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August 1st – The First Harvest Festival

Today we celebrate Lammas (Anglo-Saxon) or Lughnasadh (Celtic)—a sacred day marking the first of the three harvest festivals, when the bounty of the land begins to ripen and our hard work starts bearing fruit. It’s a time to give thanks for abundance, honor cycles of life and death, and prepare spiritually for the darker half of the year.

This sabbat is named after Lugh, the Celtic sun god and master of many arts, and also deeply rooted in honoring the grain harvest, particularly wheat, corn, and barley. It is a festival of gratitude, transformation, and sacrifice—not in a dark way, but in the way that we offer something of ourselves back to the Earth in reverence and respect.

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🔥 How to Celebrate Lammas / Lughnasadh:

🕯️ Colors & Candles:

• Colors: Gold, Orange, Yellow, Brown, Red, Green
• Candle Colors: Gold (for abundance), Orange (for creativity), Green (for growth and fertility), Brown (for grounding)

🌿 Herbs & Flowers:

• Mugwort, Sage, Rosemary, Chamomile, Mint, Calendula, Sunflower, Lavender, Yarrow
• Burn as incense or add to ritual baths or tea.

🍞 Traditional Foods:

• Fresh baked bread, cornbread, grains, berries, seasonal veggies, apples, honey, mead, cider, sunflower seeds
• Anything made from the first harvest—wheat, corn, barley, squash.

🔮 Crystals:

• Citrine (abundance & creativity)
• Carnelian (motivation & fire energy)
• Tiger’s Eye (grounded courage)
• Amber (sun energy & protection)
• Peridot (heart-centered transformation)

🌻 Activities to Honor the Day:

• Bake bread and share it with loved ones.
• Craft corn dollies or sun wheels.
• Host a small harvest feast or picnic.
• Write down what you’re harvesting this year—both physically and spiritually.
• Donate food or goods to those in need as an act of gratitude.
• Create a mini grain altar with corn husks, sunflowers, wheat stalks, or a loaf of bread.

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🧙‍♀️ Lughnasadh Ritual: The Loaf & Flame Ceremony

You’ll Need:

• A loaf of bread (homemade or symbolic)
• A gold or orange candle
• A small dish of herbs (mint, rosemary, or calendula)
• A journal or paper and pen

Steps:

1. Set your altar or sacred space with the candle, loaf of bread, herbs, and any crystals you’d like.
2. Light your candle and say:“On this day of first harvest, I honor the fruits of my labor. I give thanks for the blessings I receive and release what no longer serves.”
3. Take a few moments to reflect or journal: What are you harvesting? What have you created or accomplished? What can you now let go of to make space for the next season?
4. Break the bread and offer a small piece to the Earth or your altar.
5. Sprinkle your herbs around the candle and say:“With this offering I honor the turning wheel, the golden sun, and the sacred Earth. So mote it be.”
6. Close the ritual with gratitude and enjoy the rest of your bread with honey or butter as a sacred meal.

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☕ Lughnasadh Tea Blend:

Lammas Herbal Tea for Prosperity & Protection
🌿 1 tsp chamomile
🌿 1 tsp lemon balm
🌿 1/2 tsp rosemary
🌿 A pinch of dried mint
🍯 Optional: A drizzle of honey for sweetness

Steep for 5–7 minutes. Sip with intention and speak your affirmation (below) as you drink.

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🌀 Daily Affirmation:

“I honor the harvest within and around me. I am abundant, I am rooted, I am ready for the next turning of the wheel.”

Say this while looking in a mirror or grounding outdoors with bare feet.

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🍞 Lammas Recipe: Honey & Herb Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cornmeal (gluten-free if needed)
• 1 cup almond or oat milk
• 1 cup gluten-free flour blend
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup olive oil or melted vegan butter
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp rosemary (optional)
• A pinch of thyme or sage

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Combine and stir until just blended.
3. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and bake 25–30 minutes until golden.
4. Serve warm with butter or jam—offering the first slice to your altar or outside as a blessing.

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🌞 Deities Honored at Lammas / Lughnasadh:

🔱 Lugh (Irish-Celtic):

• God of the Sun, Crafts, Harvest, Skill, and Light.
• Honor him with offerings of bread, wine, or sunflowers. Light a gold or orange candle and speak words of gratitude for your talents and growth.

🌾 Demeter (Greek):

• Goddess of the grain and harvest. Honor her with wheat offerings, corn dollies, and ritual baking.
• Set up a mini grain altar or pour grain into a bowl on your altar as an offering.

🍇 Tailtiu (Celtic):

• Foster mother of Lugh, associated with the sacrifice for fertile lands.
• Acknowledge her by tending your garden, working the earth, or lighting a candle in her name.

🌻 Other deities often honored today include:

• Ceres (Roman harvest goddess)
• Freyr (Norse god of fertility and abundance)
• Brigid (for healing and creativity, though more Imbolc, still relevant here for fire & grain)

🔥 Lughnasadh Prayer Card 🌾

(For Burning, Spell Jars, or Altar Offerings)

Front – Symbols & Correspondences:
(Decorate this side with doodles, pressed herbs, or digital symbols if you’re printing it.)

🕯️ Candle Colors: Gold • Orange • Green • Brown
🌿 Herbs: Rosemary • Mint • Calendula • Mugwort • Chamomile
🔮 Crystals: Citrine • Carnelian • Amber • Tiger’s Eye • Peridot
🌾 Foods: Corn • Bread • Honey • Berries • Apples
🌻 Deities Honored: Lugh • Demeter • Tailtiu • Ceres • Freyr
✨ Themes: First Harvest • Gratitude • Sacrifice • Abundance • Creative Fire

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Back – Prayer for the First Harvest
(Write or print this part clearly to be used in spell work or ritual.)

Blessed be the sun who ripens the grain,
Blessed be the earth who nourishes it again.

I honor the cycle, the light, the decay—
And give thanks for the blessings gathered today.

With open heart and grounded soul,
I receive abundance, make spirit whole.

What I no longer need, I now release,
Returning it to soil, to grow in peace.

By fire and herb, by grain and flame,
In Lugh’s great honor, I speak his name.

Let my work be skilled, let my spirit rise,
As summer fades into autumn skies.

✨ So Mote It Be. ✨

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🕯️ Optional Instructions for Use:

• To burn: Fold it with intention, anoint with a drop of oil, and safely burn it in a fire-safe bowl or cauldron during ritual.
• To jar: Roll it up or fold it and add to a spell jar with corn kernels, rosemary, calendula, citrine, and a pinch of salt.
• To offer: Lay it on your altar under bread, herbs, or a candle and bury or compost it later as a sacred return to the Earth.

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🧺 Final Thoughts:

Today is a day to pause and say: “Thank you.”
To the land, to your body, to your efforts, to the ancestors, and to the divine. We reap now what we’ve sown—and even if you’re still deep in the planting stage, the energy of growth and gratitude is alive today.

Let your heart be full and your table richer for it.

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Much love and many blessings,
Mrs. B 🌾🕯️🌻