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HOME > Wiccan Sabbats > Lammas / Lughnasadh Sabbat
Also see our Wiccan Beltane Sabbat Ritual Guides
LAMMAS - The First Harvest
by Mike Nichols
It was upon a Lammas Night
When corn rigs are bonny,
Beneath the Moon's unclouded light,
I held awhile to Annie...
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Although in the heat of a Mid-western summer it might be difficult to discern, the
festival of Lammas (Aug 1st) marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The days
now grow visibly shorter and by the time we've reached autumn's end (Oct 31st), we will
have run the gammut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold and (sometimes)
snow of November. And in the midst of it, a perfect Mid-western autumn.
The history of Lammas is as convoluted as all the rest of the old folk holidays. It is
of course a cross-quarter day, one of the four High Holidays or Greater Sabbats of
Witchcraft, occuring 1/4 of a year after Beltane. It's true astrological point is 15
degrees Leo, but tradition has set August 1st as the day Lammas is typically celebrated.
The celebration proper would begin on sundown of the previous evening, our July 31st,
since the Celts reckon their days from sundown to sundown.
However, British Witches often refer to the astrological date of Aug 6th as Old Lammas,
and folklorists call it Lammas O.S. ('Old Style'). This date has long been considered a
'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the 'tetramorph' figures
found on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune (the other three figures
being the Bull, the Eagle, and the Spirit). Astrologers know these four figures as the
symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac, and these naturally allign with the four
Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent
the four gospel-writers.
'Lammas' was the medieval Christian name for the holiday and it means 'loaf-mass', for
this was the day on which loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and
laid on the church altars as offerings. It was a day representative of 'first fruits'
and early harvest.
In Irish Gaelic, the feast was referred to as 'Lugnasadh', a feast to commemorate the
funeral games of the Irish sun-god Lugh. However, there is some confusion on this point.
Although at first glance, it may seem that we are celebrating the death of Lugh, the god
of light does not really die (mythically) until the autumnal equinox. And indeed, if we
read the Irish myths closer, we discover that it is not Lugh's death that is being
celebrated, but the funeral games which Lugh hosted to commemorate the death of his
foster-mother, Taillte. That is why the Lugnasadh celebrations in Ireland are often
called the 'Tailltean Games'.
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The time went by with careless heed
Between the late and early,
With small persuasion she agreed
To see me through the barley...
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One common feature of the Games were the 'Tailltean marriages', a rather informal marriage
that lasted for only 'a year and a day' or until next Lammas. At that time, the couple
could decide to continue the arrangement if it pleased them, or to stand back to back
and walk away from one another, thus bringing the Tailltean marriage to a formal close.
Such trial marriages (obviously related to the Wiccan 'Handfasting') were quite common
even into the 1500's, although it was something one 'didn't bother the parish priest
about'. Indeed, such ceremonies were usually solemnized by a poet, bard, or shanachie
(or, it may be guessed, by a priest or priestess of the Old Religion).
Lammastide was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds
would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in
bright colors and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays
and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar to our
modern-day Renaissance Festivals, such as the one celebrated in near-by Bonner Springs,
Kansas, each fall.
A ceremonial highlight of such festivals was the 'Catherine wheel'. Although the Roman
Church moved St. Catherine's feast day all around the calender with bewildering frequency,
it's most popular date was Lammas. (They also kept trying to expel this much-loved saint
from the ranks of the blessed because she was mythical rather than historical, and because
her worship gave rise to the heretical sect known as the Cathari.) At any rate, a large
wagon wheel was taken to the top of a near-by hill, covered with tar, set aflame, and
ceremoniously rolled down the hill. Some mythologists see in this ritual the remnants of
a Pagan rite symbolizing the end of summer, the flaming disk representing the sun-god in
his decline. And just as the sun king has now reached the autumn of his years, his rival
or dark self has just reached puberty.
Many comentators have bewailed the fact that traditional Gardnerian and Alexandrian Books
of Shadows say very little about the holiday of Lammas, stating only that poles should be
ridden and a circle dance performed. This seems strange, for Lammas is a holiday of rich
mythic and cultural associations, providing endless resources for liturgical celebration.
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Corn rigs and barley rigs,
Corn rigs are bonny!
I'll not forget that happy night
Among the rigs with Annie!
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[Verse quotations by Robert Burns, as handed down through several Books of Shadows.]
Document Copyright © 1986, 2002 by Mike Nichols
HTML coding by: Mike Nichols © 1998
This document can be re-published only as long as no
information is lost or changed, credit is given to the author, and it is provided
or used without cost to others.
Other uses of this document must be approved in writing by Mike Nichols.
Revised: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 c.e.
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