Magick of Lughnassadh–Lammas
August 1st – August 7th
This cross-quarter ceremony is best done between August 1st – August 7th (the day the Sun will be at 15 degrees of Leo is August 6th ). It can also occur throughout the month and all the way up to Fall Equinox. Vibrant energy will be supporting you to align with the Universe and the emanating vibrations known to the Druids as Lughasadh and also called Lammas. It is a celebration day of the Sun and the First Harvest of the year. This year Lammas is August 6th at 7:15 p.m.
Lammas is the 5th Festival of a Druidic year. It means, “Feast of August.” It is during this time that our ancestors celebrated the foods of the Earth and the honoring of the Great Mother for her abundance that was not only seen, but felt, tasted, shared and used in many ways for the continuance of life (including replanting of seeds from the foods used at the celebration). It was a time of great gatherings and the families would come together to celebrate the gifts of the Earth Goddess, play games, compete, and form unions. The union of marriage was performed at this time, with a couple coming before the Priest/Priestess to honor their relationship and to set out for one year and a day to explore the relationships value for life. If, after the year and a day they found they could not remain together, they came back to the ceremony of Lughasadh, announced their decision to the Priest/Priestess, and the marriage was annulled. If, they found they were compatible, they held another ceremony to seal the marriage for life.
Commitment was a theme of the day; and so it is for the ritual you will perform. It is time to look at your commitments. What are they for? Are you committed to a loving relationship? Are you looking to commit to a loving relationship? Are you committed to an educational process? Are you committed to a career process? Are you committed to a community project? Are you committed to a Spiritual Quest? What is the commitment (s) you would like to focus on, empower by the right use of energy, and then honor for a year-and-a-day? Think on this with an open heart and open mind.
This is a great power time of the Grain Goddesses (all of them from any country, spiritual group or practice). For this Ritual we will call forth Taillte, the Goddess of Grains, Competition and Commitment of the Celts. However, other grain goddesses can be called as well: From the Greek traditions, Artemis; Changing Woman or Corn Mother of the Native Americans; Chicomecoatl of the Aztecans; Guadalupe of the Mexican tradition; Kornjunfer of Germany; Marcia of Italy; Mawu of Africa; Nisaba of the Chaldean’s; Po Ino Nogar of Cambodia; Saning Sri of Japan; Tuaret of Egypt; Yellow Land Earth Queen of China; or perhaps Zaramama of Peru. The choice is yours, the desire needs to be from your heart.
This is a time of sharing, of caring and of honoring all levels of abundance in your life. Be sure that you bring about a way to share your gifts of abundance. Above all, be sure that you set your altar as a reflection of gratitude and awareness that you have of abundance as a way of letting the Great Mother know of your heart filled with thanks for the life gifts you have.
Items to bring to your celebration are loaves of bread, wheat stalks, berries, nuts, ale or fruitful drinks, tea’s and wines. Flowers for the altar are always appropriate with Sunflower’s, Hollyhocks, Acacia flowers and buds of the citrus trees.
Because this ceremony also marks the entrance into the season of Fall and the ending of the Summer Light, it is appropriate to honor the Solar Gods with Lugh (or Llew) being the head of the team. However, others can be called out as well. Lugh is the Celtic God most often called forth to honor the passage of the Summer and the celebration of the first harvest.
As you prepare for this ceremony, do bring to your mind all that you have accomplished so far this year. Look at how you have reaped your rewards and how these rewards look to you today. Review how your were committed to a year-and-a-day as you celebrated one year ago in August. Honor the gifts of abundance you have received throughout this year. Celebrate the awakening of Recognition within you of your union with Source. Are you ready to simply honor your rewards and commit to new ones? Are you ready to expand your process that you are working on for life? What are you ready to commit to as you celebrate Lughasadh?
Spirit of Purpose
The Magic of Lammas/Lughnassadh
✬ The time before Lammas/Lughasadh spend contemplating what your harvest is at this time. Create symbols of this harvest with wheat stalk, bread or berry pies.
✬ Establish the Spirit of Purpose (i.e. Honoring the power of Lughnassadh, harvest time, the time of commitment, play and games of life.)
✬ Establish date and time to perform your magickal ceremony. (August 1st – 7th)
✬ Gather specific components for your assisting ritual. Choose the color Yellow or Orange for your candles. The essences of Heather, Cypress or frankincense. Summer flowers can grace your altar. Wine and Bread can call forth the Greatest Wisdom of the time and Magick for Lammas.
✬ From the moment you know what you want to honor for this ceremony of commitment, consciously place this energy into the Heart of the Great Mother and the Heart of the Moon where the Greater Purpose and Guidance can be directed for you.
✬ Create an incantation that will be used in your ceremony. It is best done with your own words and written in your own hand.
‒ An example of an incantation: “Blessings of Harvest, Blessings of Light, Blessings of Dark, it gives me Might. Honor to the Sun who gives way to the Moon. I find the rhythm of commitment–I’m in tune.”
‒ Write out the complete ceremony you wish to follow. Write it in your magickal spells book (from beginning to end). Include a space within the ceremony where you can spend time completely honoring all that you have been aware of as your harvest, your intent in your commitment and your power to reflect this to your world.
✬ An hour or so before your ceremony begin by preparing yourself and placing all items on your altar.
‒ Self Purification – (bath/shower, sage or other cleansing incense/elixir)
‒ Cleanse the place where ritual will occur (sage or other incense to clear the area, i.e., elixir for room clearing, symbolic sweeping with a broom)
‒ Set an altar with a Yellow cloth to place your items for symbols of fire (candle with specific color), water (in cup or shell), air (incense or double edged knife) and earth (a stone or pentacle symbol) as well as sacred items that align your heart and mind with the Spirit of Purpose.
‒ Clear your mind of other thoughts and activities. Bring a vision of your purpose into your mind, feel yourself ready to enter the deepest part of your inner being. Center your mind and emotions into the purpose of your magickal alignment. (Very important)
‒ Create a sacred vortex (a conduit for energy to be mixed and aligned with God/Goddess, the Spirit of your Purpose, and the most sacred vibration of the manifested desire). Mind and emotions must maintain the focus of purpose in order for your ritual to provide the final manifest.
‒ Align with the 4-quarters. Sanctify the circle. Call in the Goddess, deities and the Spirit of Purpose in the manner that is most comfortable for you, but always with clarity and deliberate focus on your purpose.
‒ Speak out your incantation for what you desire. Raise energy (feeling and sensing a rise of energy from your lower belly, begin to visualize it forming a ball of light (i.e., for Lughasadh, Sun Light Glow), hold tight your sphincter muscle and let the energy rise to your heart, then with a large exhale, direct the energy ball of light from your heart into the circle, knowing that it forms the spirit of your purpose).
‒ Meditate in the energy you have created. Visualize the manifest complete and utilize the powers of knowing that it is so: Feel it, put a smell to it, a taste, sound, and see it so. When you feel it deep within, end your meditation.
‒ Give gratitude to the Goddess, deities, elements and elementals, the 4-quarters and conduit alignment above and below. Acknowledge that all is within you now.
‒ Close your circle by snuffing out your candle, and walking in the opposite direction that you set your circle to gather all energy unto yourself.
‒ Say Awen (So it is, So Mote it Be, It is complete).
The following may provide you information for setting your circle after you have cleansed the area and set your items on the altar (cleanse them as well).
Draw a circle by standing in the center of your space, face South (the place of the Summer and the entrance to the Fall time of the year. ), allow yourself to draw in white light from the heart of WomanSpirit to your heart. Feel it well up inside like a ball of light, release this light into your right index finger, and circle clock-wise, releasing the light as you complete one full turn around the circle. As your return to the South begin giving honor to the 4-quarters and calling in the elements as well. At your altar light the incense for air, light the candle for fire, and sprinkle water from your cup across your altar to honor the blessings of water, touch your stone and acknowledge the Spirit of Earth that allows you to flow with the essence of love and purpose, Then begin your opening:
Face the South:
WomanSpirit, from my heart to your heart I ask to align with the light of the south
I ask that this door be open and the Archangel Michael and the Goddess Taillte; help me cross this threshold and maintain my integrity, and intent to allow the power of purpose to be my magick that manifests my desire to commit to my dreams and aspirations.
I ask to align with the Spirit of fire and set the fire of greater purpose into full action.
WomanSpirit allow me to become impassioned by the desire of my soul and willing to hold steadfast on the Quest for at least One Year and a Day to honor all that is my harvest and to live empowered by my commitment.
Facing the West:
WomanSpirit, from my heart to your heart I ask to align with the light of the west
I ask that this door be open and the Archangel Gabriel and the Goddess Arianrhod to assist me in crossing this threshold and assist my travels through the astral fluid of Divine Wisdom.
I desire to align with the Spirit of water and the liquid of the sacred states of inner consciousness
WomanSpirit I desire to become one with the powers that be that will assist me in flowing with my desire to live empowered by my harvest and to maintain the power of my commitment.
Face the North:
WomanSpirit from my heart to yours I ask to align with the light of the north
I ask that this door be open and the Archangel Auriel and the Goddess Eiru to help me cross this threshold through the power of Faith.
I desire to align with the Spirit of the Earth and the power to hold the sacred quality of abundance that is so readily seen by are gardens, trees, and lifestyles of harvesting our talents.
I desire to become one with the grounding forces that will help me manifest all desires before me to let my soul release its power.
Face the East:
WomanSpirit, from my heart to yours I align with the light of the east
WomanSpirit, I ask that this door be open and the Archangel Raphael and the Goddess Diedre to help me cross this threshold and help me hold the vision of, and know the love and power of my committed journey before me.
I ask to align with the Spirit of air and the power to hold the vision of the harvest I desire
WomanSpirit allow me to become one with the vision of my inner temple and the place of my Higher Self that I may flow with this power at all times and reveal our union of abundant qualities of talents and whole expressions.
Then speak out your invocation to the WomanSpirit and the goddess that supports your passageway of Lammas.
Stand with arms raised and legs separated revealing the stance of a five pointed star that honors the Goddess and say:
WomanSpirit. I stand before you and call forth your presence, your love, your light and your sacred purpose into the Spirit of the Place, the Spirit of the Hour and the Spirit of this circle.
Great Goddess, WomanSpirit
May I be blessed by our union and the sacred powers within me.
May I hear Your voice and Your direction; I will honor.
Great Mother, penetrate through this moment and bring forth into my awareness your Divine Energy and commence the power of Lammas
Your loving grace and the blessings of my harvest are felt and known.
Inspiration has begun may wisdom follow.
From your loving heart the sacred voice of my soul responds and I shall begin my celebration and renew my commitment to you.
Create a symbol of Anu (five pointed star within a circle), create a prayer from your heart and say:
Taillte, Grain Mother, I call to thee, Blessed be the fruitfulness that I now can see.
Taillte, Grain Mother, Blessed be. I call forth the Goddess to form a Union with Me.
Spirit of Love, Spirit of Commitment, Spirit of Harvest, Spirit of Nurturing, enter this place and allow me to see the forever blessings that Earth Mother has placed before me.
WomanSpirit, Great Mother, in humbleness I say, Thank you again for this Glorious Day, the gifts of Your Heart, the blessings to my hearth.
Accept from me the gifts of my altar, know that I recognize your abundance never falters. May I offer to thee a seed, in recognition that your force of rebirth will never cease.
Proceed to the incantation: (yours or the suggested one)
“Blessings of Harvest, Blessings of Light, Blessings of Dark, it gives me Might. Honor to the Sun who gives way to the Moon. I find the rhythm of commitment–I’m in tune.”
Maintain a connection to your purpose, the connection with your commitments, the honoring of your abundance, and the joy of rewards in your time and place now. Spend time in meditation, using Creative Visualization to see, feel and know your power to form Union with the Divine and the purest essence of your soul.
Raise energy (feeling and sensing a rise of energy from your lower belly, begin to visualize it forming a ball of light (i.e. moonlight glow), hold tight your sphincter muscle and let the energy rise to your heart, then with a large exhale, direct the energy ball of light from your heart into the circle, knowing that it forms the spirit of your purpose).
‒ Honor the energy you have created. Give honor for all that you experience and will experience
‒ Give gratitude to the Goddess, deities, the 4-quarters and conduit alignment above and below. Acknowledge that all is within you now.
‒ Close your circle by snuffing out your candle (or blowing it out knowing that the light goes out to the world), and walking in the opposite direction that you set your circle to gather all energy unto yourself.
‒ Say Awen (So it is, So Mote it Be, It is complete).
‒ Enjoy a festival of Light, Foods and Drink, and the Joy of play.
Blessings for A year-and-a-day of Spirit, A year of Heart-Living
Awen – It is so! So it is!
