Add some appropriate Lammas, Lughnasadh, or Mid-Summer songs, chants, prayers, reflections, invocations, or poems to your Neo-Pagan Craft Journal, Book of Shadows, blog, website, or Ritual Handbook. Write in your personal journal. Most spiritual seekers keep a notebook, journal or log as part of their experimental, creative, magical and experiential work.
Working and meditating in the garden is an important facet of any spiritual path. We need to regularly reconnect with the earth and the autumn season outdoors. Tend your garden daily. Water your garden each day. Weed your vegetable garden. Harvest squash, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables from your garden each day. Review your own lists of chores for July and August, and act accordingly.
The Celtic God, Luga (Lugh, Long Hand), is noted for his high level skills in many arts and crafts: smith, carpenter, bard, healer, herbalist, magician, gamesman, spear throwing, military leadership, etc. Get out your paintbrush. Fix something in the yard or garden or home. Tidy up the garden. Create something, make something. Start learning a new practical skill or craft.
Check out astronomical details about the rising of the Dog Star, Sirius, in late July, and the beginning of the “Dog Days of Summer.”
Do some thinking, reflection, or discursive meditation on various themes. Here are some themes to reflect upon: What are the relations between Chaos, Gaia, and Eros? What role does more sunlight play in bringing forth the bountiful harvest? What does summertime mean to you?
Renew supplies of your favorite ritual-recreational drug: coffee, tobacco, alcohol (whiskey, beer, wine), fuzzy herbs, etc.. Beer and whiskey, made from barley, are often part of joyful summer harvest feast celebrations. Read about the song John Barleycorn.
Prepare for the “Games” of the First Harvest Feast. The Greek Olympics and Roman Heracleia games were held at this time. What games might you play? Horseshoes, boche ball, races, swimmng races, croquet, volleyball, badminton, frisbee, baseball, wrestling, spear throwing, arrow shooting, weight tossing …. Get your equipment and playing court ready, and practice.
Read about and make a loaf of bread. Loaves of bread are a traditional part of the First Harvest Feast. Break bread into four pieces and place at each of the Four Corners altars. Lammas means “Loaf Mass” in the Welsh language. Sharing bread is a common feature of a Lammas celebration. What is the role of baking bread in human culture? Find a really good bakery in your area.
“Now upon my altar,
Gifts I offer the Two that are One.
As each day passes, shorter than the last,
May I be reminded of the seasons that have passed.
The marriage and the seeding of the Goddess in May;
Her womb swollen with life anew at Summer Solstice Day;
All this time the Father Sun has shone with so much pride.
“Rising early, setting late;
Now that He has supplied the warmth and light
For the good of the Earth
He knows that His death is drawing near.
But this secret He understands,
That with the turning of the wheel,
His rebirth has been planned.”
– Lammas Ritual by Asiya
This year ritual is borrowed from Patti Wigniigton on About com. To read all the information for this please click on the following link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lammas/ht/LammasSacrifice.htm
I am sorry for taking an easy way out but because of pain from a medical problem, I have been unable to write one for us this time. There will be only a circle cast this time and no Watchtowers. Some traditions of The Craft do not call the Watchtowers.
Remember ALL Pagans are welcome to attend.
“In some Pagan traditions, Lammas is the time of year when the Goddess takes on the aspects of the Harvest Mother. The earth is fruitful and abundant, crops are bountiful, and livestock are fattening up for winter. However, the Harvest Mother knows that the cold months are coming, and so she encourages us to begin gathering up what we can. This is the season for harvesting corn and grain, so that we can bake bread to store and have seeds for next year’s planting.
This ritual celebrates the beginning of the harvest season and the cycle of rebirth, and can be done by a solitary practitioner or adapted for a group or coven setting. Decorate your altar with symbols of the season — sickles and scythes, garden goodies like ivy and grapes and corn, poppies, dried grains, and early autumn foods like apples. If you like, light some Lammas Rebirth incense.
Have a candle on your altar to represent the Harvest Mother — choose something in orange, red or yellow.
These colors not only represent the blaze of the summer sun, but also the coming changes of autumn. You’ll also need a few stalks of wheat and an un-sliced loaf of bread (homemade is best, but if you can’t manage, a store-bought loaf will do). A goblet of ritual wine is optional. Also, if you have celiac disease or are otherwise sensitive to gluten, be sure to readCelebrating Lammas When You Eat Gluten-Free.
If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, do so now.
Light the candle, and say:
The Wheel of the Year has turned once more,
and the harvest will soon be upon us.
We have food on our tables, and
the soil is fertile.
Nature’s bounty, the gift of the earth,
gives us reasons to be thankful.
Mother of the Harvest, with your sickle and basket,
bless me with abundance and plenty.
Hold the stalks of wheat before you, [You can print a pictur of wheat stalks from an online picture] and think about what they symbolize: the power of the earth, the coming winter, the necessity of planning ahead. What do you need help planning right now? Are there sacrifices you should be making in the present that will be reaped in the future?
Rub the stalks between your fingers so a few grains of wheat fall upon the altar [Cut the picture into small pieces]. Scatter them on the ground as a gift to the earth. If you’re inside, leave them on the altar for now — you can always take them outside later. Say:
The power of the Harvest is within me.
As the seed falls to the earth and is reborn each year,
I too grow as the seasons change.
As the grain takes root in the fertile soil,
I too will find my roots and develop.
As the smallest seed blooms into a mighty stalk,
I too will bloom where I landed.
As the wheat is harvested and saved for winter,
I too will set aside that which I can use later.
Tear off a piece of the bread [From your own loaf or slice of whole wheat, if you eat it or feed the rest to the wildlife,]. If you’re performing this ritual as a group, pass the loaf around the circle so that each person present can take off a small chunk of bread. As each person passes the bread, they should say:
I pass to you this gift of the first harvest [Type this in after you have tore off your own piece of bread]. When everyone has a piece of bread [Has typed in the above sentence], say:
Everyone eats their bread together. If you have ritual wine [or your chosen beverage take a drink symbolic of passing it around] pass it around the circle for people to wash the bread down. Once everyone has finished their bread], take a moment to meditate on the cycle of rebirth and how it applies to your own life – physically, emotionally, spiritually. When you are ready, if you have cast a circle, close it or dismiss the quarters at this time. Otherwise, simply end the ritual in the manner of your tradition.
“
Litha is the time of the summer solstice, and it’s a season of great solar energy. A great project to put together is a blessing besom. Sweeping is, after all, one of the best ways of making a space sacred and clean. Make a blessing besom, and you can use it to physically cleanse your home, and then hang it up to keep positive energy flowing around you.
To make a blessing broom, or besom, you’ll need the following:
Wrap the ribbons and ivy around the handle of the broom. Don’t wrap them too tight, though, because you’ll want to be able to tuck sprigs of herbs and flowers into the ribbons. Once you’ve added all of these things, tie a few small bells onto the broom, so that it will jingle as you sweep. In many cultures, bells are used as noisemakers to frighten away evil spirits and negative energies.
If you like, you can consecrate your blessing besom as you would any other magical tool. Use it to sweep around your home, starting near a window or a door, and working in a deosil (clockwise) direction. As you do so, you may wish to chant something like this:
Sweeping, sweeping, ’round the room,
Blessings from this cleansing broom.
From floor to ceiling, and all between,
May this space be fresh and clean.
Sweeping good energy here to me,
As I will, so it shall be.
It’s Litha, and that means the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Midsummer is the time when we can celebrate the growing of crops, and take heart in knowing that the seeds we planted in the spring are now in full bloom. It’s a time of celebrating the sun, and spending as much time as you can outdoors. Try to set up your Midsummer altar outside if at all possible. If you can’t, that’s okay — but try to find a spot near a window where the sun will shine in and brighten your altar setup with its rays.
This sabbat is all about the sun celebration, so think of solar colors. Yellows, oranges, fiery reds and golds are all appropriate this time of year. Use candles in bright sunny colors, or cover your altar with cloths that represent the solar aspect of the season.
Litha is when the sun is at its highest point above us. In some traditions, the sun rolls across the sky like a great wheel – consider using pinwheels or some other disc to represent the sun.
Circles and discs are the most basic sun symbol of all, and are seen as far back as the tombs of ancient Egypt. Use equal-armed crosses, such as the Brighid’s Cross, or even the swastika – remember, it was originally a good luck symbol to both the Hindus and Scandinavians before it became associated with the Nazis.
The solstice is also a time seen as a battle between light and dark. Although the sun is strong now, in just six months the days will be short again. Much like the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King, light and dark must battle for supremacy. At this sabbat, darkness wins, and the days will begin to grow shorter once more. Decorate your altar with symbols of the triumph of darkness over light – and that includes using other opposites, such as fire and water, night and day, etc.
Witches Of The Craft® 
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