a theme seen often in the sacrifice of the grain god. Make a sacrifice of your own this Lammas, with this bread ritual that marks the beginning of the harvest.

Grain is the heart of Lammas, and the beginning of the harvest season is a milestone in many societies. Once the grain is threshed and milled it is baked into bread and consumed, honoring the spirit of the grain god. This ritual celebrates both the harvest and the sacrifices we make each year, as well as the sacrifice of the grain god. Decorate your altar with symbols of the season – sickles and scythes, garden goodies like ivy and grapes and corn, poppies, dried grains, and early autumn foods like apples.

For this rite, you’ll need a loaf of Lammas bread and a cup of wine or water. You’ll also need pieces of straw or other plant material, enough for each person in the ritual to make a small doll, and some yarn or string to tie the dolls together. Finally, you’ll need a fire. You can either have a large bonfire, or a small tabletop fire in a pot or brazier.

If your tradition requires you to cast a circle.

The High Priest or High Priestess says:

It is the time of the harvest once again.
Life, growth, death and rebirth,
all have come full circle.
The god of the harvest has died once more,
That we may eat and consume him,
Giving us strength in the months to come.

The HPs hands each member of the group a sheaf of straw, saying:

We now create dolls in our image.
These dolls symbolize our selves, in our many aspects,
and all the things we give up each year,
so that we may thrive and flourish later on.

Each member of the group constructs a doll to represent themselves. As each person creates their doll, they should energize the doll with personal qualities. These are the essences of self that each person is bringing to sacrifice, so that they may be reborn as the harvest god is each year. When everyone has completed their dolls, the High Priestess says:

The god of grain is dying,
vegetation returns to the earth.
We call upon the gods of the harvest,
asking them for their blessings.
Tammuz and Lugh,
Adonis, Dumuzi,
Cernunnos and Attis,
Mercury, Osiris.
You are born each year,
and live in our fields
and are sacrificed as part of the cycle.

Raise energy by circling your fire or altar three times, building speed each time (move counter clockwise, against the pattern of the sun, because it’s the end of the harvest season).

When the raising of energy is complete, each person in the group approaches the fire, one at a time, and casts their doll into the fire. They can either say out loud what their sacrifice will be this year, or speak it only to themselves and the gods. As each doll is placed in the fire, direct leftover energy into the flames as well.

When everyone has made their sacrifice, the HPs holds up the loaf of Lammas bread. Say:

Months ago, we planted seeds,
and through the summer watched them grow.
We have tended the fields in our lives,
and now we are blessed with abundance.
The harvest has arrived!
Thank you, lord of the harvest,
For the gifts yet to come.
We eat this bread, grain transformed by fire, in your name,
and honor you for your sacrifice.

The HPs breaks off a piece of bread for herself, and passes it around the circle, so that everyone can take a piece. Eat the bread, and then pass around the cup of wine or water. If you wish, you can say something as the cup is passed, like:

May you reap the blessings of the harvest.

Once everyone has eaten their bread and sipped from the cup, take a moment to reflect on what you have harvested for yourself this season. End the ritual as you normally would or move directly into a Cakes and Ale ceremony or other rites you wish to perform.

Lammas

At Lammas, also called Lughnasadh, the hot days of August are upon us, much of the earth is dry and parched, but we still know that the bright reds and yellows of the harvest season are just around the corner. Apples are beginning to ripen in the trees, our summer vegetables have been picked, corn is tall and green, waiting for us to come gather the bounty of the crop fields. Now is the time to begin reaping what we have sown, and gathering up the first harvests of grain, wheat, and oats.

Lammas: Symbols of the Season

The Wheel of the Year has turned once more, and you may feel like decorating your house accordingly. While you probably can’t find too many items marked as “Lammas decor” in your local discount store, there are a number of items you can use to decorate for lammas (lughansadh).

  • Sickles and scythes, as well as other symbols of harvesting season
  • Grapes and vines
  • Dried grains, such as sheafs of wheat, bowls of oats, etc.
  • Corn dolls, which you can make easily using dried husks
  • Early fall vegetables, such as squashes and pumpkins, to represent the harvest, as well as abundance.
  • Late summer fruits, like apples, plums and peaches, to celebrate the end of the summer harvest as we transition into fall.

Lammas: Celebrating Grain in Ancient Cultures

Grain has held a place of importance in civilization back nearly to the beginning of time. Grain became associated with the cycle of death and rebirth. The Sumerian god Tammuz was slain and his lover Ishtar grieved so heartily that nature stopped producing. Ishtar mourned Tammuz, and followed him to the Underworld to bring him back, similar to the story of Demeter and Persephone.

In Greek legend, the grain god was Adonis. Two goddesses, Aphrodite and Persephone, battled for his love. To end the fighting, Zeus ordered Adonis to spend six months with Persephone in the Underworld, and the rest with Aphrodite.

Lammas: A Feast of Bread

In early Ireland, it was a bad idea to harvest your grain any time before Lammas; it meant that the previous year’s harvest had run out early, and that was a serious failing in agricultural communities. However, on August 1, the first sheaves of grain were cut by the farmer, and by nightfall his wife had made the first loaves of bread of the season.