The last of the fading summer. The burning heat of the mid-afternoon. A time to either prepare for harvest, or to proceed in the harvesting. Known by many names, including Laghnasada, Lammas, and Teltane; Laghnasadh is called the festival of the first harvest, when grain is harvested and the first bread is baked from the new wheat.

It is traditionally held in the first week of August, simply because its name in Irish-Gaelic means August.

Laghnasadh, the end of summer and the start of autumn, will continue until Samhain.

Traditionally, it occurs on either August 1st, or August 15th, but of course the day of harvest varies by latitudes. It comes as early as July 21 and as late as August 18, but almost always occurs in the Father's moon under the Lunar calendar. History suggests it be celebrated on the first full moon in Leo.

The Father, personified as the od of Grain, John Barleycorn, dies in his plant form and, in dying, produces seed that is he means by which He will come again the next year. The Christian equivalent feast is the assumption of the Virgin into heaven on August 15. Though only recently designated on the christian calendar, this date was a feast of Mary, the mother of Jesus, from earliest times.

In other mythology, this time of year brings the deaths of Adonis and Tammuz, and the murder of Osiris. There are also alternative versions of the great story. One such says that this is the time when the goddess descends to the underworld to negotiate the return of her dead lover the following year.

Though the mood can be somber, Laghnasadh also celebrates the joys and rewards of willing sacrifice. This sacrifice, which is accompanied by the transformation of the grain into nourishing bread and by the mystery that the harvested seeds, will bring the God to live again the next cycle.

Final Note