Essential elements for this ritual are sheaves of grain (such as wheat or barley), a cauldron, water, one floating candle, one candle for each person present, and essential oils of rose, lavender, or other summer flowers.
Your Lammas Day ritual should be held on August first, the beginning of the harvest season in the ancient cycle of the year. To create the sacred space of the ritual, arrange the sheaves of grain in the four directions around a cauldron. Fill the cauldron three-quarters full with water, then add essential oils of the flowers of summer. Cast your circle in the usual manner.
At this point, the leader of the ritual should light the candles and then hand them to each person and guide the participants to form a circle around the cauldron. Now the floating candle should be lit and placed in the cauldron by the leader, who says:
O Ancient Lugh of days long past,
be here with us now
in this place between worlds,
on this Lammas Day.
Rap three times on the cauldron and say:
Harvest is here and the seasons do change,
this is the height of the year.
The bounty of summer sustains us
in spirit, in soul, and in body.
Now the group circles five times around the cauldron. All present should then speak their gratitude for the gifts of the season and the riches of the summer’s bounty. Storytelling, singing, and dancing should all be a part of this rite; when the tales have been told and the songs have been sung, the leader determines when the rite is done by putting out the candles and proclaiming:
This rite is done!
Close the circle.
You can create your own variations on this Lammas Day celebration, incorporating your own views on the summer season and how you show appreciation to nature and spirit. One lovely way to celebrate Lammas Day, anciently named Lughnasa in Celtic cultures, is to have a feast that begins and ends with gratitude and blessings for the food and wine, with a place set and food set aside for the great godly guest, Lugh.
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