Lammas also known as Lughnasadh is a day to give thanks for the cycle of life, which provides us with sustenance for our bodies and spirits. The earth provides nourishment for our hunger, but we must provide ourselves with spiritual fuel as well. At the beginning of every year we make oaths to improve ourselves, and Lammas is a chance to reflect on these promises and see if we have remained true to our spirits.

In the lore of the Goddess and the God, Lammas is when the God knows that he must sacrifice himself for his people, and takes the role as the Dark Lord. The Lord enters the Underworld, allowing the Earth¢s creatures to reap the rewards of plentiful the season of his rule. The Dark Lord feels an emptiness, but does not recognize the source yet. He searches the Underworld in vain to cure his pain. When the God leaves the Goddess, she is devastated by his selfless sacrifice to his people. In her unhappiness, the Earths life begins to dwindle. The crops yield, but then wither. The warmth of the morning slowly dissolves into cool afternoons. She mourns the loss of her husband, and the season cools and darkens with her sadness.

Lammas honors "first harvest," when the seeds we have sown provide the fruits of the season. We must look at our lives this past year, and appreciate the progress of our growth. Projects and personal goals we have set into motion in the spring now reap their bounty, and it is so important for us to examine these changes and see how we are affected. Some people, with the change of the calendar year, make personal oaths, whether it is spending less money, kicking a bad habit, or spending more time with loved ones. Lammas is the day when we can look at what we have accomplished so far, and see if we have been true to ourselves.

Lammas can be as simple or as complex a sabbat as you wish. You can use the day to give thanks for what you have, or to look deeper into yourself and how the season affect you. How ever you choose to celebrate this day, keep in mind that sabbats are for honoring the God and Godess without and within us all.

The first harvest. Lammas (loaf mass) celebrates the grain that is now harvested and promises sustenance during the coming winter. It is also a reminder of the dying God, as darkness keeps taking over the light of day (the beginning of Autumn). Traditionally, the seeds from the fruits consumed during the feast are saved, and any sprout is planted in honour of the God and Goddess.

Related Deities: Harvest and Grain Deities, New Mother Goddesses, Celtic god Lugh, Sun Gods, Aine, Ceres, Frey, Ishtar, Persephone, Taillte, Tailltiu, Tea and Tuaret, Bes, Bran, Dagon, Llew, and Odin, The Mother, Dana ( Lugh's wife & queen ), Tailltiu(Welsh-Scottish), Demeter(Greek), Ceres( Roman grain goddess..honored at Ceresalia), the Barley Mother, Seelu(Cherokee), Corn Mother, Isis (Her birthday is celebrated about this time), Luna (Roman Moon Goddess), other agricultural Goddesses, the waxing Goddess

Related Herbs& Flowers: Grains, Grapes, Sloes, Pears, Heather, Blackberry (all Berries), Oat, Fenugreek, Frankincense, Heather, Hollyhock, Mistletoe, Oak, Sunflower, cornstalks, frankincense, and wheat may be burned; acacia flowers, corn ears, myrtle, oak leaves, and wheat may be decorations.

Related Stones: Carnelian, Aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx, yellow diamonds and citrine

Related Incense & Oils: Dried Rose Petals, Aloe, Sandalwood, Barley, Basil, Wood aloes, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, eucalyptus, safflower, corn, passionflower, frankincense, sandalwood

Related Symbols: All Grains, Breads, Threshing Tools, Berries (especially Blackberries)

Related Colors: Gray, Yellow, Gold, Green. Colors usually associated with this time of year are earthy oranges, browns, yellows, and golds. The colors are used to symbolize the harvest and the sense of renewal that comes with it. Often, worshippers use these colors in every aspect of their celebration.

Related Themes: A lot of the themes focus not only on the harvest but on underlying ideas such as renewal, giving thanks, making sacrifices. Mourning is also a theme that is highlighted, since Lugh's games were an origin of the holiday.

Related Activities & Rituals: At this time of year, worshippers celebrate in various ways, whether in solitude or as part of a family or group. Harvesting one's own crops, participating in games, reciting chants in honor of the season, baking breads and berry pies for feasts or for sacrifice in rituals, and arts & crafts like making corn dollies and harvest knots are all ways in which Lammas is honored.

Related Tools/Symbols/Decorations: Corn, cornucopias, red, yellow flowers, sheaves of grain (wheat, barley, oats), first fruits/vegetables of garden labor, corn dollies, baskets of bread, spear, cauldron, sickle, scythe, threshing tools, sacred loaf of bread, harvested herbs, bonfires, bilberries, God figures made of bread or cookie dough, phallic symbols 
 
Meaning:
Lugh's wedding to Mother Earth, Birth of Lugh; Death of Lugh, Celtic Grain Festival Rituals/Magicks: Fire magick, Money spells, health spells,bonfires, prosperity, and generosity, continued success, good fortune, abundance spells.

Related Customs:
Games, the traditional riding of poles/staves, country fairs, breaking bread with friends, making corn dollys, harvesting herbs for charms/rituals, Lughnasadh fire with sacred wood & dried herbs, feasting, competitions, lammas towers (fire-building team competitions), spear tossing, gathering flowers for crowns, fencing/swordplay, games of skill, martial sports, chariot races, hand-fastings, trial marriages, dancing ‘round a corn mother (doll)