Lughnassad is named after the Celtic God Lugh, or "Lugh of the Long Arm,Who is skilled in many crafts.It is an extremely ancient Celtic fire festival,and one of the Great Sabbaths,when Wiccians mark the shortening days and celebrate the first harvest.
It is the Feast of Bread.In ages past,the divine priest-king was sacrificed willingly in the fields that the harvest might be abundant and the people might survive the winter.
The priest-king's death was a reflection of the dying of the God Lugh.
The waning light heralded the coming darkness and winter.Now the Goddess becomes the Reaper,and attends the God in His passing. It is a sober time,but not tragic.
As summer peaked, it was time for the ancients to take in their first harvests. This was a time of both joy and sadness, for although the light was waning and the growing season was winding down, the cupboards were full of the products of their hard labor. Corn dolls that symbolized the goddess of grain were created by weaving wheat stalks, and corn breads in the shape of the god of grain were baked in honor of his sacrifice. Celebrate this time of first harvest by baking corn bread, visiting wineries, and sprouting seeds to symbolize the resurrection of the Corn King. Decorate with sheafs of wheat and grain, and spend the warmest of evenings on a porch swing.
POEM:
I sleep in the kernel,and I dance in the rain; I dance in the wind and in the waving grain; And when you cut me down I care nothing for the pain; In the spring I'm the Lord of Dance once again!
SYMBOLS:
Loaves of bread, Holly,Deer Hoof,Falling Leaf
MULLED WINE FOR LUGHNASAAD:
rosemary;basil;cinnamon;blackberry leaves and/or fruit;and a few corn or wheat kernels.
THINGS TO DO ON LUGHNASSAD:
1: Decorate your altar with yellow cloth and candles, as well as corn and sheaves of grain.
2: Hold your own "Tailltean Games". athletic games,poetry reading,etc.
3: Bake and share a special "Lammas-loaf" with family and coveners, using whatever grains are native to your area.
4: Make a god-figuare with whole ears of corn wired together with sticks and covered with gold foil. Toss this figure into your Bel fire during ritual.
5: Doing magick to help you you finish long-standing projects by the fall.
Back Next
