The exact cross-quarter moment is today, 7.th of August. Lughnasadh is the half way point between the Summer Solstice & the Autumn equinox, that is how you will find the true astronomical Lughnasadh. There is an energy that resides in the fixed dates as well (August 1st) because we have celebrated them for so long but astronomical timing is where the true magick happens..
Lughnasadh, the third of the Great Bonfires (Imbolc, Beltane, Samhain) celebrates the beginning of the harvest season & the cycle of rebirth. On this joyful festival of first fruits, the fertile abundance of the coming autumn & sweet sadness of winter waiting just around the corner, the time of cold & darkness, are intertwined. We need to fill our pantries properly & protect ourselves from the forces of darkness with the light energy for our well-being, with reverence for the forces of the Otherworld. After all, everything in the Universe is interconnected, just as life & death are in the essence of Mother Earth.
The main ritual food of Lughnasadh is bread, nuts, fruits, vegetables & berries of the new harvest.
Lughnasadh is a celebration of the new harvest, the first bread & therefore the first slice of the ritual loaf is dedicated to Sun, the god of abundance & fertility. Bread has always been taken very seriously, because it is the main food. In Ireland people did not even begin to harvest before Lughnasadh as it was a bad omen to collect & eat the crops early. On the eve of Lughnasadh each owner went to the field, cut the first sheaf & threshed it & the woman of the house baked the first bread from the first grain this year. Sometimes the whole loaf was stylized or sculpted as a figure of a deity. She was given a name, either the name of God, or simply called a Bread Man. A bride was often molded into a such a figure. Such ritual bread was brought as a sacrifice to the gods, laying it on the altar. Sometimes the loaf was divided into several parts where some were given to the gods, part for fairies & "little people". Some parts of bread were left in the field or at home & was usually stored until Imbolc. The rest was divided among all family members.
So that the bread was delicious & lush & the dough turned out well, one could ask for help from Lugh, the God of justice, war, kingship, craftsmen, skills, trade & harvests, himself. He could help with any issue related to the craft & economy.
Not only bread was brought as a gift to the gods, but also nuts, vegetables, wine or beer. Everything that could be prepared from the new harvest. Sometimes money acted as a sacrifice, such an offering was made in order for the gods to give good luck in trade affairs. Fairs began to be held from Lughnasadh.
Lughnasadh's Day is good to spend in nature, in the countryside. Time for gathering in & giving thanks for abundance, for going somewhere in the nature, to collect, dry & tincture herbs, go for berry-, nut- or fungi picking.
Perform a blessing ceremony for the tools that you use to cultivate your land: shovels, rakes, hoes, watering cans.
To ensure well-being & prosperity for the whole next year, treat your friends & family with the fruits from your garden. You can also bake a ritual cake with wild berries that ripen at this time, such as Blueberries & Blackberries. Prepare a festive meal for your family, bake the cake, homemade bread or cookies & serve along the goodness from your garden. Part of the meal should be offered to the Spirits, your ancestors, Mother Earth, deities of the fields or your gods: the rite of sacrifice is an important component of the festive mystery. Food should be thrown into the fire of a campfire or in running water, under the special tree or buried in the ground. Even better, if you save half of the loaf prepared especially for a festive treat until the next Lughnasadh & then you will bring it as an offering.
Lughnasadh crystals to keep in your pockets are Citrine, Peridot, Carnelian, Golden Topaz, Clear Quartz & Amber.
Take a moment to relax in the Sunlight & reflect on the upcoming abundance of the fall months.
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