Information and Spells by Saffron
Edition II
August 2003
Welcome back to Saffron’s Cauldron! Saffron’s Cauldron is a monthly article that discusses spells and information that can be used in doing spell work. I’ll be keeping you posted on new and old spells, Rituals that you can use for the upcoming Sabbaths, loads of information pertaining to spell work, charms and tools that you can use in your daily life.
This month we come into Lammas also called Lughnasadh, for the Celtic deity Lugh it was named for. According to Celtic legend, Lugh decreed that a commemorative feast be held each year at the beginning of the harvest season to honor his foster mother, Tailtiu.
Usually celebrated on August 1st through the 2nd, British Witches often refer to the astrological date of August 6th the “Old Lammas”. This date has always been considered a “power point” of the Zodiac, and it symbolized by the Lion (one of the tetramorph figures found on the Tarot cards, “The World” and “The Wheel of Fortune”). It is one of the four fixed signs of the Zodiac, which naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. The other figures are the Bull, the Eagle and the Spirit. Interestingly enough, Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four gospel-writers.
Also called Lammastide, it was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and ribbons. It was quite common to see parades, and strange ceremonial plays and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere would have been quite similar to our modern-day Renaissance Festivals.
Observed at the beginning of the Harvest season, traditional Witches use this time to celebrate with games and competitions in honor of the death of the Corn God, Lugh. They also show thanks for the food they are about to be blessed with. Using the time to not only celebrate but to pray to Lugh for a good Harvest. For they know the God is quickly losing strength and growing aged. Lugh’s days grow shorter as the Harvest grows nearer. Traditionally a loaf of plaited or sheaf shaped bread is baked and brought to the festivities as a way of giving thanks for the bounty of the Earth.
There are many legends and myths surrounding Lammas and it is one of the most intriguing Sabbats. Legends of death games and Fire Ritual abound! I encourage you to learn about them all. But no matter what you believe or call it, be it Lammastide, Lughnasadh, Lammas, Lud, or even the Dog Days of Summer… it marks the end of the Summer season of growth and the time when the Summer Sun will ripen and dry the fields of grain. Truly a heated time of year, yet the beginning of Harvest as growth has ceased and the final ripening occurring.
I leave you with an old pagan custom associated with Lammas. Which is the making of the corn doll from the last sheaf of corn from the Harvest.
“For good luck throughout the coming twelve months, the corn doll is traditionally hung up in the kitchen or in the chimney, and kept there until the following Lammas, when it is ritually burned. It is said that if the previous year's corn doll is not removed before Christmas, the next harvest will be a poor one. To make a traditional Witch's corn doll for good luck, twist or tie together a few husks of corn into a small female figure. If desired, you may dress the corn doll and decorate it with dried flowers. Anoint it with a few drops of frankincense or clove oil, and then pass it twelve times through the smoke of burning sage to consecrate it as you chant your intent over it.”
Until next month, I wish you all Good Harvest!
Blessings to you and yours!
Saffron
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