The Magick of Lammas

Also called: Lughnasadh, Lunasdal, August Eve, The Festival of Bread, Elembiuous, Lunasa, Cornucopia(Strega), Thingtide(Teutonic)

Date: August 1 or 2

Symbols: All grain breads, threshing tools, berries (especially blackberries)

Primary spellwork: Bread harvest, first harvest, grain harvest, games of sport, blessig and saining rites, payment of debts, weather magick.

Popular mythos: Marriage of Lugh to the Goddess(varies), sacrifice of fruits to the soil, season of handfasting.

 

 

“‘Lughnassad’ means ‘the funeral games of Lugh’, referring to Lugh, the Irish sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother Tailte. For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time. As autumn begins, the Sun God enters his old age, but is not yet dead. It is also a celebration of the first harvest. The Christian religion adopted this theme and called it ‘Lammas’, meaning ‘loaf-mass’, a time when newly baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar. An alternative date around August 5 (Old Lammas), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo, is sometimes employed by Covens.”

– Wiccan Holidays, Lughnassad

Hold an Ostara Ritual for Solitaries

Continue reading “Hold an Ostara Ritual for Solitaries” →

The Witches Correspondence for Ostara/Spring Equinox

 

On or around March 21st Northern Hemisphere, September 21st Southern Hemisphere

*Note this year it is March 20th*
The second of the 3 spring festivals, Ostara is known also as the Spring Equinox, and Eostar. It is a time of new beginnings as new life bursts forth upon the earth. It is also a time of balance when light and dark are equal. In times past, people celebrated the arrival of spring and the Goddess Eostar or Eostre whose symbols were the hare and the egg.

Symbols:

The beginning of spring, new life and rebirth, the God and Goddess in Their youth, balance, fertility, flowers, eggs, rabbit/hare.

Decorations:

Four leaf clovers, cauldron of spring water, any and all spring flowers/blossoms/bulbs/sprouts, potted plants, eggs, butterflies, baskets, bunnies, chicks, colored ribbons

Activities/ Rituals/ spell intents:

Sunrise observances, collecting wildflowers, spring cleaning and purification, nature walks, seed blessing, garden blessing, planting, welcoming spring, coloring eggs, fertility rites, rituals of balance, herb work – magical, medicinal, cosmetic, culinary and artistic, spells for balance, communication, prosperity/fertility, action, new beginnings, potential, goals for future, banishment of bad ties, positive growth

Herbs/flowers/trees:

clover, lemongrass, mint, honeysuckle, iris, violets, peonies, lilies (Easter Lily), lilacs, acorn, celandine, cinquefoil, crocus, daffodil, dogwood, gorse, jasmine, jonquils, narcissus, olive, pine trees, rose, tansy, woodruff, primrose, forsythia

Incense/oils:

African violet, lotus, jasmine, rose, magnolia, sage, strawberry, lavender, narcissus, ginger.

Colors/Candles:

Gold, light green, robin’s egg blue, lemon yellow, pale pink, all pastels.

Stones:

amethyst, jasper, aquamarine, bloodstone, red jasper

Foods:

Seeds, leafy green vegetables, fresh fruits, hard-boiled eggs and any egg dishes, milk punch, dairy foods, apples, nuts, flower dishes, sprouts, jelly beans, chocolates, lamb, spiced or flower cupcakes, hot cross buns, honey cakes, unleavened bread, poultry, ham, roast beef, yellow cake with poppy seeds, banana nut bread, fruit juice or fruit liqueur, poppy seed or sesame seed rolls, sweet or honeyed wine

Animals :

Rabbits, hares /Easter bunny, chicks, robins, lambs, swallows, snakes, unicorns

Deities:

all love, virgin, and fertility Goddesses, all love, song & dance, and fertility Gods.

 

 

Resources:

Some information adapted from Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan, and Ann Moura’s Witchcraft, an Alternative Path.

Moon in Taurus

 

The Moon is traveling through comfy Taurus today. Eat something you love. Have a second serving.

We are motivated by the desire for serenity, security, peace, and comfort. The Moon is at her most sensual and constant in Taurus. Our basic impulses are to relax, resist change, and “stop to smell the roses”. Life slows down a little, and we get comfortable. We may also be inclined to stubbornness and materialism under this influence.

The Moon in Taurus generally favors the following activities: Substantial and material actions that yield solid results. Financial activities, and those involving personal possessions, applying for a loan, beginning a potentially long-term relationship, music, home decor.