Embrace the Magic of Lammas: Discover the Forgotten Witch’s Sabbat
🌾 1st August Celebration
Get ready, witches! Our 1st August sabbat celebration is just around the corner. Lammas holds special significance for me, as it’s the time my son was conceived, and wow he’s been one huge transition.
🌟 Midpoint Festival
Lammas is a celestial festival marking the midpoint between the longest day of the year (Litha/Summer Solstice) and the day and night being of equal length (Mabon/Autumn Equinox).
🍞 Lammas Bread
Known as Lammas to the English, this sabbat celebrates the Sun’s gentle decline by harvesting corn and wheat to make Lammas bread, deriving from the Anglo-Saxon “hlaf-mas” or “loaf-mass.” For those without fields to harvest, a trip to the store for bread flour and a quick dusting off of the bread machine will do!
🌽 Gluten-Free Corn Dollies
For those of us who are gluten-free, making corn dollies is a wonderful alternative. These dolls, far from horror movie props, symbolize the spirit of the corn and the Goddess’s cycle of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Burn them to release protection for the next harvest, or keep them until Imbolc for ongoing protection.
🔄 Manifestation of Rebirth
Corn dollies represent the transitional changes Mother Nature undergoes in her unceasing cycle. As you craft your dolly, focus on evaluating your year. Reflect on your Spring Equinox intentions—have they come to fruition? What changes do you need as winter approaches? Channel your thoughts and energy into your creation to capture your intentions.
🌀 Lughnasadh
For the Celts, this sabbat is known as Lughnasadh (or Lughnasa), named after the god Lugh. It’s both a death feast and a celebration of athletic competitions, commemorating the exhaustion-induced death of Lugh’s mother after clearing fields for agriculture.
🏅 Celtic Olympic Games
Much like the ancient Olympic Games, Lughnasadh featured athletic contests, horse racing, music, storytelling, trading, law proclamations, legal dispute settlements, contract drawing, and matchmaking.
🍽️ Celtic Feasting
Feasts included bread making, bilberry consumption, and ritualistic bull slaying to feed the community. This was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
🗓️ Modern Name
In modern times, the festival is called Lúnasa in Irish, Lùnastal in Scottish Gaelic, and Luanistyn in Manx. Though more about the month than bull slaying, many festivals in Ireland still have roots in these traditions.
🌿 Taking Stock
Traditionally, Lammas was a time to look ahead to winter and determine what supplies could be harvested to sustain families through the cold months. It was a pre-harvest celebration marking the beginning of six weeks of hard work, and it’s why we have our summer holidays now!
🔮 Witchcraft Guidance
If you’re creating an altar, decorate it with corn, oats, poppies, and other greenery. Burn beeswax candles, a product sacrificed by bees to give you light. This is also an auspicious time for handfasting ceremonies.
🌲 Accessible Witchcraft
For a low-level spiritual connection, immerse yourself in nature. Hug a tree, pick blackberries to make jam, or indulge in some blueberries.
📜 The Witchcraft Rules
Witchcraft is known as “that which cannot be told,” which refers both to its heretical origins and the lack of strict doctrines. It’s a spiritual practice based on a deep connection to nature, and how you cultivate and protect that connection is entirely up to you.
Celebrate Lammas with the Oily Witch and embrace the spiritual and natural wonders of this ancient sabbat. 🌾✨
Next Steps:
If you like this content, read the rest of my blogs on Witchcraft and the Wheel of the Year’s sacred festivals.
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Happy Lammas!
