Lammas or Lughnasadh ~ First Harvest ~ August 1

🌾 Lammas / Lughnasadh in Druid and Wiccan Traditions

Lammas (Anglo-Saxon “Loaf Mass”) and Lughnasadh (Gaelic “Assembly of Lugh”) are deeply rooted in both Druidic and Wiccan spiritual paths, celebrated around August 1st as the first harvest festival. While they share seasonal themes, each tradition brings its own flavor of reverence, myth, and ritual.

🌿 In Druidry Druids honor Lughnasadh as a time of sacrifice, transformation, and gratitude. The festival commemorates Lugh, the solar deity of skill and light, and his foster mother Tailtiu, who died after clearing land for agriculture—a myth symbolizing the Earth’s labor and generosity.

Key Druidic themes:

• Honoring the Green Man / John Barleycorn, who sacrifices himself in the grain harvest

• Celebrating the Earth Mother and Sun Father union, now bearing fruit

• Reflecting on personal harvests—what you've sown and what you're reaping

• Offering first fruits and herbs to the land or hilltop altars

• Embracing the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth

Druid rituals often include:

• Cutting and offering the first grain

• Meditation on sacrifice and renewal

• Climbing hills or sacred sites

• Incense and herb bundles (e.g., rosemary, heather, grains)

  🔮 In Wicca Lammas is one of the Greater Sabbats on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It marks the waning power of the Sun God, who begins his symbolic descent as the days shorten. The Goddess, now in her Mother aspect, prepares for her journey into the Crone phase.

  Wiccan themes include:

  • Sacrifice of the Sun God through the grain harvest

  • Gratitude and abundance for the fruits of labor

  • Bread-making as a sacred act of manifestation

  • Corn dollies crafted from husks to honor the spirit of the grain

  • Spellwork for prosperity, protection, and home blessings

   

  Tailored Lammas Ritual: “Flame, Flower & First Fruits” This version centers your Rowan Woods Lammas candle and deepens the seasonal energy with herbal correspondences and metaphysical layers.

  You’ll need:

  • Your Rowan Woods Lammas candle

  • A small loaf of bread or grain-based treat

  • A bowl of wine, mead, or herbal tea

  • A slip of paper and pen

  • A bundle or scattering of seasonal herbs:

    • Calendula – solar energy, healing, abundance

    • Chamomile – peace, gratitude, digestive grounding

    • Rosemary – remembrance, protection, mental clarity

    • Mint – vitality, prosperity, refreshment

  • (Optional) Wheat stalks, corn husks, or sunflower petals
    

  • Steps

    1. Sacred Setup Arrange your altar with harvest symbols—grains, flowers, herbs. Place your Rowan Woods candle at the center and surround it with the herbs in a sunwheel shape. Light the candle with intention.

    2. Flame Invocation Gaze into the flame and say: “Sacred guardian of the Harvest, light my Lammas path and help me to recognize where I have grown, what I need to release and what will nourish my soul as I honor all that I have accomplished.”

    3. Herb Offering Sprinkle the herbs in a spiral or crush them in your palms to release their scent and energy. As you do, say: “From field and forest, I call the gifts of Earth. Calendula for joy, mint for movement, rosemary to remember, chamomile for calm. I bless this season and all it brings.”

    4. Bread Blessing Hold the bread and whisper a personal gratitude. Then say: “This is the fruit of labor and love. With each bite, I welcome abundance and transformation.” Eat a piece slowly, letting it symbolize your readiness to receive.

    5. Inner Harvest Reflection Write down one skill or gift you’ve cultivated this year. Fold the paper and pass it briefly through the candle flame (safely), then place it beside the herbs. “I’ve grown, and now I offer my harvest back to the wheel. May this gift serve my purpose and others’ peace.”

    6. Sip & Seal Drink your chosen liquid and say: “By grain and flame, herb and sip, I mark this turning. May light linger as shadows grow long.”

    Close with a moment of silence, prayer, or gratitude to Lugh, Tailtiu, the land, or your personal allies.