How time flies! Today we observe Lughnasadh (in modern Irish Lúnasa), otherwise known as Lammas Day - from “Loaf Mass” as the early Christians called it. The festival celebrates the wheat harvest - the first of the many harvests of the Autumn season in the run up to Samhain and the final harvest. Lughnasadh stands midway between Litha (the summer solstice) and Mabon (the autumnal equinox), marking in the old calendar the end of the high summer which began on Beltane (1st May). It is thus a liminal festival and forms one of the eight spokes of the wheel of the year.
Originally named for the god Lugh and his násad (assembly), which included games in commemoration of his mother or foster-mother the goddess Tailtiu - who it was said died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture, the festival evolved over time to focus mainly on the harvesting of cereal crops, principally corn and wheat and hence the connection to the bread used at the Christian Mass giving us the Christianised name of the festival, Lammas.
Coincidentally, today also marks the fruition of the lunar cycle with a full moon in Aquarius. This is a Super Full Moon, as it is happening as the Moon’s orbit brings her closer to the Earth. For this reason, the Full Moon appears bigger and brighter, and her energy is more powerful.
From our own point of view this year, we hope that today will mark the beginning of our own harvest, as the online store is now finally working well, and we hope to see a steady increase in visitors and sales after all the months of hard work we have put into creating it and sourcing the stock. In the meantime, we wish a sacred blessing on all who take time to read this, whether today or at some point in the future. Pax vobiscum.