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It’s that time of year! Let’s learn how to celebrate Lammas!
We celebrate Wiccan sabbats, or holidays, on eight occasions throughout the year. Lammas is a sabbat falling within the month of August and it celebrates the date of the first harvest.
To celebrate Lammas, celebrate the harvest by decorating your altar with fruits and grains. You can give offerings of bread and cider to the Goddess and God to show gratitude. Or dry herbs and save seeds for future use as the wheel turns. You can also pray for abundant food during the cold months.
In this article we will explain more in depth about the Wiccan sabbats, in particular the sabbat of Lammas. We’ll discuss what it is and how to celebrate Lammas!
Wheel of the Year
Each sabbat represents a spoke in the Wheel of the Year
which is the Wiccan yearly cycle. Both the Wheel of the Year and its sabbats are rooted in storied pagan traditions.
Each sabbat falls on a seasonal marker based on the positions of the moon and sun.
To talk about the passing of time, Wiccans refer to the turning of the Wheel. The occurrence of sabbats, and the turning of the wheel, are used to stay in tune with the Earth’s natural rhythms.
They allow us to reflect on the cycle of life, and express gratitude to the God and Goddess.
The eight sabbats are Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon.
Celebrating Sabbats
You can easily participate in these storied holidays and become at one with the Earth.
Sabbats can certainly be celebrated alone, especially if you are a solitary practitioner. There are many rituals which can be done by yourself, introspection you can perform, and ways you can adorn your altar at home.
Sabbats can also be celebrated as a group. This can your coven or with fellow witches. However it can also be celebrated with friends and family who are not Wiccan.
For example, if you’d like to celebrate the harvest by feasting and showing gratitude, what better way to do that then to assemble some close friends and family!
Even non-Wiccans like to feast regardless of the reason! So for those solitaries whose family doesn’t know that they’re Wiccan, this is a great way to avoid celebrating alone.
How to Celebrate Lammas
Lammas is a sabbat around August 1 which celebrates the first harvest. It’s the first of three fall harvest festivals.
Lammas is a time of both hope for an abundant harvest, but also of fear that the yield may not be enough to last comfortably throughout the winter.
This sabbat is also a time when Wiccans face their inner fears, prepare themselves for possible hard times ahead, and are ready for sacrifice. Deities such as Demeter, Ceres, Lugh, and John Barleycorn are associated with this sabbat.
There are many ways to celebrate Lammas!
Gratitude for the Harvest
Thank the Goddess and God for the crops to be harvested. Give thanks and feel gratitude in all areas of your life.
Pray for Abundance
Pray for a fruitful harvest and abundant food during the cold and dark months.
Decorate Your Altar
Decorate your altar with fruits and grains.
Feast
Feast with fellow witches or other covens.
Save Seeds
Save this small capsule of life for future planting during the spring.
Honor the Pregnant Goddess
Celebrate the cycle of life and her pregnancy, which will eventually lead to the birth of the God.
Dry Herbs
Prepare herbs for storage, so your wintertime meals will be healthful and flavorful.
Give Offerings
Give offerings to the Goddess and God. Offerings of bread and cider are great around this time. You can give offerings to wild animals too.
Lammas Correspondences
Color Correspondences
- Deep Golden Yellow
- Dark Oranges
- Bronze
- Browns
- Tans
- Dark Green
Herbal Correspondences
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Aloe
- Wheat
Crystal Correspondences
- Peridot
- Citrine
Deity Correspondences
- Ceres
- Persephone
- Odin
- Demeter
- Freya
- Inanna
- Frigg
- Lugh
Animal Correspondences
- Cow
Magick Correspondences
- Growth and agriculture
- Conclusions and endings
- Death
- Success and accomplishment
Conclusion
I hope this has given you a good background on Wiccan sabbats, the sabbat of Lammas, what it means, and how to celebrate it! Click below to get more helpful information about other Wiccan sabbats.
And for a wider overview of Wiccan sabbats, visit our comprehensive guide to the Wheel of the Year.
