Lammas

Lammas🌾

In the Northern Hemisphere, Lammas is on August 1st. In the Southern Hemisphere, Lammas is on February 2nd.

With Lammas, aka Lughnasad, falling at the end of Summer, and marking the first harvest, the most common themes for the holidays around it are family, crops, enjoying the last of the heat, and staying well for the coming cold. August 1st is not only Lammas, but we also observe it as Mead Day, National Play Outside Day, Sandcastle Day, and National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. August is National Back to School Month, and there are a number of little celebrations that honor family, including Respect for Parents day and American Family Day. It is also National Sister’s Day, with National Brother’s day only a few days later. This is perfect timing because in India, the Hindu religion is going through the Raksha Bandhan festival, which is literally where they celebrate brotherly bonds. Looking outside of just that specific day, you can see how it falls during Air Conditioning Appreciation Week, Simplify Your Life Week, International Tree Climbing Week, National Farmer’s Market Week, National Parks Month, Family Meals Month, and National Wellness Month.

The Summer will be coming to an end, and the crops that were planted in the Spring are ready for a first harvest. Lammas is a fire festival meant to honor the corn and grain that are beginning to be collected. It’s a time to make bread, and store the leftovers for the coming winter. The God, called Lugh in Celtic traditions, now sacrifices himself for the good of the crops, and the survival of his followers through the harsh days ahead. The Goddess, now called the Grain Mother, watches her lover die, but is also pregnant with the new Sun God. This cycle of rebirth is mirrored in the seedlings stored in the ground through winter to come back in Spring. Enjoy the last few days of warmth. 

The nice thing about Lammas is that it is simple and uncomplicated. Since it is a harvest festival, you should be using the harvest in your decorating. The most important crop right now is wheat, so it should be just scattered around your whole house. Put the stalks in vases, or tie them together to make a pentagram. Corn is also plentiful at this time, and makes perfect corn dollies for altars. Grains are really important now and it’s perfect for making breads. Of course, we are also harvesting other fruits, veggies, and herbs, and it is more than appropriate to incorporate those elements. In honor of the sun, bring in Sunflowers, and don’t forget to drink lots of beer. 

Samhain 🎃

In the Northern Hemisphere, Samhain is Oct 31st. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s on May 1st.

As it turns out, there are a shocking number of celebrations that happen around Samhain. For the Trick-or-Treater at heart, we have Beggar's Night, Books for Treats Day, and National Doorbell Day. The day before is National Candy Corn Day, though I’m not sure why there is a whole day for that mess. Two days before is National Cat Day, which is much more appreciated personally, and still fitting with the classic Halloween theme. During, and continuing for two days after, are the celebrations of Dia de los Muertos, and the Catholic All Soul’s Day. Samhain also shares its day with Magic Day, which falls during International Magic Week. Ironically, this has absolutely nothing to do with witchcraft or paganism, and instead is meant to celebrate Harry Houdini and like magicians.

Samhain is, at its core, a celebration of death and reflection. While some believe it to be the Pagan New Year, it really feels like a time to gather, prepare for the stillness of winter, and look back on how far you’ve come with all of your strengths and weaknesses. It has the spirit of, if not an ending, then a long, deep sleep. As the last of the harvest festivals, it symbolizes preparing for the “Death” in nature. The Earth goes into hibernation. Our ancestors had to have harvested and stored their crops and meats before winter. In this end stage the Goddess has become the crone, she is wise and helps us reflect to move on. The God dies with the rest of nature, and symbolizes the animals that must die to keep us alive. It’s beautiful.

I get the feeling that, as a general rule, the best decoration ideas are the seasonal ones. For Samhain, traditional Halloween decor fits really well. Pumpkins and apples are seasonal fare, for both the table and door displays. Skeletons and ghosts are more than appropriate, as it ties in with the heavy concept of death and reconnecting with your ancestors. Lamps, jack o’ lanterns, lighted pathways are all different takes on the idea of guiding the souls back from the dead. I suppose you could make the same case for the cheesy zombie decorations, but it might be a stretch. Of course, I would not be any sort of self-respecting pagan if I didn’t also include witch and magic related decor that is so popular at the time. 

Pomegranate Queen

When it comes to symbols for specific goddesses, they aren’t so much things that could be doodled, like the female gender symbol or the triple goddess symbol, as they are objects that represent that goddess. Those objects could be turned into a 2D image that could easily be tattooed or carved onto something, but it’s not a set image. It doesn't matter which goddess from which pantheon you choose, there will be something or even multiple somethings, that speaks to that deity.

Persephone really speaks to me. I guess you could say I’m digging her vibes. She has a handful of symbols, but if you had to choose the one that would really be her icon, it would be the pomegranate. One of the most well known stories from Greek mythology is the story of Hades kidnapping (allegedly) Persephone, feeding her pomegranate seeds to ensure her stay, Demeter going into a depression from the loss of her daughter, and finally, Zeus intervening with a deal that Persephone split the year between them. 

In so many cultures around the world, the pomegranate is a symbol of life, beauty, marriage, and regeneration, as well as power, blood, and death. To Jewish people it was used to represent the promised land. The Koran calls it the apple of paradise. Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I don’t think there is a Goddess more aptly described by this duality. Persephone is both the goddess of Spring, with its beauty, fertility, newness, and a goddess of death and the underworld. Maybe it looks a bit like an onion, but the outline of a pomegranate, with a number of seeds detailed in the inside of that outline, seems like a perfect symbol that could be tattooed, carved, or stitched onto anything as a representation of the Goddess.

"Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile." — John Howard Bryant

Imbolc 🕯️

In the Northern Hemisphere, Imbolc is February 2nd. In the Southern Hemisphere, Imbolc is August 1st.

In all honesty, Imbolc is one of the sabbats that never grabbed my attention. Yeah, I had heard of it, and knew when it was, but I was never quite drawn to it. As it turns out, there are a few different celebrations that happen around that time that I also wasn’t quite familiar with before. Imbolc is a mostly Celtic-based sabbat, and goes by the name of St. Brigid’s Day in Northern Europe. The Christian’s are celebrating Candlemas, which honors the purification of the Virgin Mary, and the presentation of Jesus. Over in China, they are taking the whole week for the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival where they build giant, intricate snow castles. And, as everyone knows, February 2nd is Groundhog Day for the American masses. For the most part, all the celebrations going on at this time honor the same principles in nature.

We are at the halfway point of Winter, and as we look forward to Spring and the awakening of the Earth, we celebrate Imbolc to remind us of that hope. The God, having just been born, is growing up into a young man ready to plant seeds. The Goddess has been resting, and as light returns to the world, she begins to wake up bringing the beginning of Spring with her. It’s all in direct relation to the goings on in the natural world. Snow is beginning to melt, and green grass is peeking out. Seeds that fell in the fall, and were covered by Winter, are finally getting warmth from the sun, and will be sprouting.

The theme, as always, is this time in Nature. Decorate with white, for the snow, red, for the sun, and a little green, for the new growth. You could even incorporate a little bit of a pastel color palette to remind yourself of what isn’t too far in the future. Candles are NEVER a bad idea, especially when honoring the returning of the sun. If new flowers are starting to sprout outside, then it would be nice to use flower bulbs like daffodils and snowdrops. To go a more traditional Celtic route to honor Brigid, use her things that represent her like, Brigid’s crown, anvils, and knotwork. All you have to do is keep in mind that Winter doesn’t last forever, and will be over soon. Warm days will be here again.

Horned God 🫎

Maybe I’m just a little jaded, but I do find it a little frustrating that you have to basically be an archeologist to dig past all of the Christian God stuff to get to anything resembling a pagan God symbol. Even then, to find a “general” god symbol is harder than you’d think considering the patriarchal world we live in. But maybe that just says something about paganism, that they don’t place the “male” on such a much higher pedestal. Really the only symbol that I could find enough information on was the Horned God symbol. 

The Horned God symbol is a circle topped by a curve. Some would call it a crescent moon sort of sideways, which ties into its relation to the triple moon goddess symbol, as a male counterpart. However, most people would refer to the curve atop the circle as the horns, hence the “Horned God” moniker. I always assumed that it was a representation of the one Celtic God, Cernunnos, or maybe even of the Green Man from the Old English traditions. I was really pleasantly surprised to find that it actually represented more than that. In fact, it dates back to 13,000 BC, to a cave painting in France of all places. In the cave called the Three Brothers (Trois-Freres), the circle with horns symbol is drawn on the wall, and there, it’s called The Sorcerer. It’s also a symbol for Osiris, Caerwiden, Herne the Hunter, Pashaputi, Pan and the satyrs, Puck, and Robin Goodfellow. Clearly, I was just ill-informed, and it’s more  than just a Celtic, or Green Man symbol. 

However, I suppose the argument could be made that it’s a symbol for a certain TYPE of God, if not all gods. At its most basic, it represents the male aspect of nature; virility and power. It’s a hunter type of energy, a god of wild animals. There’s something to be said about the association between strong hunters and the strength of seed to impregnate and further the population. It’s protection, and the giving and taking of life. The horns on top of the circle evokes the image of a great stag, king of the forest, and an equal balance to the feminine energy.