All About Lammas - The Ancient Pagan Festival & Today's Full Moon 🌕
Holiday of the First Fruits + Full Moon in Aquarius Ritual Information
Tonight, we take our first step towards the Lion’s Gate…
It’s time for my yearly ritual for creative fulfillment and abundance. This year the Full Moon falls on the Pagan holiday of Lughnasadh, the holiday of the First Fruits, where we reap the rewards of all our efforts (learn all about it below). I always get feedback that this spell offers the most powerful magic of the year. Scroll down for instructions on how to prepare for our ritual tonight at 6pm PT and to learn more about this special holiday.
Lughnasadh / Lammas / First Fruits Basics
Traditionally held on August 1st, or the first Full Moon of August, (which happens to be the same day this time around), Lughnasadh is often called First Fruits, or the holiday of the first harvest. One of eight pagan holidays in the Wheel of the Year, it’s named after the Celtic god Lugh, and means Lugh’s Day. It’s pronounced LOO-nah-sah.
Another name for this holiday is Lammas, the medieval Christian day celebrating the early grain harvest. It comes from the phrase hlaf-maesse, translating to loaf mass. Traditionally, the grains from the first harvest would be ground and formed into loaves of bread and blessed with prayers for continued prosperity on this day. Witches still celebrate this holiday by making blessed loaves of bread.
Side note: in this month’s witch guide, I gave you my family recipe for Lammas Bread, which you can find here. Invite some friends over and eat it together.
Lugh - The Shining One - King of Wands
Lugh is the Shining One, his holiday comes during the dog days of summer, the hottest time of the year. Undefeated, a warrior god, Lugh is gifted in martial arts. But he’s also the god of craftsmanship and the arts. Sometimes he’s called Lugh Samildánach, meaning “Master of Talents”. Other times his title is Lugh Lámhfada, meaning “Lugh of the Long Arm” or “Lugh of the Spear”. His association with the spear, the harvest, and with creativity reminds me of the King of Wands. Full of passion, fire, and skill, masterful with herbs and plants, he’s a warrior who fights for what he loves. He’s a poet, a healer, a musician. As the god of Summer, Lugh is hot in more ways than one!
Build an altar with the King of Wands, flowers and breads in honor of the season (the entire month of August!).
Tailtiu - Honoring Laborers
Legend has it that Lugh created this holiday to honor his foster mother, Tailtiu, after she passed away. So it’s a holiday created in love, to celebrate a woman’s life.
I have mixed feelings about this legend though because on the one hand, Tailtiu was a loving queen who wanted to provide for her people, clearing the land so that they could plant crops and thrive. On the other hand, what this means is virgin forests were torn out to make way for agriculture, and Tailtiu basically worked herself to death in order to do it.
Even though I find this the most unsettling aspect of this holiday, I also think it’s probably what makes it especially relevant to the contemporary audience. Most pagans revile Big Ag, and would love to see agricultural workers unionized, and honored for the labor that makes it possible for all of us to eat.
Very few religious holidays in the world ask us to stand for the rights of workers, and that this holiday does is one of the reasons I love witchcraft and paganism.
A great way to celebrate this holiday is to take IRL steps to stand up for the rights of agricultural laborers, speak out about their struggles, and honor their work, which most of us couldn’t live without. You can donate via the link below.
The Artistic Journey - Processes of Creation
Since Lugh is a master craftsman, I also appreciate Lughnasadh as an opportunity to glory in the artistic process. Poetry, storytelling, music, weaving, drawing: all art requires skill, and achieving skill requires labor and practice. I love having an opportunity to honor the time and effort it takes to learn an art form well enough to create something beautiful out of it.
Holidays are opportunities to get together and celebrate the arts. Have a show and tell with your people. Let people share their drawings, their songs, their woodworking and crochet. Take time to appreciate the skill and dedication it takes to make things.
Full Moon Ritual Info:
Our Full Moon ritual to celebrate our creativity, confidence, craftsmanship, and the abundance that it brings us begins tonight, Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 6:00pm PST. Zoom link below.
To prepare, you need:
journal, petition paper, and writing implement
a large taper candle (should be able to burn for several hours at least) — if you have a lion candle then great, if not, use whatever candle you have available, orange, red, yellow, gold, or white is best, but use what you have
a sharp object, like a nail, to carve the candle with
tarot cards (2 decks preferred)
offerings for the Sun (for instance citrus, cloves, cinnamon, sun flowers or other orange or yellow flowers, yellow or gold stones, frankincense)
offerings for Sirius (such as bones - like dog bones or dog treats, black or silver stones, dragon's blood, pennyroyal tea, antlers, fresh herbs)
assemble an altar (objects for water, air, earth, fire, and spirit)
take a few moments to ground and center
create an enchanted atmosphere with incense, quiet, and candle light