Harvesting the Light
Celebrating Lughnasadh
August 1 marks the Pagan festival of Lughnasadh and thus we offer the sixth installment of our Wheel of the Year series.
Halfway between the summer solstice and the fall equinox, for Celtic people this was the time of first harvest. They celebrated in gratitude, baking bread with the first stalks of wheat and enjoying a feast from the crops they had grown.
Some people use the name interchangeably with Lammas (i.e., “loaf mass”), which is a Christian holiday that’s slightly easier to spell. Lammas traditions involve blessing the first loaves of bread and generally entwining Christianity with Pagan rituals, as they’re wont to do.
Main Character Energy
Lughnasadh is named after, and honors, the sun god, Lugh. He was known for his craftsmanship and skill, as well as being a fierce warrior. Accordingly, there are big, sweaty, masculine “look at me” vibes to the festivities. (Hello, Leo season!) Are there any bold moves you’ve been working up the nerve to make? Talents to put on display? Now’s the time to toot that horn and show off your accomplishments. Lugh’s got your back.
Reap the Benefits (Or Just Get Baked)
Being largely removed from harvest cycles in our modern lives, it’s hard to conceptualize how significant it was for agricultural people to have made it through the hot summer with their stores of food from prior years. Baking bread at home and enjoying fresh local produce are great ways to celebrate, though this varies depending on where you live. Corn-on-the-cob, apples, and grapes come to mind.
Because this includes preparing for the long months after the harvest as well, visiting a pick-your-own farm and then preserving fruit or canning pickled vegetables would be great ways to commemorate the season. Some folks make traditional corn dollies or weave baskets at this time. If you don’t have those supplies (or skills), you could try making a paper collage of harvest images while meditating on how hard you’ve worked to get where you are today, and all you have to be grateful for.
Spark Your Own Joy
I want to acknowledge that the first half of this year has been a particularly uncertain and difficult time for many, and cultivating a sense of gratitude can truly be challenging. But by staying alert for the small joys and both gathering and sharing them with others, we build community and develop new neuropathways in our brains. Harvesting “glimmers”—intentionally noting small bits of pleasure and delight throughout your day—is the very practice that will get us through these dark times.
In the way of an illustration, this week a random houseplant delivered a huge surprise that had me marveling. I’d adopted a somewhat sad succulent at a box store sale and have been pleased to keep it alive for several years in the kitchen window. While watering, I noted something pink on the window side that I first thought was a flower—and then realized it was a fruit. A weird looking mini-dragonfruit!
Turns out I’ve been minding a Curly Locks, aka orchid cactus, which blooms at night! (So goth.) The fruit is also edible, but I’m too nervous to try it. If my twisted little snarl of a hanging plant holds such hidden joy, what might Lughnasadh have in store for us?
For further reading on the Wheel of the Year:
Love this article! ❤️
Perfect timing its Lughnasadh! I hope your harvest is grate!