Be prepared to feel more energized than normal despite the summer’s heat.
Lammas bread man and friend. Image from Drifting Through the Cosmos.
“Bonnie was the Lammas Moon…”
Lammas is a fire festival of harvest and prosperity celebrating the First Harvest, typically a grain. It may be celebrated on either Friday, July 31, Saturday, August 1, or Sunday, August 2, 2015. It is an excellent occasion for a pot-luck dinner, as one of the requirements is to share food, whether with your guests or with the homeless.
The full moon on July 31, the Thunder Moon, will be noticeable throughout the whole weekend. Be prepared to feel more energized than normal despite the summer’s heat.
Choose among the colors red, gold, orange, yellow, bronze, citrine, green, and gray for your decorating scheme. The more fire colors used, the better. Wear these colors, too, and encourage your guests to do likewise. Lord Sun is in Leo. Honoring his energy in the colors you use would be most appropriate.
Bread must be the center of the menu: whether wheat, rye, or corn, there must be bread. One way to incorporate both grain and sharing is to bake a loaf of bread in the shape of a man. Before beginning your feast, let each guest tear off a piece of the bread man and feed it to the person sitting to the right while saying “may you never go hungry” or some similar sentiment.
Save a bit of the bread man to throw into your ceremonial fire, if you have one. When cool, the ashes should be added to your garden. If you do not have a fire, then bury the bit of reserved bread man somewhere in your garden. By giving back to Mother Earth, you are generating magick for continuing prosperity from her.
Be sure to have a visible flame at your celebration. A candle will suffice if there is no safe place to build a fire.
Part of your festivities should recognize Freya, the Giver of the Loaf. Drink a toast to her and she will be pleased. Another ritual to be observed is to bless the tools of your trade, whatever they might be. This is said to ensure prosperity in the coming year.
In addition to bread and whole grains, the menu may include apples, all berries currently in season (either fresh or in pies or cobblers), summer squash and other locally grown organic produce in season, roast lamb, fruit wine. Decorations may include depictions of sickles and/or scythes, sun-wheels, corn dollies, piles of fruit and veggies. Be creative.
Part of your planning should include remembering that Saturn goes direct on August 1 and Pallas goes direct on August 2. When Saturn returns to his direct path, obstacles and difficulties that have been slowing down progress are removed. Celebrating on Sunday would open you and your guests to a more optimistic frame of mind. Similarly, when Pallas resumes her direct path we will all be feeling more positive and happier about our lives. Celebrating on Sunday would bring that more positive attitude into the festivities.
If Friday or Saturday is the only time you can have this celebration, I recommend putting some extra energy to countering the negative effects of Saturn and Pallas retrogrades. One simple way to do this would be if each guest voiced at least one positive thought or occurrence that they had noticed during the day. Rejoicing at positivity will do a lot to counterbalance negativity!
[Kate Braun was a contributor to the original Rag. Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun’s writing on The Rag Blog.]
