The old world fire festivals celebrate the passage of the seasons and the annual rhythm of nature. In Celtic traditions, there are four fire festivals:
Imbolc (February 1): Awakening
Beltane (May 1): Growth
Lammas (August 1): Harvest
Samhain (Oct. 31): Rest
Lammas (also called Lughnasadh and pronounced Loo ne se), celebrates the first of three harvest festivals. It marks the halfway point in the Northern Hemisphere between Summer Solstice (at 0° Cancer) and the Autumn Equinox (at 0° Libra). Because of this, I mark the holiday when the Sun reaches 15° Leo astrologically. Here in North America in 2024, that will occur August 6 - 7. Thus, in my opinion as well as that in other astrological circles, the entire first week of August is acceptable timing for the observance.
All our ancestral relations followed time patterns: observing the stars and lunar rhythms, carefully watching nature, calling on their inner work of authenticity. We too can connect with nature. It is easy during Lammas. Perhaps you have fresh produce from your garden. Or you marvel at the tall corn visible in the neighboring farmer's fields. We recognize the basic human need for preserving materials for the coming winter. Even in cities, in the quiet of dawn or dusk, in parks and under trees we can sense the soil and sky. Along with our pets and urban animals, we feel the seasons within our own bodies.
However, let us not forget the spiritual aspect. These festivals honor Gaia, the power of fertile growth, abundance, and the cooperation of the devas -- those angelic beings intimately involved with our earthly endeavors.
Let us create fire -- a sacred universal symbol linking our world with the divine. To give thanks to nature, to thank the plants and animals, to thank our guardian angels, we offer our gratitude! We pray that the passion of this season overflows into all our lives and continues to light our paths and offer us courage and the energy necessary to face each day.
Choose to be aware. Meditate your way into a sense of what these festivals most deeply signify for you. It might be a private prayer over a single candle or writing a message on a stone and placing it intuitively. You may wish to join with others to feast under the fiery sun at the lakeshore, or gaze upon the moon around a summer bonfire, offering a unison prayer for Mother Earth and humankind.
Lammas is the Old English word meaning "loaf mass," and bread made from this first harvest was often taken to church to be blessed. Or, the clergy might walk the fields personally giving thanks for current crops, asking for continued horticultural blessings, and taking a few wheat sprigs to honor and waive around during the sermon.
It is no surprise this potent energy in August coincides closely with the Lion's Gate portal, the Feast of the Assumption, and the heliacal rising of the fixed star Sirius.
Invocation
To the East I turn for clarity,
To the South I turn for energy,
To the West for intuition true,
To the North for strength to see it through.
Blessed be the earth, and all who dwell upon it,
We give thanks for the blessings it has bestowed upon us,
And upon those with whom we share this world.
As we open our hearts, and minds, and spirits,
We pray for peace and wisdom, prosperity, and love,
In this season and in all the seasons to come,
Blessed be.
Contributed by Wendolyn Sky Otter
Images courtesy of Dreamstime
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