Lammas Greetings
Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian celebration in some Northern Hemisphere European Countries which takes place on 1 August.
The name originates from the word "loaf" about bread and “Mass” about the celebration of Holy Communion.
It is in essence the blessing of the First Fruits of the harvest.
In Pagan circles, the festival is often referred to as Lughnasadh or Lughnasa.
Lughnasadh is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season.
Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
In Modern Irish it is called Lúnasa, in Scottish Gaelic Lùnastal, and in Manx Luanistyn.
Held on the 1st of August means that it is a celebration which falls halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.. In recent centuries some of the celebrations have been shifted to the Sunday nearest this date.
In early Ireland, it was a bad idea to harvest wheat or grain any time before Lammas; it meant that the previous year's harvest had run out early, and that was a serious failing in agricultural communities. However, on August 1, the first sheaves of grain were cut by the farmer, and by nightfall, the first loaves of bread of the season had been made.
In some Wiccan and modern Pagan traditions, Lammas is also a day of honouring Lugh.
He is a god of many skills and was honoured in various aspects by societies both in the British Isles and in Europe.
Lugh
Lugh was the Celtic god of justice, oath keeping, and nobility, and a ruler of the Tuatha dé Danann. Regarded as both a saviour and a trickster, he was celebrated for his skills in craftsmanship and battle.
In battle, he wielded the Spear of Assal, which none could stand against.
His titles were numerous, but the most famous was Lámfada, “Of the Long Arm,” a reference to the length of his spear in battle.
Alternately, the title could be translated as “Artful Hands,” a reference to his skill in craftsmanship.
He was Ildánach (the Skilled God), mac Ethleen/Ethnenn (son of Ethliu/Ethniu, his Fomorian mother) and mac Cien (son of Cian, his Tuatha Dé Danann father).
He was also Macnia (the Youthful Warrior), Lonnbéimnech (the Fierce Striker), and Conmac (Son of the Hound).
Lughasa (Lughnasadh), was celebrated across Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. This date was chosen because it marked Lugh’s victory over the spirits of Tír na nÓg.
To celebrate his victory, Lugh blessed the early fruits of the harvest and hosted games in memory of his foster-mother Tailtiu.
Tailtiu, in myth, was credited with bringing agriculture to Ireland. In some stories, she sacrificed her own life to bring grain to the land.
Our Next Moot
Sad News
It was sad to hear of the passing of James Lovelock on his 103rd birthday on the 26th July..
Lovelock was the first to detect the widespread presence of CFCs in the atmosphere.
In the 1960’s he formulated and published his Gaia Hypothesis resulting from his work for NASA concerned with detecting life on Mars.
The hypothesis proposes that living and non-living parts of the Earth form a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.
Way ahead of his time, this idea was criticised by many scientists whilst receiving popular acclaim - especially within the environmentalist community.
In his 2006 book, The Revenge of Gaia, he argued that the lack of respect humans have had for Gaia, through the damage done to rainforests and the reduction of planetary diversity, was testing Gaia's capacity to minimize the effects of the addition of greenhouse gases which in turn would increase the effects of global warming - to be more true to his word, would result in “runaway global warming.”
One wonders what he made of the weather news in the last weeks of his life.
TSMM Membership
Hopefully, you will have seen the message about cancelling your existing subscription via Katra.
The membership site there will be active until the end of this month.
Membership access will be continued via the Elyn Bres community potal.
When you visit this new site, you will be able to Join the TSMM Community - it’s still £5 per month. For that, you get access to all recordings of Moots, access to several eBooks and TSMM publications, as well as archived videos and audio.
Currently, there are 19 hours of Moot videos, 8 Wheel of the Year ebooks, plus books on Palmistry, Past Life Regression, and Magickal Alphabets to name a few.
There is also a free course Introducing the Tarot with courses on Geomancy and Wicca coming in the Autumn. These will be free to TSMM members.
So, if you’re already a member, please make sure you make the switch between the old platform and this new one cancelling any subscriptions that are renewable this month and signing up to the new community if that is your wish.
If you encounter any problems, please email me: alan@dralanjones.com
That’s it for this month
Until September….
Remember to celebrate Your Personal Harvest over the coming days.
Alan /|\