Lammas Ritual (Lugnaasadh)

After the Circle is cast, begin the Lughnassadh Sabbat Ceremony... Pick up your Wand and hold it in your right hand, face the North and with your arms outstretched and when you feel ready, begin your ceremony with these words:

"The Wheel of the Year turns on and on, bringing us all to and from each Season, and from and to another. What will be is. What was will be. All time is here and now in this Sacred Space. We now pause to watch the Wheel turn and cast this Circle on this blessed eve to celebrate the Season of Lughnassadh - the First Harvest - when the bounties of Nature give of themselves so that we may survive. we come here now to praise the bountiful Goddess and the benevolent God. We wish to give thanks for the bounty of the fertile Earth, and to feel ourselves as a part of the relentlessly turning wheel of life, death and rebirth.

O Great God of the Ripening Fields,
Grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you prepare to deliver yourself to the lands of Eternal Summer.

O Great Goddess of the Corn and Grain,
Teach me the secrets of rebirth as the Sun wanes in its strength and the nights grow cold."

Place your Wand back in its place on the altar. Spread your hands out over the harvested foods on the altar and say these words:

"Blessed be the bounty of the harvest, fruit of the womb of the Goddess.
Blessed be Mother Earth... Today we honor the deities in their aspects as the Grain God and the Corn Mother."

Pick up the loaf of cornbread and say these words:

"Blessed be the harvest, manifestation of the sacred marriage of the deities.
Blessed be the fruitful Corn Mother.
Blessed be the God of the Harvest.
We partake of the First Harvest, mixing its energies with ours, that we may continue on our quest for the Starry Wisdom of the Mysteries.
Many blessings we have been given.
We count them now by this bread of the grain of Mother Earth."

Now name all the things you are currently thankful for, one by one. This part of the ritual should be spontaneous - DO NOT use a script for this, go with your heart. With each thing that you name, break off a piece of the bread (or cornbread) and eat it. Sip from the goblet of fruit cider as well and pass both. When finished doing this, say these words:

"Thank you Great Mother and Great Father.
O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun, gracious Ones around whom all of life spins its thread...
We offer our thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth...
May the blowing grain lose its seeds to be buried in Mother Earth, ensuring rebirth in the warmth of the coming Spring...
We ask that you humbly accept our offering of this bread and cider.
We offer it to Mother Earth, and to her consort, the God.
And we ask that it may also be used to feed the faeries of the fields and the animals of the woodlands."

With these last words, place some of the bread and pour some cider into the libation bowl. Cup your hands around the offering (libation bowl) and say:

"We consecrate this offering back to the Mother from whom it came, to her consort, the God, Her animals and Her fairy beings. Blessed Be.
Offerings given in love return three times over. Blessed Be this gathering, the givers and the gifts."

After a brief pause to catch your breath, continue with these words:

"All things have their Season. Tonight the Wheel has brought us to the Season of Harvest. A time of beauty and time of toil. A time to reflect on the Summer and a time to prepare for the Winter ahead...
To everything there is a Season...
A time for every purpose under the heavens...
A time to be born... a time to die...
A time to plant... a time to harvest...
A time to destroy... a time to heal and rebuild...
A time to cry... a time to laugh...
A time to grieve... a time to dance...
A time for scattering stones... a time for gathering stones...
A time to embrace... a time to stay back...
A time to find... a time to lose...
A time for keeping... a time for throwing away...
A time to tear... a time to repair...
A time to keep silent... a time to speak up...
A time to love... a time to hate...
A time for war... a time for peace...
Blessed Be the Great Mother whose womb contains and births all life.
Blessed Be the Grain God whose seed plants all life.
Blessed Be the grain of the Earth, and Blessed Be this Season of Lughnassadh!"

Now is the time for meditation and any spellworkings you may need or desire to end your Sabbat celebration. Good Lammas spellworkings include: connectedness, career, health, and financial gain. if no spellwork is to be done at this time, then proceed with the Cakes and Ale Ceremony, followed by Releasing the Magick Circle.