Lammas is also known as Lughnasadh. Celts held the festival of the Irish god Lugh at this time. Then the Anglo-Saxons observed the festival of hlaefmass which is loaf mass or Lammas  at this time. Agricultural communities began their harvest on this day at the onset of August. They would begin to reap the rewards of their labour, the corn. We still observe this festival now. It is a great time to take an invenory of your life in a physical and psychological sense. What have you amassed by lammas? What have you got to reap and what reap-ercussions will follow?

Bread is the ultimate representation of Lammas.  The grain is harvested,  milled and baked into bread, which is then incorporated/eaten. So the cycle of the harvest comes full circle. The spirit of the god of the grain lives on through us in the eating of the bread. It is customary to  bake a special loaf in the shape of a man, to symbolize the god of the harvest. (you cold make small rolls and call them Lugh rolls!)

Lammas has been quite significant for me for a few years now even without me being fully conscious of it at the time. I have tended to start jobs or projects on 1st August or thereabouts which is harvesting the skills, ventures, plans that I had planted and been working on. This year on 31st July my manager retired and a new era started on 1st August which is very apt at this juncture of the wheel of the year. Cutting down a corn head to be replaced by a new one.

I am a bit late in posting this for Lammas but on the other hand it is still the Lammas season. The last 10 days have been interesting. There was a New Moon in Leo on 6th August and that is when our new Manager held his first team meeting which highlighted that this is indeed the beginning of a new cycle. It was very Lammas like as the company had been subject to infighting and politics for years, with factions and bizarre alliances trying to grab and retain the lion share of the power. Very leonine. It was an open and honest meeting which provided a safe place to look at who we are as individuals and prepared us to shine as ourselves, utilising our individual strengths to contribute to the team. Old shadows which had been the catalysts for the tension and power politics were discussed which facilitated conscious reflection (Sun and Moon)

So that meeting ended up being the best thing for me and my work colleagues since Lammas sliced bread.

I hope that it is being a fruitful time for you all.