🌾 Lughnasadh: A Time of First Harvest, Magic, and Gratitude

As the wheel of the year turns once more, we arrive at Lughnasadh (pronounced LOO-nah-sah), the sacred sabbat of the first harvest. Celebrated on or around August 1st, this ancient Celtic festival marks a time of abundance, reflection, and honoring the sacred cycle of growth, fruition, and release.

The name Lughnasadh comes from the Irish god Lugh, a deity of many talents - warrior, craftsman, poet, and sun god. It’s said that Lugh created this festival in honor of his foster mother, Tailtiu, who died after clearing the land for agriculture. Lughnasadh reminds us to give thanks for the fruits of the earth, the labor of our ancestors, and the energy we’ve poured into our intentions since Imbolc and Beltane.

The first of 3 harvest festivals of the 8 Sabbats on the Wheel of The Year.

🌻 Themes of Lughnasadh

• Gratitude: Take stock of your blessings—spiritual, emotional, physical. What are you harvesting in your life right now?

• Sacrifice and Release: As summer wanes, Lughnasadh invites us to release what no longer serves so we can fully embrace the next cycle.

• Transformation: The grain must be cut to make bread. So too, must we transform something within ourselves to grow.

• Community and Craft: Traditionally marked by feasting, games, and handfastings, this sabbat celebrates the spirit of shared abundance.

  
  

🔥 Ways to Celebrate Lughnasadh

1. Bake Bread or Harvest Treats: Bread is sacred this time of year - consider it edible magic. Bake from scratch using herbs like rosemary or thyme to infuse intention into your loaf. Or make cornbread, berry jam, or honey cakes.

2. Light a Candle for Gratitude: Use a golden-hued candle (sunflower yellow, wheat, or copper) to represent the sun’s waning power and honor your harvest - spiritual and physical. Anoint with oil blends of frankincense, clove, or patchouli.

3. Create a Harvest Altar: Decorate with grains, corn husks, sunflowers, fruits, and handmade items. Add symbols of Lugh: spears, tools, or a sun disk. Place a handwritten note of gratitude or a list of what you are releasing.

4. Host a Mini Harvest Feast: Invite friends or simply feast solo with intention. Share a meal from local or garden-grown produce, and toast to your personal growth.

5. Do a Release Ritual: Write down what you’re ready to let go of. Safely burn the paper in a fire-safe dish or cauldron, releasing the energy with the smoke.

🕯 Ritual Ideas with a Witchy Touch

• Harvest Spell Jar: Fill a small jar with oats, corn kernels, calendula, and citrine chips. Seal with gold wax and whisper a spell of gratitude and future abundance.

• Lugh’s Offering: Leave bread, ale, or wildflowers at the base of a tree or on your altar in honor of Lugh and the spirits of the land.

• Gratitude Journaling: Light an incense or candle from your Sacred Herbs collection, and write three things you’re thankful for - no matter how small.

🌀 Lughnasadh Reflections

Ask yourself:

• What have I sown and now begin to reap?

• What am I clinging to that needs to be released?

• How can I honor the labor—mine and others’ - that brought me here?

🍯 Herbal & Scent Notes of the Season

• Herbs: Mugwort, chamomile, calendula, goldenrod, rosemary, basil

• Scents: Warm amber, honeyed grains, spiced fruits, earthy patchouli, sun-warmed hay

Looking for a candle to honor the harvest? Our Lughnasadh Celtic Sabbat Candle is crafted to embody this golden threshold - rich, grounding, and laced with seasonal magic. 🕯✨

Blessed Lughnasadh, dear heart. May your harvest be bountiful, your heart full, and your next chapter golden. 🌾