Lughnasadh celebrates the season for gathering the fruits of one's labors. For the ancient Celts, this was the corn, oats, and grains, and the planted summer bounty. The earth was honored for giving birth to her first harvest fruits so that her children might live. For our modern world, this can also be a time for appreciating what has come to fruition to nourish and sustain you. Lughnasadh is an invitation to reflect on what we love about our lives, who we are, and who we are becoming. A very relevant contemplation for the current times.
In later centuries, the festival of Lughnasadh was Christianized as Lammas, from the Anglo-Saxon, hlaf-mas, "Loaf-Mass." At Lughnasadh, bread baked from the first harvest was eaten in thanks. Baking, sharing, and eating bread is a wonderful way to celebrate this holiday.
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Here is a lovely Lughnasadh song to entertain and inspire you:
https://youtu.be/lENBM9vKkVM
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And here is a Lughnasadh poem written by the prolific author and ceremonialist, Caitlin Mathews from her ‘The Celtic Devotional: Daily Prayers and Blessings.’
I am the fountain in the courts of bliss,
I am the bright surrender of the willpower,
I am the watchful guardian and the kiss.
I am the many-colored landscape,
I am the transmigration of the geese,
I am the burnished glory of the breastplate,
I am the harbor where all strivings cease.
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Lughnasadh gives us an opportunity to take ancient esoteric wisdom and make it relevant for today’s world. The genre of storytelling I write, Visionary Fiction, does the same thing, in the hopes of inspiring and expanding human consciousness. You might take this day to consider what seeds of wisdom, hope, and love you may be called to protect and pass on to those who come after you. Especially as we rebuild a new world out of the Covid crises portal.
What seeds of wisdom, hope, and love would you like to bring forward?
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Photo image from owlsdaughter.com
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