Lammas - Gateway into Autumn

Lammas is the pagan celebration of the first harvest of the year. As I write, I have the bounty of my freshly harvested nectarine tree spread out around me on the table.

It's right on time.

This turning point of the year is the polar complement to Imbolc, February 1, which is the Gateway into Spring. These 'Cross-Quarter Days' are based on light and darkness and have been observed by humans for millennia. This is the seasonal peak of High Summer and the celebration of the Grain Harvest. As with all of the cross-quarter festivals, it is the point when we must respond to the changes which are coming.

The grain harvest is being gathered which represents both the food we keep to sustain us, our families, and community through the coming winter, as well as that which must be preserved and replanted in the spring for next year's harvest.

And so the wheel of life continues.

In agrarian times, the earliest harvests were offered to the Harvest Mother.

"The Goddess of Grain is the mother of civilization, of cultivation, of endless fertility and fecundity. To the Romans she was Ceres, whose name becomes "cereal". To the Greeks, she was Kore the daughter and Demeter the mother as well. To the people's of the Americas, she is Corn-Mother. She is one of the three sister crops: corn, beans and squash." (Susun Weed)

This day is also called Lughnasadh for the great God of light, Lugh. He is the Sun King who dies with the waning year, symbolizing for all of us the sacrifice of our own energy and a catalyst to begin the journey within.

This is a time to give great thanks for the active period of growth as the great Sun's energy once again begins to wane and we enter the dark time of the year where the treasures are found within.

To celebrate Lammas, light a bonfire, or a candle, create a beautiful altar to honor the Grain Mother and the Sun King. It is a time to give thanks for your abundant harvest of any sort,

making offerings of fruit and grains and breads.

Corn or wheat dollies can be made to honor the ancestors.

The Astrology of now shows the energies that will lead us into the fall season. The SUN and MARS in LEO are still power-housing it, meaning that our creative energies are on 'full-power' setting right now. VENUS has just entered the sign of CANCER so themes of home, food, nourishment and care are heightened with our loved ones.

It's also a time to be more conservative with money.

There is a great deal of fire in the heavens right now, inspiring us to follow our passions and find and use our authentic voices to improve the quality of our lives. The JUPITER PLUTO square in CAPRICORN is exact now, which coupled with the rapidly approaching Total Solar Eclipse who's effects are already being felt globally and personally, we are in a time of some real turbulence, as the American Empire staggers under the weight of the current, dysfunctional administration.