Lughnasadh: The Beginning of the Harvest
By Rev. Valera "Doe Eyes" Childers
Lughnasadh is the first of the three harvest Sabbats and falls on the 1st or 2nd of August, depending on one’s tradition. This is a time when we honor the Celtic Sun God, Lugh. The first fruits and grains, corn, wheat and barley, are ready to be harvested by August.
The sacredness of grain goes back almost as far as the human race itself. Grains corresponded with the Gods and Goddesses of death and resurrection because the life and death cycles of grain mimic our own lives. Native Americans celebrate the Festival of Green Corn at this time of year, and honor the Corn Grandmother. Ancient Romans honored the Grain Goddess, Ceres and in North Africa they celebrated the birth of the Egyptian Sun Goddess, Isis. The Roman festival honored Vulcan, God of the forge and guardian of its fire.
There is a Sumerian myth where Tammuz, the Sumerian God and consort of Ishtar is slain by another God and passes to the Underworld. Ishtar is left alone, bereaved. Because of their separation, all Nature ceases to function and renew itself. Finally, the grieving Ishtar descends to the Underworld and brings Tammuz back with her. She is once again happy and Nature resumes its natural course.
Irish traditions are said to be responsible for a lot of the practice and symbolism used in today’s Lughnasadh celebrations. Much of the Celtic Lughnasadh celebration focused on Lugh, the Irish Sun God, God of light, fire and harvests, protector of the weak and ill. The name Lugh translates to “The Shining One." He was a very skilled God and was said to be able to come into human form to worship with the Druids, for he was their primary deity. As the King of the Tuatha De Dannan, he was one of the consorts to Dana, also known as Danu, the first Great Mother Goddess of Ireland.
Common traditions for the celebration include the grinding of grain, baking of bread, making onion or garlic braids, canning and preserving produce. Also common are gathering plants for making dyes, natural inks & talismans, as well as the collecting of medicinal herbs.
In ancient cultures, this was a time to contemplate the never-ending cycle of life and death. We see the correspondences between the cycles of human life, animal life, Earth life and universal life. We see abundance everywhere and take joy in seeing the fruits of our labor manifesting. But we know that the time of abundance is coming to a close and find happiness in the fact that Mother Earth is continuing on her cycle of birth, life and death, just as we all do.
Valera is an owner and a Priestess of The Village Witch. To learn more about here click here.