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I love to observe the field that we have in front of the house and see it pass through all the phases of the Nature Cycle – of sowing until the maturation of wheat and again to the fallow. Every year, when we reach the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, the town farmer passes with its tractor to transform the wheat field into straw bullets.

Although in this case it is modernized and intensive agriculture, with all the problems that this entails, wheat bunches and their overflowing grain connect me deeply with the old harvest festival, Lammas. Since ancestral times, it has been the time of the year to celebrate and thank the generosity of the Earth, after the collection of its fruits.

While we are now as a society more and more far from the experience of sowing, cultivating and harvesting what feeds us, at this point at the highly and powerful point in the cycle of the year I feel the same impulse as our ancestors, of thanking Mother Earth for her abundance and the Father Sun for her fire.

The Lammas Festival is a great opportunity to connect in a special way with the qualities of abundance and generosity. And for remember that patience, delivery and confidence is required to see the fruits of what we gesture and give birth.

I also realize that sometimes we forget to celebrate and remember what we have harvested and has become fruits. Fruits that contain the seed for a future harvest. I am passionate about this metaphor for our creations!

At this time of the year, from the Celtic tradition, it is when the mother’s archetype begins to become the shaman and the old woman. The vital force that emerged from the Earth with the Candelaria or Imbolc, manifested in the maiden, now returns in and towards the deep.

It is a maturation time, to collect, harvest, celebrate in community and with the change of energy, start keeping fruits in preparation for winter and introspection.

Rituals to celebrate Lammas

Below I share some ideas to tune in with this specially powerful moment in the cycle of the year, between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and honor its energy in your life.

Connect with nature

Get out and take time to connect with nature and capture that moment of maturation and generosity. Perceive the movements of the Earth, observe everything that is giving and everything that has previously happened to reach this point of expansion. Realize that now the sap begins to go back to the roots and return to the darkness of the earth. Perceive your own vital energy in relation to this cycle.

Organize a group meal and share the food you bring among all

How do you want to express your thanks to the earth and its generosity at this time? One possibility would be to organize a meal or dinner with friends, friends, family, in which everyone brings their favorite dish to share and together you celebrate the food and nutrition they offer at all levels.

Create a small altar

Create a small altar with a color fabric that connects to the Lammas Festival. It offers to this sacred space some element of nature, and anything that evokes you the abundance of the earth and the harvest within you. Light a candle in the center, representing the fire of the sun that matures and illuminates everything.

Dance

Celebrate abundance and generosity through dance and music. What songs expand you, connect you with joy and gratitude? Dance alone or with other people, make your dance an offering, a moving prayer, to honor the cycles of the earth and cycles inside you. Respect the movement in your dance.

Honor your mother and your father

Find the way to honor your mother and your father, or the people who recognize as a mother and father, even if they are no longer alive. Put a photo of them on your altar. Thanks your mother and your father the seeds that have planted in you. Thanks the life they have given you and the qualities you value in them. If you load pain pain, offer it to your altar, hugging yourself while delivering it to the candlelight. Sorry for the damage you could do. If you are a mother or father, honor your role. Honor the energy you give to your child, your daughter. Sorry for your mistakes.

Honor and celebrate your harvest and crops of other people

Give yourself some time to connect with yourself and reflect on your own harvest at this time. What are the different fruits that arise from what you have cared for? Where do you see the fruits of your delivery and dedication? Payrolls. Honest. Share them with other people. Release shame or envy. Celebrate the harvest of other people. Open your heart to generosity, there is space for all. You can also realize the aspects of your life and creations still require your care and patience.

Happy Lammas!

I appreciate the inspiration of Glennie Kindred and his book «Sacred Celebrations: A Sourcebook»

If you want to share some ideas or experiences of your rituals, please leave a comment at the end of this page.