Lammas

[meridian_rose]

Magickal Graphics


Lammas occurs on the first or second of August. It is also celebrated as Lughnasadh, after the god Lugh (more on him later in this piece) or Lunasa, for the Irish word for August is lunasa. It is believed that Lammas comes from the Saxon phrase hlaf maesse, or "loaf mass."

Lammas is primarily a wheat harvest and grain and bread feature prominently. It is a cross quarter day, falling between the midsummer solstice of Litha and the autumnal equinox of Mabon. At this festival, calves are weaned, and the first fruits are ripe, such as apples and grapes. In some Irish counties, it was believed farmers had to wait until Lughnasadh to start picking these fruits, or bad luck would befall the community.

Lughnassadh means “the commemoration of Lugh” and appears in variant spellings across the Celtic languages. The Lughnasadh festival is sometimes said to have been begun by the god Lugh, Lord of all the Arts, as a funeral feast and games commemorating his foster-mother, Tailtiu. Lugh is the god of blacksmiths and artisans, sometimes known as the Lord of all the Arts:

In one famous legend, Lugh arrives at Tara, the hall of the high kings of Ireland. The guard at the door tells him that only one person will be admitted with a particular skill -- one blacksmith, one wheelwright, one bard, etc. Lugh enumerates all the great things he can do, and each time the guard says, "Sorry, we've already got someone here who can do that." Finally Lugh asks, "Ah, but do you have anyone here who can do them ALL?" At last, Lugh was allowed entrance to Tara.

From smith to warrior, from god of grain to god of summer storms, Lugh is a fairly versatile god, and was honored nearly universally by the Celts. The Gaulish Lugos is connected to the Irish Lugh, who in turn is connected to the Welsh Llew Llaw Gyffes.
Alongside Lugh/Llew and Tailtiu, deities who might be honoured at this time include Cernunnos, Ceres, Demeter, Isis, Osiris, Odin and Rhiannon.

Celebrations often feature the death of the Corn King. He is the god of grain who dies and is reborn. See The Legend of John Barleycorn.

Even today, in Ireland many people celebrate Lughnasadh with dancing, song, and bonfires. The Catholic church also has set this date aside for a ritual blessing of farmers' fields.

Bonfires, foot races, mock battles, crafting, dancing, baking and feasting, are activities associated with Lammas/ Lughnasadh. Spiritually, this is a time for harvesting goals and ideas, the time of reaping what one has sown, reverence, purification, transformation, prosperity, generosity

This page has links to more folklore about Lammas and ways to celebrate it.

Colours associated with Lammas include: Bronze, Gold, Green, Orange, Red, Yellow

Correspondences include
sheaves of grain, wheat, bread, corn
corn dollies, cornucopias, acorns, rose hips, drums
first vegetables, hedgerow fruits, sunflowers and their seeds, early apples, potatoes,
cider, beer, mead, fruit wines, such as blackberry or elderberry wine
carnelian, citrine Amber Peridot sardonyx,
bladed tools such as the scythe, the athame and the bolline.
griffins, basilisks, roosters, calves, centaurs, phoenix


For those in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the time of Imbolc, a spring festival associated with the goddess Brigid.

Personal Reflections

Lugh is a god I've held dear ever since reading his story in the book
Essential Celtic Mythology (Clarke) from a local library, so this festival has special meaning for me. Because the emphasis is on fortune and harvesting it feels happier to me than Litha. On my altar I place a wheat sheaf which I made years ago from salt dough.

I have a small pot of grain in the garden. I usually put an ear on my altar. Last year it sprouted during the heavy rains but hadn't turned golden by the festival. This year, as in 2011, it has not grown at all.

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References/further reading
http://fuckyeahpaganism.tumblr.com/post/27793664899/lunasa-lughnasadh-fire-festival-august-1st-2nd
http://greenhaventradition.weebly.com/lammas.html
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lammas/p/LammasFolklore.htm
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lammas/a/AllAboutLammas.htm
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/godsandgoddesses/p/Lugh.htm

Comments

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

I love these posts :D And Lammas always seems like such a nice, cheerful holiday. In August I really start to feel the approaching fall, which is sad in one way because of the shortening days, but good in another - the weather usually starts to cool down around now. We may have another epic heat wave, but I hope not!

[kehleyr.livejournal.com]

I hope you had a good Lammas :-D

[brontefanatic.livejournal.com]

I always love your seasonal posts, and always learn something new.

This time of year bothers me because I can see and sense the changing angle of sunlight as the northern part of the earth begins tilting away from the sun. The days are getting shorter, and the quality of light is different - which gets even more pronounced in September.

August is still very warm, though, but it's just the thought of winter coming that distresses me. I think the older I get, the worse it gets. IDK

Well, this was a cheerful comment, wasn't it? Sorry. I really do love these posts.