Lammas Pagan Witch Harvest Festival August 1

George Cole (1810-1883) [Public domain] Harvest rest

August 1 is celebrated as one of the 8 spokes of the Turning of the year in the ancient nature calendar. Lammas is a pagan Harvest festival

This is the original Burning Man Festival where John Barleycorn the original wheat/corn man was burned as an effigy. It’s traditionally a time of celebration of the harvest. John Barleycorn or a corn man figure symbolizing the sacred grain and most especially a sacred loaf was baked and offered to the four directions and to the earth Mother Ceres/Virgo in gratitude. 

Traditional Lammas Loaf

The Goddess CERES/ Demeter would be honored as the giver of abundant grains. Lughnasad is its other name. We are half way to the AUTUMN Equinox now. It is an Air element festival traditionally celebrated as the wake of the Sun KING, who is a star,  is dying now in the waning of his own Light. Cookie people figures and star cookies are baked in celebration.  It is time of anxious waiting, we are not yet assured of a harvest which will keep the people alive. It is a time to free oneself from FEAR.  A snake dance is created going counter clockwise, bread figures are thrown into the bonfire to symbolize the burning up of one’s fears. Then one says what one hopes to harvest.

Symbols of STARS are held up. The High Priestess would say,

“MAY THE STAR OF HOPE BE WITHIN US ALWAYS.”

This is also the symbol of the Tarot Card #17 The Star which is associated with Aquarius. We just had the Aquarius Lunar Eclipse Super Bloody Moon July 27th we are in synch.

The coveners would eat the star cookies and celebrate. see link below for more details .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/blogs/000081/0000005269.shtml

Please share widely 

Have a happy Lammas and Holiday weekend in Canada, its a civic holiday.

Listen to Traffic’s famous ancient rendition of John Barleycorn with Stevie Winwood singing the plaintive song. I’m not sure if you can put YouTube videos on your blogs without it being spam. Can someone help me out with this?

Start baking those star cookies. I will be doing a ceremony for the non-cardinal directions.

Get your reading booked now. http://www.taratarot.com 

Blessings

Tara