The
First Harvest:
LAMMAS
by Mike Nichols
It
was upon a Lammas Night
When corn rigs are bonny,
Beneath the Moon's unclouded light,
I held awhile to Annie....
Although in the heat of a midwestern summer it might be difficult to
discern, the festival of Lammas (August 1) marks the end of summer and
the beginning of fall. The days now grow visibly shorter and by the
time we’ve reached autumn’s end (October 31), we will have
run the gamut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold and
(sometimes) snow of November. And in the midst of it, a perfect midwestern
autumn.
The history of Lammas is as convoluted as all the rest of the old folk
holidays. It is, of course, a cross-quarter day, one of the four High
Holidays or Greater Sabbats of Witchcraft, occurring one quarter of
a year after Beltane. Its true astrological point is fifteen degrees
Leo, but tradition has set August 1 as the day Lammas is typically celebrated.
The celebration proper would begin on sundown of the previous evening,
our July 31, since the Celts reckon their days from sundown to sundown.
However, British Witches often refer to the astrological date of August
6 as Old Lammas, and folklorists call it Lammas O.S. (Old Style). This
date has long been considered a “power point” of the zodiac,
and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the tetramorph figures found on
the tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune (the other three
figures being the Bull, the Eagle, and the Spirit). Astrologers know
these four figures as the symbols of the four “fixed” signs
of the zodiac, and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats
of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent
the four Gospel writers.
“Lammas” was the medieval Christian name for the holiday,
and it means “loaf-mass”, for this was the day on which
loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and laid on
the church altars as offerings. It was a day representative of “first
fruits” and early harvest.
In Irish Gaelic, the feast was referred to as “Lughnasadh”,
a feast to commemorate the funeral games of the Irish Sun God Lugh.
However, there is some confusion on this point. Although at first glance,
it may seem that we are celebrating the death of Lugh, the God of Light
does not really die (mythically) until the autumnal equinox. And indeed,
if we read the Irish myths closer, we discover that it is not Lugh’s
death that is being celebrated, but the funeral games that Lugh hosted
to commemorate the death of his foster mother, Taillte. That is why
the Lughnasadh celebrations in Ireland are often called the “Tailltean
games”.
The time went by with careless heed
Between the late and early,
With small persuasion she agreed
To see me through the barley....
One common feature of the games was the “Tailltean marriages”,
a rather informal marriage that lasted for only a yearand- a-day or
until next Lammas. At that time, the couple could decide to continue
the arrangement if it pleased them, or to stand back to back and walk
away from one another, thus bringing the Tailltean marriage to a formal
close. Such trial marriages (obviously related to the Wiccan handfasting)
were quite common even into the 1500s, although it was something one
“didn’t bother the parish priest about”. Indeed, such
ceremonies were usually solemnized by a poet, bard, or shanachie (or,
it may be guessed, by a priest or priestess of the Old Religion).
Lammastide 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,
marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and dances
for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar
to our modern-day Renaissance festivals.
A ceremonial highlight of such festivals was the Catherine wheel. Although
the Roman Church moved St. Catherine’s feast day all around the
calendar with bewildering frequency, its most popular date was Lammas.
(They also kept trying to expel this much-loved saint from the ranks
of the blessed because she was mythical rather than historical, and
because her worship gave rise to the heretical sect known as the Cathari.)
At any rate, a large wagon wheel was taken to the top of a nearby hill,
covered with tar, set aflame, and ceremoniously rolled down the hill.
Some mythologists see in this ritual the remnants of a Pagan rite symbolizing
the end of summer, the flaming disk representing the Sun God in his
decline. And just as the Sun King has now reached the autumn of his
years, his rival or dark self has just reached puberty.
Many commentators have bewailed the fact that traditional Gardnerian
and Alexandrian Books of Shadows say very little about the holiday of
Lammas, stating only that poles should be ridden and a circle dance
performed. This seems strange, for Lammas is a holiday of rich mythic
and cultural associations, providing endless resources for liturgical
celebration.
Corn rigs and barley rigs,
Corn rigs are bonny!
I'll not forget that happy night
Among the rigs with Annie!
[Verse quotations by Robert Burns, as handed down through several Books
of Shadows.]
Document
Copyright © 1986, 1995, 2005 by Mike Nichols.
Permission is given to re-publish this document only
as long as no information is lost or changed,
credit is given to the author, and it is provided or used without cost
to others.
This notice represents an exception to the copyright notice found in
the
Acorn Guild Press edition of The Witches' Sabbats and applies only to
the text as given above.
Other uses of this document must be approved in writing by Mike
Nichols.
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