Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

(August 1)

This is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of spring wither and drop their fruits or seeds for our use as well as to ensure future crops. Mystically, so too does the God lose His strength as the Sun rises farther in the South each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes that the God is dying, and yet lives on insed Her as Her child. As summer passes, Wiccans remember its warmth and bounty in the foods we eat. Every meal is an act of attunement with nature, and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.

Place upon the alter sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads, perhaps a loaf of bread fashioned in the figure of the Sun or a man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the Goddess, can be present there as well.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, and cast the Circle. Invoke the four courners and the Goddess and God. Stand before the altar, holding up the sheaves of grain, saying these or similar words:

Now is the time of the First Harvest,
when the bounties of nature give themselves
so that we may survive.
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain,
grand me / us the understanding of sacrifice as You
prepare to deliever Yourself unde the sickle of the
Goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.
O Goddess of the Dark Moon,
teach me / us the secrets of rebirth
as the Sun looses its strength and the nights grow cold.

Rub the heads of the wheat with your fingers so that the grains fall onto the alter. Lift a piece of the fruit and bite it, savoring its flavor and say:

I / we partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies

with mine / ours that I / we may continue my / our quest for the starry
wisdom of perfection.
O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun,
gracious ones before Whom the stars halt their courses,
I / we offer my / our thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth.
May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in
the Mother's breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth
of the coming Spring.

Consume the rest of the fruit. Works of magic, if necessary, may follow. Celebrate the Simple Feast. Release the circle.

The foods of Lughnasadh include bread, blackberries and all berries, acorns, crab apples, all grains and locally ripe produce. A cake is sometimes baked, and cider is used in place of wine.

Back