Lammas Activities, and Rituals

Activities and Rituals:

Bread being eaten and thrown into the fire, grains woven into goddess symbols, onion braiding, meditation on the sun God, games, activities of all sorts, the time of reaping what one has sown. Decorate your table with harvest vegetables, grains, and fruits

Incense: Aloes, Rose, Sandalwood, frankincense
Stones/Gems: Carnelian, Citrine, Amber, Tourmaline
Colors: red, orange, gold, yellow, brown, bronze
Symbols & Decorations: threshing tools, corn dollies, flowers, wheat stalks, the scythe, yellow candles, corn, sheaves of grain
Foods: All grains, Breads, cheeses, Cider , fruits, vegetables, herbs, Pies ,corn, early apples, Berries, jellies, Herbal "sun"teas
Deities: Lugh, the Sun God, Sovereignty, Rhiannon and Epona, Tailte, Tammuz, Demeter, Persephone, Cerridwen, Faunus, Baal and Crom Dubh
Herbs and Flowers: Heather ,hollyhock

Activites for Lammas
If you have a spring or well in your area, bless it and decorate it with flowers
Harvest the first crops of your garden and dedicate them to the Gods. If you don't have a garden, take a trip to a farmer's market or grocery store and purchase some fruit and vegetables.

Bake some bread.

Float flowers at a local creek or pond.
Take a nature walk and collect goodies for your altar.
Sacrifice bad habits and unwanted things from your life by throwing symbols of them into the Sabbat fire.
Hold your own "Tailltean Games" (the Irish contests in honor of Lugh or His foster-mother Tailte), by competing in athletic games, poetry reading, and any other contest that would be fun.
Baking and sharing a special "Lammas-loaf" with family and coveners using whatever grains are native to your area.
Make a god-figure which is whole ears of corn wired together with sticks, and covered with gold foil. During the ritual this sun god image is cast into the fire - later to emerge transformed into the corn god. Eat Him along with other ears of corn which have been roasting around the fire's edge and, of course, other potluck goodies. Thus the power of the sunlight is transformed into the harvest which sustains us and we give thanks for His willing sacrifice by feasting on corn and wine.

Ritually sacrifice negative emotions, outworn habits, etc. by "transferring" them into a small bread "person" you have baked, and then throwing it, either whole or in pieces, into the ritual fire. Or write it down on a scape of paper and ask the fire to hep you rid yourself of this habit or emothin. then throw it in.
Bless your garden, where Lugh's vitality has transformed into the sustenance of ripe vegetables, fruits, and grains.

Take time to actually harvest fruits from your garden with your family. If you don't have a garden, visit one of the pick-your-own farms in your area.
Include bilberries or blueberries in your feast; these were a traditional fruit, whose abundance was seen as an indicator of the harvest to come.
Gather the tools of your trade and bless them in order to bring a richer harvest next year.
Share your harvest with others who are less fortunate.
Decorate with sickles, scythes, fresh vegetables & fruits, grains, berries, corn dollies, bread..

Special Activities:

Save and plant the seeds from the fruits consumed during the feast or ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant or tree with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Lord and Lady.
Walk through the fields and orchards or spend time along springs, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes reflecting on the bounty and love of the Lord and Lady

Play a game such as rhibo (a Welsh game) which is traditionally played at Lammas. Three pairs two people face each other and hold hands. A person is then laid across the hands and tossed into the air much like how grain is winnowed. For little ones use a blanet with two adults holding the corners. Be sure to be careful not to "toss" anyone too high!!! ( good luck anyone bouncing me--> LOL)

Bee --> flopping in the grass on Lammas as the blanket tears from the weight!!! ;-)