Happy Lughnasadh!

August 1, 2024……. This Lughnasadh I have been busy babysitting my granddaughter, so I did not have a chance to bake bread or do some of the things I would normally do for this Sabbat, but I was able to decorate my Altar, enjoy a cup of herbal tea, pick some flowers and herbs from my garden to create a bouquet for my altar, make a corn doll with my granddaughter, and enjoy a lot of time outdoors playing with her, and observing all that nature has to offer us right in my own backyard and neighborhood….I love teaching her about the different plants in our yard and gardens and observe and explore all the cool little beings we find like the garden slugs, butterflies, etc. I love watching both my toddler granddaughters play with the Fairy House my husband and I built in the garden too. Truly magical! Lammas(word meaning Loaf Mass) is celebrated much in the same way with the difference being this was a “Christianized form of this Sabbat where Christians would go to church (Mass) and have their loaves of bread , blessed to bring good luck to their Harvests this year.

Something new I learned this year is that the phrase, “the dog days of Summer.” This expression is not about an image of a dog panting on a hot summer day, but was named because of the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, which is the nose of the Canis Major (Big Dog Constellation) which rises high in the sky this time of year. How cool is it that people in cultures including North America, Greece and Ireland, all knew this meant it was the time of year that there would be a lot of long, hot, dry days, and the time to harvest their crops?!

If you wish to learn more there is a lot of information on the Web if you google or search Lughnasadh or Lammas, and different ways you can celebrate this beautiful day! Wishing you many blessings for a wonderful August, however you celebrate….