I love this quote from Henry David Thoreau, which – for me at least – perfectly captures my thoughts about Lughnasadh and other harvest festivals… that true abundance is intangible and that we are a speck in the immense cosmos around us, a piece of stardust in the human form.
“The true harvest of my life is intangible –
a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched.”
Each year on Lughnasadh, I follow a simple ritual and sometimes change it up a little, such as creating new Lughnasadh Soul Questions for that year. I always ask my Self some Soul Questions as part of the ritual… and usually add a little magick!
Harvest times give us the opportunity to look at a couple of different themes in our life, such as abundance and gratitude, endings and rebirth or other significant personal themes in our life such as mothering and creativity.
This simple Lughnasadh ritual can be done in Circle with others, or as a solitary practitioner. You can even meet on-line in a group with others, and later this year I will definitely be offering readers of this blog that opportunity.
We are doubly blessed at Lughnasadh this year, as the New Moon in Leo arrives on the day after Lughnasadh, on Tuesday, August 2nd at 20:44 UTC (1:44 PM Pacific Time here in Vancouver). Harvests represent completion and New Moons represent rebirth… such a great combination! Leo is a sign of courage and the heart (“coeur“-age), so be sure to tap into your ❤️ Heart chakra for both Lughnasadh and the New Moon ❤️
Preparation
In addition to your altar requirements, you will also need:
- paper and pen for writing, and for journaling
- some string or thread
- a couple of leaves (these can be from a tree or plant in your garden or a nearby green patch
- a couple of corn husk leaves. No corn? Use a leaf from a vegetable such as lettuce, kale or cabbage, or any local vegetable with large leaves
- a handful of fresh herbs and/or wheat sheaves (wild grasses would also be a good substitute)
Craft a simple altar for your ritual, preferably outdoors but indoors is fine, adding:
- a candle to represent the Celtic god Lugh and the Divine Masculine (gold or yellow) and a candle to represent the Earth Mother goddess (Danú, Gaia, etc) and the Divine Feminine (white or green)
- a chalice (or glass) for your beverage, also representing the Mother goddess energy
- something for eating and drinking. Traditionally that would be a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine but change it up for your preferences. For instance, instead of bread, you could eat fresh vegetables, a piece of cake, caramel corn, a quick bread using fruits or vegetables such as zucchini, banana or corn, or a gluten-free item. Instead of wine, you could have apple cider, beer, mead, herbal tea or fruit juice… or just plain water.
- Optional:
- As in our previous post about Lughnasadh celebrations, add items to represent the harvest, your craft work or iron (for the god Lugh)
- I will be adding two corn husk dolls to mine, one representing the Earth Mother and the other representing Lugh.
- Some folks like to use an altar cloth in harvest colours of reds, oranges and yellow, or a simple white or gold to represent Mother Moon (and the Earth Mother) and Father Sun (Lugh)
- Crystals, talismans or amulets that are special and sacred to you.
- As in our previous post about Lughnasadh celebrations, add items to represent the harvest, your craft work or iron (for the god Lugh)
The Lughnasadh Ritual
Start by cleansing the space around your altar (and your Self) with a smudge, your Lughnasadh incense or by waving an evergreen or other greenery through the area. Be sure to ethically harvest the greenery: ask and obtain permission first and leave an offering of thanks.
If you have a ritual for creating Sacred Space, such as Calling in the Directions, do that now.
Light your altar candles and your incense, if you haven’t yet done so.
Call on your guides, allies, and ancestors for support in your ritual.
Centre yourself by getting comfortable, sitting or laying on the ground, and breathing deeply and slowly until you feel any tensions of the day ebb away. Drop into your Heart chakra as you continue to breathe deeply and slowly, and feel that connection to your own Inner Fire, your Inner Soulstice.
Your Lughnasadh Soul Questions: Harvest time gives us the opportunity to look at a couple of different themes in our life, one being abundance and gratitude (which we celebrate at harvest) and the other endings and rebirth (as the harvest signifies the time of reaping but also starting a new period of fallow and rest followed rebirth and regrowth).
Create your own Soul Questions for your meditation or use these.
ABUNDANCE: Contemplate on the abundance in your life, from both the light side (gratitude, abundance, harvest, completion, prosperity, readiness for the long winter ahead, contentment) and the shadow side (greed, scarcity, drought, lack of completion, lack of resources, lack of planning for the long winter ahead, envy). Where are you blessed with abundance? Where, when and how have you shared your abundance? Where do you most keenly feel scarcity, want or need? Why? What can you do to shift any imbalances between the light and the shadow of abundance? Ponder what changes you might need to make in order to live a life of gratitude and abundance, or to continue to do so, in alignment with your inner Self and your values.
REBIRTH: Contemplate on what in your life is coming to a close, and what is awaiting the energies of rebirth. What lessons did you learn along the way? What resources helped you on your path? What new opportunities excite you and ignite your inner flame, your Inner Soulstice?
Optional: Take this deeper than a meditation by journeying with your guide(s), asking for their insight in what you might need to change, for their insights into what you may not be able to see. Thank them for their support.
Once your meditation or journey is complete, note your thoughts into your journal. On a separate piece of paper, write what you are inviting into your life in the next year in terms of abundance and/or rebirth. On another piece of paper, create a simple blessing for the three harvests in the Wheel of Life – Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain – for continued abundance and rebirth.
You may eat or drink your altar food and drink offerings during your meditation, or celebrate with them afterwards.
Create a small bundle (corn husks on the outside) with your papers, herbs, leaves, wheat or grasses. As you tie up the bundle with string or thread, use your inner voice to repeat your Lughnasadh abundance blessing or the one pictured in this post:
Hoof and Horn, Hoof and Horn, all that dies shall be reborn.
Corn and Grain, Corn and Grain, all that falls shall rise again.
Find a place to return your bundle to Mother Earth, preferably near your altar or home. That could be as simple as burying in your garden, a window box or a local wild green patch. Optional: If you prefer working with the Fire element, you could burn the bundle. As you bury your bundle, give thanks to the Earth Mother and the god Lugh for their abundance.
TIP: If you have to leave the altar area to bury your bundle,
be sure to extinguish your candles first.
Complete the ritual by thanking your guides, allies, and ancestors for their support and protection, and then safely extinguish your candles (if you haven’t already done so). Close your sacred space with gratitude.
Blessed Be!
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