Lughnasadh: The First Crops Are Ready To Harvest!

Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas, is a pagan harvest festival and marks the first crops of the season. It is generally celebrated July 31st/August 1st each year and is a midway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox also known as Mabon.

At this time of year, summer is in full bloom. We feel the immense heat from the sun on these lazy summer days. But for our ancestors, this was a time of year when they were harvesting the first crops and already preparing for the long winter that was ahead. Summer and nature have started to provide.

How To Celebrate

To honor the season, take part in seasonal rites. Some of what we’ve planted is ready to be picked. But some will still need time to grow. We know the warm, summer days are starting to wind down, but there is still plenty of time to enjoy.

Reflection

This time of year is also about balance between the hard work required for a harvest and what nature provides. It’s a good time to reflect on the balance that you need in your life to reap the harvest you are growing.

Where are you at regarding goals you set for yourself? You may have made some progress, but sometimes life gets in the way and throws us curveballs. The goals we set for ourselves which didn’t seem too lofty now seem impossible.

Take some time to redirect yourself. Break your goals down into smaller chunks. Take an honest look at them and scale down if needed. Don’t be hard on yourself. Be kind and set yourself up for success.

Action, no matter how little, is still a step in the right direction.

Enjoy a meal

All Sabbats are great times to enjoy a feast with friends and family and Lughnasadh is no exception. It’s a great time to give thanks for the harvest. So gather round with some loved ones and enjoy some of the seasonal foods that are locally grown whether by you or that you’ve picked up at a local farmer’s market.

Some common foods are:

• Bread

• Grains

• Corn

• Berries

• Tomatoes

• Summer Squash

• Apples since the first harvests are starting

Now is also a good time to make some homemade bread to enjoy.

Decorate your altar

This is a good time to switch up your altar and give thanks to this time of year. Change up the summer theme into the beginning of fall with a slow transition from the fiery reds and oranges to yellow, gold and green. 

Add a cornucopia or wicker basket with stalks of grain and corn. You can add real fruits and vegetables as an offering, discarding them appropriately at the first sign of rot. Or, to avoid any fruit flies, you can even use decorative ones you can find at local craft stores and keep them aside each year for altar decorations.

If you like crystals (like me!), you can add citrine, peridot, carnelian and red jasper. 

Collect seeds and herbs

If you have your own garden, you may notice some plants going to seed. Now is a good time to collect those for next year’s planting season.

Herbs that are ready can be harvested and dried for use throughout the year as well. 

The seeds remind us that sometimes we have to let go of something in order to plant the seeds for a new beginning. Is there something you need to let go of in your life to let something new in?

Make a Besom

A besom is a small broom used for magickal purposes. Some are very small and more decorative than the larger kind you would use to sweep your floors. 

A besom is used to clear energy from a space. It can be used before a ritual or to clear stagnant energy out of a room.

You can easily make your own and infuse your energy into it by taking a nature walk and collecting twigs and sticks. Make sure to only take what has naturally fallen and give thanks for what you are collecting. Grains can also be used.

Once you have enough, you can tie it together with twine and decorate how you like by adding ribbon or crystals to it. Keep it handy as it will be a useful tool to have for the upcoming Sabbats of Mabon and Samhain. 

Take time to enjoy the season

However, you decide to celebrate the season, make time for mindfulness and to enjoy the season. Time seems to pass by quickly and more quickly the older we get. 

As the heat of summer is in full blast, I often find myself longing for the cooler weather of fall. But I remind myself that when the winter is long and cold, I will want the heat of summer. So I take the time to enjoy the moment that I am in.

I listen to the birds as they sing their tunes. I watch the squirrels chase each other around a tree. The grass is green and probably in need of a cut. Flowers are on display with all of their beautiful colors and the sky is an endless blue with white puffy clouds. This is a moment that I will have only now. So I close my eyes and take a mental picture of it soaking in the heat.

This is what it means to truly honor the seasons.