Lughnasadh - the Wake of the Lord of the Grain

Lughnasadh / Lammas / Harvest

As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, those of us residing south of the equator find ourselves at the gateway to the Autumn months and the darker months of the year.  Ironically, however, this gateway tends to herald in the hottest weather as if the sun is determined to cleanse and purify the southern lands through the element of fire before its departure is well and truly noticed.

 

Traditionally the Sabbat celebrated is that of the first harvest, Lughnasadh (from the Irish Gaelic Lúnasa) or Lammas (from the Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass") and when "the feast of the first fruits" was observed.  In the agricultural year, Lughnasadh or Lammas also marked the end of the hay making season that had commenced as early as mid Summer.