What is Lammas?
Harvest season is upon us! In the Wheel of the Year, Lammas (celebrated around August 1), marks the midpoint between Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. In Pagan traditions, Lammas is a time of celebration as it represents the first harvest; a celebration of the grain and all the fruits and vegetables that are ripe and ready to be harvested! The Earth’s bounty is truly visible everywhere you go. I only have to look at my backyard to see that everything is bursting with life! My garden beds are filled with tomatoes, peppers, carrots, herbs and flowers. And I am so grateful for them all.
During the week of Lammas is a time to reflect, have gratitude and give back to our beautiful Earth who offers so much; food, water, shelter, support, LIFE! And I’ll let you in on a little secret: when we truly experience gratitude for all that we have, the more abundant we become.
Below are 6 really simple but lovely ways you can celebrate and give thanks during this bounteous midpoint in the season. You can pick one, or do all 6. Whatever you choose, do it with love, with reverence and most importantly with gratitude. There are no intentions set this holiday or asking of anything. We simply want to be; to appreciate; and if anything, to give back.
6 Activities to Celebrate Lammas
1) Decorate Your Sacred Space, Altar or Home
Make your home or sacred space feel abundant and celebrate with nature’s colours! You can decorate your home, altar or scared space with these items to bring in extra magic of the season:
in season flowers (sunflowers, zinnia, black eyed Susans, snapdragson, cone flowers etc), or even herb clippings from your garden.
a bowl of in season fruits and veggies
crystals that support the season (Carnelian, Pyrite, Citrine, Green Aventurine, Tiger’s Eye etc)
red, orange, yellow and green candles (natural beeswax candles are perfect if you can’t find coloured!)
any kind of grain- like sheafs of wheat, corn husks etc
2) Bake Bread
Lammas is traditionally a celebration of grain as it usually marks the first harvest of wheat and corn. To honour this tradition, bake a loaf of bread, a cake, muffins… something with grain. As you make your recipe continually give gratitude for everything you have been given this year. Eat it with others to celebrate this harvest season.
3) Have a Lammas Feast
Prepare a feast with all local ingredients (make sure you get some grain in there) to honour the abundance of the season. Head to a farmers market if you can so you’re also buying local produce and supporting local growers. (You can also do a potluck and encourage everyone bringing a dish to prepare with in season ingredients). Decorate your table with fresh flowers (see above), sheafs of wheat, and red, orange or yellow (or natural beeswax) candles. Feast with your friends and family to celebrate this first harvest and all the bounty nature has to offer this time of year.
4) Journal
You can’t go wrong with journaling; it feels great, you get clear on things, and you’re recording a moment in time. For your Lammas entry, you’re going to reflect on everything you have manifested this year. What has come into your life, what have you grown, and what are you truly grateful for this year. If you’ve been having a hard year emotionally, physically or financially this is even more important. Remember above how I said gratitude breeds more abundance? Focus on the positive and take time to write these things down. Sometimes we forget how truly wealthy we are.
5) Clean Up A Space in Nature
To give back to our ever-giving planet, take the time this week to head to your local park, walking trail, beach, etc and clean it up. Put on some gloves, pick up some garbage or weed a public garden. You will feel great and the Earth will thank you for your efforts.
6) Create an Offering for the Earth
I highly recommend this one! As a way to express your gratitude you’re going to gift something to the Earth. You can keep it simple, like gifting one of your crystals back to the Earth, or you can get creative and make an elaborate handmade gift. As a simple example, I once gave back one of my crystals- burying it in the earth, and then I left an abundance of sunflower seeds, nuts and dried fruit on top for the little woodland critters. You can make a beautiful bouquet of herbs and flowers, or you can leave more tradition offerings such as tobacco, milk, honey, chocolate, fruit etc. (As a quick disclaimer, be careful of leaving certain types of food in public areas like milk or chocolate which could rot or make some animals sick… you might want to save this for your own backyard where you can keep an eye on it). Another simple idea is leaving organic apples in the woods, sprinkle bird seed in a park- you can even make a bird feeder with a pinecone, peanut butter and birdseed and hang out your window!
However you choose to celebrate, do it with gratitude. If you don’t have time to partake in any of the activities, just take a moment to reflect on all that has come into your life this year. Give thanks, and send blessings to our beautiful, supportive, nurturing, life-giving Earth.
Wishing you abundant blessings this Lammas season!
-Carlyn