Lammas on 1st August, is the cross quarter festival that celebrates the peak of summer and the beginning of the harvest season.
Lammas is the celebration of this first, Grain Harvest, a time for gathering in and giving thanks for abundance.
The word 'Lammas' is derived from 'loaf mass' and demonstrates how honoured the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle.
There are two celebrations going one: one of the Celtic Sun King, Lugh, God of Light. Festivities were tempered with the knowledge that that the bounty and energy of Lugh, of the Sun, is now beginning to wane. It is a time of change and shift. Active growth is slowing down and the darker days of winter and reflection are beckoning... The second is the honouring of the Grain Mother. At Lammas the Goddess is honoured as Harvest Queen, Earth Mother, Ceres and Demeter.
Demeter, represents the ripe corn of this year's harvest and Her daughter Persephone represents the grain - the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth. This is the deep core meaning of Lammas and comes in different guises. The fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest already holds at its very heart the seed of all future harvest. (It is a fact that a pregnant woman carrying her as yet unborn daughter is also already carrying the ovary containing all the eggs her daughter will ever release - she is already both mother, grandmother and beyond.)
So as the grain harvest is gathered in, there is food to feed the community through the winter and within that harvest is the seed of next year's rebirth, regeneration and harvest.
As August dawns, we begin to turn from growing to harvesting. The Sun is waning, nature is beginning to switch from fullness to descent and the days are getting shorter.
Are you feeling it? The damp air of a late evening, the dewy grass in the mornings?
Now is the time for ripening. To let the last warm rays of sun bring to fullness your projects. Take some time to feel into your hopes and dreams for the future, from this place of spaciousness.
What do you see?
Lammas can also be a time of fullness, off-piste holiday season and unstructured days. The call to rest is strong after the full days of summer, but August is not always a comfortable time – for some the lack of routine brings anxiety. We can feel overwhelmed, untethered and tired. It can feel discombobulating when our usual busy-ness drops away and we are left to face our inner self.
Remember to turn to your anchors to help you stabilise through these coming weeks. How might you care for yourself a little more with the extra time and space available?
Return to your breath to help find your centre, take some time to get quiet and journal, get out for some long walks in nature, and catch the sunset and moonrise.
Lammas calls us to trust that we have sown seeds that will bear fruit, that our hard work will pay off.
Gratitude holds great power. It’s a way of eeking out the thank you, to really feel it in your bones. During this off-piste time, we perhaps have the possibility to tune in to our gratitudes, to count our blessings for all that we have received, for all that we have and all that we don’t have.
Indulge in the goodness of now, whatever that looks like for you. We’ll never be here in this moment again.
Breathe in, breathe out. Here and now. Here. And. Now.
All is well.
You may like to enjoy this Gratitude Practice
Cultivating a gratitude practice is a wonderful way to feel good and trust more good is to come. The positvity of feeling grateful ushers in more good vibes and can really help us to harness a sense of trust in life.
At the start or the end of the day, take a moment to feel into 3 things that you are grateful for. It's a lovely way to switch your thinking any time you are feeling low or anxious.
If you have more time, doing a Gratitude log is a sure fire way to really get your self feeling great.
In your Wild Wisdom journal, write down as many things as possible that you feel grateful for - small things, to big things. Keep adding to it each day, and read it through regularly.
Journal Prompts
- How may you take a sacred pause, receive the gift of rest and ease and fill your boots on summer goodness?
- How can you really sink into late summer riches, what are you grateful for?
- Ponder your favourite moments of summer, what are you celebrating?
- What are you preparing to harvest in the coming months, what are you hoping for?
Looking ahead…
As our season in the Sun draws to a close, we sense the shifting tides of endings and beginnings. You may be ready to wave bye-bye to summeriness, or perhaps you are already beginning to mourn the days gone by.
Take a few moments to look back over the summer, to your adventures and achievements. Flick through photos on your phone and re-live the journey of your summer season.
Allow some space to revel in the goodness and prepare to release and move on.
Summer Playlist
In celebration of Summer time, sit back and chill, or get up and dance to this Summer Chill Playlist.
Enjoy!
Liz and Susanna's Summer read
We love a bit of Wild Swimming in the Summer months. It’s considered a great re-set for our body and calms the mind. Susanna finds it really useful for the perimenopause transition and helps ease anxiety and foggy thinking.
This book is a really great introduction to swimming outdoors in lakes, rivers and seas.
May August bring you lightness, ease and some sunny days to warm your soul,
Liz & Susanna xxx