Lughnasadh History

[icymist]

This is the history that I am using for my personal Lughnasadh ritual!

Lughnasadh is the beginning of the grain harvest, and the harvest season in general. The importance of grain to life is depicted in almost every pantheon on Earth. The preparation of the grain is symbolic of the life cycle. The growth, havest, and sown seed directly mirrors the life, death and rebirth of all life. The day of the festival was originally on the first day of harvest, even if it varied from year to year. Alternately, when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo, usually around August 5th, Old Lammas was celebrated. The most common name is Lammas, meaning “loaf-mass,” taken from Anglo-Saxon dialects, while Lughnasadh means “The funeral games of Lugh,” referring to the games he hosted in honor of His foster-mother Tailltiu.

At Lughnasadh, the Wheel of the Year begins to shift from growing time to harvest time. The subtle changes of the waning sun that occurred at Summer Solstice becomes more evident as the balance of day and night seem to shift more dramatically. The slight seasonal changes in weather, and the declining arc of the sun, the southern movement of it rising and setting are other indicators of this shift. “After Lammas, corn ripens as much by night as by day.”

Read the entire essay

[Ilsa]

1. Thank you! I enjoyed that. I read the rest of the essay at the link, and

saved the link to my folder.