Lammas is the "Festival of Gathering In" and the celebration of the Grain Goddess and Grain Mother. The Earth has great manifesting power, and it’s time to harvest the corn and grain. The Solar Deity is celebrated and honoured for his light and power. As his light begins to wane, his energy goes back into the earth and is sacrificed to become nourishment for the grain.

Lammas is considered the 1st of the 3 harvests, followed by Mabon/Autumn Equinox and Samhain.

• Lammas – 1st harvest of grain
• Mabon – 2nd harvest of fruits
• Samhain – 3rd harvest of nuts and berries

As with all the great Fire Festivals, the ceremonial bonfire is lit on the eve of the festival. On Lammas Eve, the bonfire is lit to honour the Grain Mother as she gives birth to her child the grain. In England, one of the famous sites for the Lammas bonfire is Silbury Hill, in Avebury the largest stone circle in Europe. Avebury is steeped in feminine energies.

6 Ways to Honour Lammas

1) Decorate your altar

Gather items for a Lammas or harvest altar such as wheat, barley, oats, mint, sunflowers, and anything in the harvest colours, from green to gold and yellow to the deepest orange – every shade of sun and harvest.

2) Create a harvest jar or container

Write down the things you’ve manifested this year and put those pieces of paper in the container. Hold a little ritual to honour everything you’ve grown, including yourself.

3) Bake bread or muffins

The most traditional Lammas practice is baking bread from the newly harvested wheat. In Anglo-Saxon England, a loaf of bread baked from the new crop was broken into four pieces and placed in the four corners of the barn to protect the grain.

4) Light candles

Lammas is a festival of light, celebrating the last long days of the year. Your ritual can be as simple as lighting candles in shades of yellow and orange or whatever calls to you.

5) Celebrate with gemstones

Work with stones associated with Lammas, like carnelian, citrine, aventurine, golden topaz, obsidian, and moss agate. Place these on your altar, hold them in meditation, or create a crystal grid for the season.

6) Charge your stones in the late summer sunshine

The Moon isn’t the only luminary with magical infusing power. Put your crystals out in the sunlight to absorb solar warmth and vitality. Your stones will hold this energy and continue radiating it throughout autumn and winter. Be careful though, some gems like amethyst and larimar can actually fade with too much sun exposure. It only takes a few hours in the Sun to cleanse and charge.

Journal Questions

• How do you manifest your power?
• How do you share your abundance with others?
• What can be, or needs to be, sacrificed for my harvest?
• How do I support myself and others in attaining or manifesting our life goals?