Decorate your altar with symbols and colours of the season. Lammas, or Lughnasadh, celebrates the first harvest of the year, the grain harvest, so you could use:
Corn dollies, wheat, oats and grains, bread, flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables of the season, including poppies, sunflowers, meadowsweet, calendula, mint, cherries, tomatoes, courgettes, raspberries etc. Home grown is perfect, but shop brought is fine.
You will need:
A gold, yellow or orange candle
Incense of your choice
A small jar
Pen and paper
A piece of ribbon or string in a colour of your choice.
Dried sage for wisdom and success.
A small tumble stone that you are drawn to for inner wisdom and knowledge.
A small pebble or a spoonful of soil to represent the Earth Mother
Dried grains to represent the Sun god: wheat, rye, barley etc (porridge oats will be fine)
Something to eat and drink to celebrate the harvest with. Homemade bread is traditional, but you can buy a loaf if that’s not possible.
Light your candle and incense.
If you usually cast a circle, do so now in your preferred way. If you don't normally cast a circle, purify the area first by smudging or asperging. Below is my way of casting a circle which you are welcome to use if you want.
Walk deosil (clockwise) around the circle three times, saying:
" I cast this circle thrice about, to cleanse this space and keep harm out,
Goddess bless this work I do, into my circle I invoke you,
As I will my circle cast, between the worlds I safely pass."
Turn to face the East and say:
" Guardian of the East, element of Air
you bring the gentle summer breeze
that scatters the seeds for next year’s harvest.
You bring inspiration, wisdom and new beginnings to our lives.
I ask you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
Turn to face the South and say:
" Guardian of the South, element of Fire
you are the hot summer sunshine
that ripens the crops in the fields
you bring creativity, transformation and passion to our lives.
I ask you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
Turn to face the West and say:
" Guardian of the West, element of Water
you are the life giving rain
that nourishes the crops
you bring intuition, reflection and love to our lives.
I ask you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
Turn to face the North and say:
"Guardian of the North, element of Earth
you are the fertile soil
that brings forth an abundance of crops
you bring strength, stability and growth to our lives.
I ask you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
Turn to face your altar and say:
"I call to Mother Earth
She who reigns over the bounty of nature and the rhythms of the earth
Fertile life giving Mother of all creation
Foundation of all life
I invite you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
" I call to Lugh
Divine god of the Sun
He who gives up his life for our harvest
and pours his spirit into the grain
I give thanks for your sacrifice
and invite you to join me in my Lammas ritual
Hail and Welcome."
After the Summer Solstice, we slowly began the gradual descent towards the dark half of the year, although for many of us Summer hadn't really began, so it seemed a long way off. Lammas is the time to celebrate and give thanks for the abundant harvest (and we will!) but it is also another step towards the shorter and cooler days to come.
The dark half of the year is the time to work on inner wisdom and knowledge. So, at Lammas it is a good idea to reflect and make plans. Is there something you would love to learn or create? A course you would love to start or a new project to work on? What do you still wish to harvest within you this year?
I thought it would be a good idea to make a harvest wisdom jar to reinforce your plans and give thanks to Mother Earth and Lugh for what we wish to harvest within ourselves.
Sit in front of your altar and take some time to really think about what you wish to achieve. When you have something in mind, write it down on your piece of paper. It can be more than one thing, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. When you have finished writing, roll your paper up and tie it with up with your ribbon or string, like a mini scroll.
When you are ready hold the pebble or soil in your hand, thank Mother Earth for the fertile land, and ask for her blessings to help you achieve your goal, then place it in the jar.
Hold the oats or grain in your hand and thank Lugh for his sacrifice and ask for his blessings to help you achieve your goal, then place it in the jar.
Hold the sage in your hand and charge it with wisdom and success, then place it in the jar.
Hold your tumblestone in your hand and charge it with wisdom and knowledge, before placing it in the jar.
Place your scroll on top of the other items in the jar.
Now hold the jar in both your hands and say:
" With the energy of the harvest
and the blessings of the Divine
help me to achieve my goal
let the light of wisdom shine."
Place the jar back on your altar. You can either keep it there or move it to a prominent place in your home after the ritual, somewhere you will see it every day. Whenever you pass it, hold it in your hands and repeat the chant, to reinforce your goal. It is down to you though to put your plan into action!
Now take the bread in your hands, hold it up in the air and give thanks to Lugh, the shining one and Mother Earth for the harvest in your own words.
Now eat and drink your feast, thinking about how it was grown and transformed from a tiny seed into the bread that you are eating, and how you will grow and transform during the dark half of the year.
When you are ready, turn to face the North and say:
" Guardian of the North, element of Earth
I thank you for the bounty of the harvest
and for joining me in my ritual
Hail and Farewell."
Turn to face the West and say:
" Guardian of the West, element of water
I thank you for nourishing the crops
and for joining me in my ritual
Hail and farewell."
Turn to face the South and say:
" Guardian of the South, element of fire
I thank you for ripening the crops
and for joining me in my ritual
Hail and Farewell."
Turn to face the East and say:
" Guardian of the East, element of Air
I thank you for scattering the harvest seeds
and for joining me in my ritual
Hail and Farewell."
Turn to face your altar and say:
" Lugh, Mighty Sun God
I thank you for your sacrifice
which brought forth the harvest
that feeds and sustains us
and for joining me in my ritual
Stay if you will, go if you must
Hail and farewell."
" Mother Earth, foundation of all life
I thank you for your fertile womb
from which all life sprang
for nurturing and supporting all of creation
and for joining me in my ritual
Stay if you will, go if you must
Hail and farewell."
Walk widdershins (anti-clockwise) around your circle saying:
" The circle is open but unbroken"
Now get learning!
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