What is Lammas?
Lammas is a harvest festival celebrating the fruits of summer, falling on February 2 in Australia (and in August for the Northern Hemisphere). In the Wheel of the Year, it marks the midpoint between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox. Lammas originated as a Pagan holiday and is one of the eight Wiccan (witchcraft) Sabbats of the year. Each Sabbat marks a seasonal turning point and is a time to reflect on the gifts & lessons of each season.
The earth’s bounty is visible everywhere you go — my garden is bursting with juicy tomatoes, strawberries and flowers!
It is celebrated by nature-lovers, witches and anyone seeking a deeper connection to the seasonal shifts of Mother Earth.
Why celebrate the Sabbats?
The eight Sabbats are a beautiful opportunity to pause and reconnect with nature in our modern world.
They are also a reminder that we too, as humans, are cyclical beings — and each of our seasons has something to celebrate.
Our society values production and expects us to be in a perpetual summer season: socialising, networking, completing projects, creating art, publishing books.
Nature is a reminder that each stage of the cycle is just as important as the others.
Without a proper decay and compost in winter, soil is not nutrient-dense enough to produce flowers in summer. Without rest and turning inward to reflect on how we feel about our projects, we don’t have the energy or clarity to create & execute our work.
What does Lammas celebrate?
Lammas is the celebration of the first grain harvest, and a time to be grateful for the abundance in our lives and share it with loved ones. Altars were decorated with loaves of freshly baked bread, corn wreaths, grapes and apples to honour the bounty gifted to us by summer. When we truly express gratitude for all the small things we have, we become so much more abundant.
The week of Lammas is also the perfect time to reflect on the ‘fruits of our labour’ in our lives — our achievements and creations.
Traditionally, farmers would assess the quality of the harvest to determine how effective their agricultural techniques were. Should they have watered a certain crop more? Did one prefer more sun exposure than the others? Similarly, we have an opportunity to assess whether our goal-setting processes and working habits are effective, and how we can tweak them to make our next projects more enjoyable or successful.
Lammas Rituals
Below are six simple but beautiful ways you can celebrate and give back during the week of Lammas.
1. Decorate your altar, sacred space or home
Bring the feeling of abundance into your space with nature’s colours. Your altar could be a simple shelf, table or cabinet. Decorate with:
- Flowers and herbs of the season (sunflowers, calendula, mint)
- A fruit bowl with summer fruits & vegetables
- Crystals supporting the season (tiger’s eye, citrine, carnelian)
- Beeswax candles or red, orange, yellow and green candles.
2. Bake bread
Bread baking is the most iconic tradition of Lammas — many European countries began the celebrations by cutting grains and dividing them amongst the village to be kneaded into sacred loaves. Find a recipe that speaks to you.
Use the preparing, kneading and baking process as an intentional time to give gratitude for everything you’ve received from the last year. You could share the baking experience with a loved one and take turns expressing gratitude for the little things: the long warm days, the sunflowers outside your window, the smell of fresh bread! Then enjoy your loaf with fresh toppings together with friends and family.
3. Journalling ritual
Take your journal to your Lammas altar or in a place in nature where you feel connected to the abundance of the season (a sunflower field sounds divine). Light a candle and take a moment to ground yourself with deep, slow breaths. Notice the sounds, smells, colours and temperature of summer.
Begin a new page in your journal and title it as your Lammas entry (so you can refer back to it later).
What are you harvesting in your life? What have you manifested, grown & received?
How do you feel about your harvest?
What worked to produce a bountiful harvest? What didn’t work?
What are you most grateful for?
4. Lammas feast
Gather your loved ones for a summer feast. Explore a farmer’s market and select any local produce that sings to you, and harvest fruits or herbs from your own garden. You could host a BYO dinner so everyone can bring their favourite dishes. Decorate the table with herbs (sunflowers, calendula, mint) and colours (green, gold, yellow, orange) of the season, and use the opportunity to each share what you loved and are proud of from last year.
5. Create an offering for nature
Express your gratitude for our nurturing, life-giving Earth by giving back in some small way. You could make time to clean up a public space like your local beach, park or walking trail. Or you could leave a small offering like a handful of seeds or a flower or herb bouquet, make your own bird feeder from a pinecone, or bury a crystal in the earth.
Enjoy your summer fruits and beauty of the season! Wishing you abundance this Lammas.
Love,
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