Hello, Witches! Welcome to the first official post on this blog! I know it's a bit overdue (ok, maybe WAY overdue, but what can I say? I got nothing...), but here we are! Finally! HUZZAH!
Anywho, today we'll be talking about the Sabbat called Lughnasadh (loo'nass'ah) or Lammas.
So, what is Lughnasadh?
Well, Lughnasadh, is the first of the three Autumn harvest Sabbats, the other two being Mabon (the Autumn Equinox) and Samhain (sow-een, which is Halloween). It falls on the 1st of August in the Northern Hemisphere and on the 1st of February in the Southern.
It's time to begin reaping what we have sown throughout the past few months, and recognize that the bright summer days will soon come to an end. It's the season when the first grains are ready to be harvested and threshed, when the apples and grapes are ripe for the plucking, and we're grateful for the food we have on our tables. It is a time of excitement and magic. The natural world is thriving around us, and yet the knowledge that everything will soon die looms in the background. This is a good time to work some magic around the hearth and home.
Typically the focus of this Sabbat is on either the early harvest aspect, or the celebration of the Celtic god Lugh. Similar to the Roman god Mercury, Lugh was known as a god of both skill and talent. Although he is not a war god in the same sense as the Roman god Mars, Lugh was considered a warrior since, to the Celts, skill on the battlefield was a highly valued ability. According to Irish myth, one weapon that he carried was a Magick spear, which was so bloodthirsty that it often tried to fight without its owner. The spear flashed with fire in battle and tore through the enemy lines unchecked.
For many Pagans today, Lugh is still honored as the champion of artistry and skills. Many artisans, musicians, bards and crafters invoke Lugh when they need assistance with creativity. Lugh is still honored at the time of harvest, not only as a god of grain, but also as the god of late summer storms.
Honoring the Soul of the Harvest
In European cultures, a corn doll was often used to represent the spirit of the harvested crops. However, Europe didn't have a monopoly on this at all. In South American countries, some tribes took the largest portion of the crops, typically maize, and dressed it in clothing as an effigy.
In Peru, people honored different spirits of the crops. The Maize Mother was the Zara Mama, the spirit of quinoa was known as Quinoa Mama, and everything from the cocoa tree to the potato has a life essence.
In North America, the native tribes grow corn, or maize, as a staple part of their diet. Some groups have stories of rebirth and regeneration, and a few have folktales that parallel the story of Demeter and Persephone. In the southwestern part of the United States, Native Americans still perform a ceremonial dance the honors the harvesting of the maize every fall.
The Malay people of Indonesia believe that rice plants possess a soul or life force just as humans do. Harvesting is even done in a way that is seen as "painless" to the rice plants, so that it will not suffer. In some parts of the Malay Peninsula, there is a big ceremony at the beginning of each harvest, in which a complex ritual is performed that identifies the mother of the rice soul in the selected sheaf.
Deities of the Field
~Adonis (Assyrian): Adonis is a complicated god who touched many cultures. Although he's often portrayed as Greek, his origins are actually early Assyrian. Adonis was the god of the dying summer vegetation. In many stories, he dies and is later reborn, much like Attis (Phrygean) and Tammuz (Sumerian).
~Attis (Phrygean): This lover of Cybele wen mad and castrated himself, but still managed to get turned into a pine tree at the moment of his death. In some stories, Attis was in love with a Naiad, and jealous Cybele killed a tree (and subsequently the Naiad who dwelled within it), causing Attis to castrate himself in despair. Regardless, his stories often deal with the theme of rebirth and regeneration.
~Dagon (Semitic): Worshipped by an early Semitic tribe called the Amorites, Dagon was a god of fertility and agriculture. He's also mentioned as a father-deity type in early Sumerian texts and sometimes appears as a fish god. Dagon is credited with giving the Amorites the knowledge to build the plough.
~Demeter (Greek): The Greek equivalent of Ceres, Demeter is often linked to the changing of the seasons. She is often connected to the image of the Dark Mother in late fall and early winter. When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, Demeter's grief caused the earth to die for six months, until Persephone's return.
~Lugh (Celtic): Lugh was known as a god of both skill and the distribution of talent. He is sometimes associated with midsummer because of his role as a harvest god, and during the summer solstice the crops are flourishing, waiting to be plucked from the ground at Lughnasadh.
~Ceres (Roman): Ever wonder why crunched-up grain is called cereal? It's named for Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest and grain. Not only that, she was the one who taught lowly mankind how to preserve and prepare corn and grain once it was ready for threshing.
~Mercury (Roman): Fleet of foot, Mercury was a messenger of the gods. In particular, he was a god of commerce and is associated with the grain trade. In late summer and early fall, he ran from place to place to let everyone know it was time to bring in the harvest. In Gaul, he was considered a god not only of agricultural abundance but also of commercial success.
~Pomona (Roman): This apple goddess is the keeper of orchards and fruit trees. Unlike many other agricultural deities, Pomona is not associated with the harvest itself, but with the flourishing of fruit trees. She is usually portrayed bearing a cornucopia or a tray of blossoming fruit., and part of the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
~Neper (Egyptian): This androgynous grain deity became popular in Egypt during times of starvation. He later was seen as an aspect of Osiris
~Parvati (Hindu): Parvati was a consort of the god Shiva, and although she does not appear in Vedic literature, she is celebrated today as a goddess of the harvest and protector of women in the annual Gauri Festival.
~Tammuz (Sumerian): This Sumerian god of vegetation and crops is often associated with the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
I hope you all enjoyed! Until next time!
~Mopsy
P.S. Hey, guys! Check out The Magick Cats' Lughnasadh First Harvest Sale from this Saturday, July 26th through Sunday, July 3rd. Take 20% off of your entire order of $10 or more with promo code HARVEST20!!
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