Skip to a section:
What is Lughnasadh?
The beginning of harvest season is upon us and for many pagans and witches alike, this time is accompanied by celebrations such as the Gaelic Lughnasadh. This fire festival, celebrated around August 1st, marks a time where summer will begin to fade and invite fall to start taking its place.
Lughnasadh is named for the Irish God Lugh, who is a master of many things including art, law, truths, and oaths. It is believed that the festival began as a memorial feast for Tailtiu – a potential earth Goddess and Lugh’s mother -- who fell victim to exhaustion as she worked clearing fields to ready them for the sowing of new plants.
The festival has traditionally included a variety of games, storytelling, plentiful trade, athletic competitions, settling of legal matters, and matchmaking ceremonies such as handfastings.
Activity: Forage & Paint
Throughout this journey of being a Pagan Podcast host, a homeschooling teacher, a wife and spe
cial needs mom I often get caught up on the titles that I hold and sometimes find it hard to tap into my intuition. The more hats that I wear, and shoes I try to fill, the more I fog up my mind (and often my heart) with ideas of what I think I should be doing, rather than being in tune with what I need or want from those situations. So instead of doing a lot of research into how I “should” celebrate for Lughnasadh, I really spent time to slow-down, meditate and listen to what made sense in the moment.
We decided to start by getting coffee and then going for a drive to pick some wild flowers. We found some really great ditches that had a lot of variety to choose from so I let the kids go wild. When we got home we used our flowers as stamps, and brushes to make some foraged artworks. It was nice for everyone to experiment and get messy. We had such a great time doing it! It was one of the best days that I had in a while.
Supplies you will need
Flowers and/or Fruits for stamping
Paints
Canvas or Paper
What is great about this particular activity is that there are no real rules. You (and your kiddos) can experiment using different parts of your plants to manipulate the paint in different ways. Perhaps you will stamp, smear or splatter to see how particular pieces of plant reacts to these different methods or maybe you will use your plants as stencils around which to draw your paint.
There is a lot of beauty in the flexibility of this activity!
Shadow Work Prompt
Because Lugnasadh marks a time where we start reaping the rewards of the seeds we have sown, it is a good time to reflect on this idea in a more metaphorical sense. What are some things that you have been working towards (or have been wanting to work towards)? Why was/is this pursuit important to you? How will it help you? Is there anything you might wish to do to make this pursuit better or more rewarding? If so, what is it and what is a plan to implement these changes? If this is a pursuit you have not yet started, what is holding you back?
Southern Hemisphere Shout Out
To our fellow practitioners in the Southern Hemisphere: Blessed Imbolc!
Calendar
August 01 Lughnasadh
August 08 Put out New Moon Water
August 21 Put out Full Moon Water
August 22 Full Sturgeon Moon at 8:02 AM ET
September 06 Put out New Moon Water
September 20 Put out Full Harvest Moon Water (7:55 PM ET)
September 21 Mabon
Are you Subscribed to our Newsletter?
If you are not already receiving email notifications about our newsletter, consider subscribing below! Those subscribed via email receive FREE BONUS CONTENT (e.g. phone backgrounds, digital art prints, early access to content, etc.).