SOCIAL MEDIA

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Spirit Work for Lammas

Spirit Work for Lammas

Lammas secularly falls on August 1st, which is quickly approaching. I should know...I go back to work on August 1st for preplanning. Can I please have another month? Anyway, like every sabbat, there is spirit work to be done on Lammas, if you wish to. Being the first of the harvest festivals, this is a good time to start thanking Mother Earth and the Sun for all they have provided for us as well as the spirits of the plants that produced the foods we are harvesting. The Sun is still strong at Lammas, but we are beginning to see the shift toward darkness. The nights are getting cooler and the days shorter, but there is still summer fun yet to be had...unless you are going to back school August-freaking-first...

1. Eat a fortune cookie. 

I know this sounds so cliche, but fortune cookies are a modern-day example of aleuromancy or wheat-flour divination. Aleuromancy comes from the Greek words aleuron (flour) and manteia (divination) and was a form of divination presided over by Apollo. Historically, handwritten messages were baked into bread, cakes, or cookies. The balls of dough were mixed up 9 times before being distributed to those waiting to divine their futures. Modern-day fortune cookies are a form of aleuromancy. However, instead of simply cracking open the cookie and reading the note inside, ask the spirits a question first. Shuffle a bag of fortune cookies nine times then select a cookie to open using your intuition as your guide. The fortune on the paper may not exactly answer your question, and if it doesn't try interpreting the "lucky" numbers on the back. This is a fun, secretly witchy activity to do with friends and family to celebrate Lammas or whenever you have a gathering!

2. Reflect on your spiritual practice. 

Lammas is a sort of in-between time. Summer is ending but it's not quite Fall. Mabon is traditionally the time for giving thanks, so why not spend Lammas reflecting on your spiritual practice and figuring out how you can improve? Begin by lighting a silver candle. Silver is associated with the Moon and feminine energy and is often used like a mirror to help with reflecting magic and illuminating changes that must occur to continue to move forward. Essentially, silver is a great color for self-reflecting. If you don't have a silver candle, white will work just as well. Ask the spirits to help guide you as you reflect on your spiritual practice and how you can continue to grow as a witch. You can close your eyes to receive images or stare into the flame and/or smoke and interpret the pattern. As you meditate, write down any messages you receive or thoughts you have. Spend some time thinking about your strengths, weakness, how you can improve, and how you can help others. Be sure to write down everything in your BOS or journal. Once you have finished, devise an action plan. How are you going to improve your weaknesses? Are you going to read more books on the subject, take a class, or practice? How are you going to share your gifts with others so they may grow as well? The next Full Moon, reflect on how well you are moving toward your goals. Continue this reflection for at least 3 moon cycles.

3. Thank the plant spirits for their bountiful harvest.


Honoring the plants that provide us with food and nourishment is important, especially during the first harvest. If you are growing fruits, vegetables, or herbs in your yard leave them an offering of some sort. It can be a simple as an extra bit of water, a beautiful crystal, a piece of bread, or some compost/manure/fertilizer. If you want to have a more elaborate ritual to thank you plants for all they have provided you with, hold it on Lammas with candles, offerings, music, and some written lines thanking them for what they have done for you this year. Even if you aren't growing fruits, vegetables, or herbs, you can thank the spirits of the local plants and trees in your area as well. They have provided you with oxygen, shade, and are helping to reduce the amount of CO2 in the environment. That is pretty awesome too.

Spirit work doesn't always have to be intricate or involve traveling to the Otherworld. Sometimes its as easy as honoring the life around us, reflecting, and opening a fortune cookie. However you decide to practice spirit work this sabbat, be sure you are also respectful and kind. What spirit work do you like to perform on Lammas?


2 comments :

  1. OK so I just found your page and have been practicing for years. I left it for a bit but over thr last 3 years finding my way back and further into it then ever

    Now that being said the herbal side is very new to me and has been my biggest focus. I've used different plants, herbs and spices in the past but now I am really studying more of them then the basic ones. While adding them into everyday practices.

    I'm happy I found your page and I'll be reading as much as I can. I would also love to chat and be friends.

    Ainzli Moon (I added you to Instagram)

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad my blog has been able to assist you in your journey! Herbs and plants are kind of my thing. Their folklore is absolutely fascinating and I love learning about it and sharing my knowledge with everyone else. I would love to be friends. Feel free to shoot me a message anytime. Please know that I am not intentionally ignoring you if I don't respond for a while. Instagram doesn't always tell me I have messages, I don't check it everyday, and sometimes when I do, I am in a dissociating fugue state after teaching high school students all day. These three things make it difficult for me to respond in a timely manner, but please know I will respond. :)

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