As the Wheel of the Year turns, those of us residing south of the equator find ourselves at the gateway to the autumn months and the darker months of the year. Ironically, however, this gateway tends to herald in the hottest weather as if the sun is determined to cleanse and purify the southern lands through the element of fire before its departure is well and truly noticed.
Traditionally, the sabbat celebrated is that of the first harvest, Lughnasadh (from the Irish Gaelic Lúnasa) or Lammas (from the Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, “loaf-mass”) and when “the feast of the first fruits” was observed. In the agricultural year, Lughnasadh or Lammas also marked the end of the hay making season that had commenced as early as mid summer.
Some writers believe that Lughnasadh is a rather understated sabbat - and this I have to agree. It is also one of the more difficult ones to relate to here in South Australia. The gathering of the grain and the harvest of the first fruits often has happened months ago. In fact the grain growers on the Yorke Peninsular usually harvest around mid December, the summer solstice. I have also been make preserves since early January, albeit to beat the birds who had been devouring my plums and peaches.
As a sign of the somewhat unseasonal cooler weather we have been having this year (not that I am complaining), the corn in my garden is nowhere near ready and even the arrival of the Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet with her fiery rays do not appear to have lived up to previous years.
Lughnasadh to me is a time to give thanks for what we have received as well as acknowledging the the sacrifice that has allowed us to be where we are today. It is a time of reflection and contemplation. Often in our modern lives we are far too busy, stressed out or even distracted to allow ourselves the precious time for reflection. Or, as we strive for the "bigger, better best", we fail to notice the smaller things, especially on a more spiritual level, that are truly important.
So tonight I light my candles and thank the Gods and my ancestors for all the blessings and lessons that I have received, for all the trials and tribulations that I have endured that have brought me to this place of being. For all these things, I am grateful.
