Lammas, celebrated on August 1, is the first harvest, and a time of celebration, when the plants of spring wither and drops their fruits and seeds for next year. Mystically so does the God lose his strength, as the days get shorter and the nights get longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as she realizes that the God is dying, and yet lives on inside Her as Her child.
Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh, August Eve, Feast of bread, Harvest Home, wasn't always celebrated on this day. it orignally coincided with the first reapings of the harvest. As summer passes, Wiccans remember its warth, and bounty in the food we eat. Every meal is an act of attunement with nature, and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.
Traditional ritual herbs - acacia flowers, aloes, cornstalks, cyclamen, fenugreek, frankincense, heather, hollylock, myrtle, oak leaves, sunflower, and wheat.
Altar decorations - corn dollies (dollies made of straw or corn husks), adn/or kirn babies (corncob dolls) to symbolize the mother goddess of the harvest
Traditional Sabbat incense - aloes, rose, and sandlwood
Sacred Sabbat gemstones - aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx
Sabbat deities - Lugh (a Celtic solar deity worshipped by the ancient Druids), John Barleycorn (the personification of malt liquor), Demeter, Ceres, the Corn Mother, and other goddessed who preside over agriculture .
Candle colors- golden yellow, orange, green, light brown
Traditional foods - homemade breads (wheat, oat, and especially corn bread), barley cakes, nuts, wild berries, apples, rice, roasted lamb, berry pies, elderberry wine, ale, and meadowsweet tea