The holiday, which is celebrated today, August 1, has many names (August Eve, Feast of Bread, First Harvest, Harvest Home, Lammas, Lughnasa,), but the most widespread among them is Lughnasadh, which translates as "meadow gathering" or "meadow wedding".
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Meadow is one of the gods of the Celtic pantheon, the patron saint of agriculture and many crafts. The Celts called it "long-handed" and "multi-skilful".
There is an ancient legend about the origin of this holiday: Meadow organized it in honor of its adoptive mother - the goddess Tyltin after her death.
The image of this goddess is associated with earth, fertility, because her name "Tailtin" comes from the word "talam" - the earth. Lughnasadh was not only cattle-breeding but also agricultural: it marked the transition of one season to another.
In ancient Celtic sources, when listing all the holidays, the Lughnasadh was interpreted as "the time of the beginning of harvest," the period when "the earth suffers under the weight of its fruits."
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If we have a look at the Wheel of the Year we see that Lughnasadh is opposite to Imbolc. These are two important turning points of the year: Imbolc marks the end of the winter, Lughnasadh points to the end of the summer. And although August is the summer month in our calendar, we know that the calendar and natural seasons do not coincide a little.
Lisa Chamberlain writes in her “WICCA: Wheel of the Year Magic”: “Although the days are still hot, sunshine is still abundant and the fields and forests are still teeming with life, we can begin to feel the telltale signs of the approaching autumn. The Sun sets earlier with each passing day, and many plants begin to wither, dropping their seeds to the ground so that new life can return at the start of the next growing season”.
This is the start time for the first harvest. And although there are still many worries ahead (the harvest must be harvested and preserved), the results of all previous efforts are already visible and the reward for the work is already close.
Let's try to translate all this into modern language, which corresponds to our reality. What is this period favorable for?
This is a good time to evaluate our projects and our actions. And how does any turning point of the year this time decide if a project is worth our efforts? I say "project", but it can be an assessment of anything: work, relationships, hobbies, etc.
Do not be upset if you suddenly find that you were going a little in the wrong direction. It is better to stop in time and start a new one than to waste time and energy on something that you no longer need just because "you have already done so much."
If you evaluate the situation as successful, there is still a long enough energetically saturated period to develop it even more. Do not stop! Now nature itself is helping you. Very soon, the winter cold will slow down the pace of life and we will move from active development to calm, slow improvement, or even just a period of rest.
Anyway, I wish you a great last summer month. Accumulate energy, stock up on positive impressions, so that later with pleasure you will remember this time on a cold winter evening with a cup of hot tea.
