Happy Lughnasadh!

In the Wheel of the Year, everything is cyclical. Time is a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat, reflected in the sun’s annual cycle of death and rebirth. This cycle can be perceived in micro- and microcosmic ways in the immeasurable series of cycles composing the Universe.

August 1 Lughnasadh, the first day of Autumn, and the midway point between the Summer Solstice and the Fall Equinox. With roots in Northern European traditions, this celebration recognizes all that has been grown and tended in this turn of the Wheel. It is also known as Lammas, or “loaf-mass.”

This harvest, usually of berries or the first grains, celebrates the first of three harvests and was a genuinely joyful period for our ancestors. It was a time to celebrate all of the hard work of the summer growing season. When we celebrate Lammas today, we honor our Ancestors and the hard work they endured to survive, which in turn gave us life.

August is a good time to be out on the land, to engage in harvesting and foraging, and to attend fairs, festivals, and celebrations in the final warm days. This is the time of year when there is a huge variety of fresh and seasonal foodstuffs from which to choose.

What are you harvesting that is sweet? What fruits can you share with community? Are you pausing to taste the fruits of your labor? How are you giving gratitude to the land and peoples who have helped make your harvest a sweet one? If you know your farmers personally, thank them for the work they do to provide food. And always take time to honor the original inhabitants of the land where your harvests are taking place.