Author: A Solitary Pagan

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 g...

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...

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:

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. Mode...

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 wo...

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,...

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 be...

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).

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, ...

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. The word Lammas derives...