Lughnasadh is one of eight traditional Wiccan celebrations or sabbats that marks the turning of the seasonal Wheel of the Year. Lughnasadh is a harvest festival that has its roots in ancient Celtic and Gaelic traditions. It is usually celebrated on the first day of August by holding a feast in honor of the abundance of the season’s harvest and the god Lugh. Lughnasadh corresponds to the English festival of Lammas and the ancient Welsh festival of Calan Awst. It is one of three autumnal festivals celebrated by Wiccans throughout the year. The other two Wiccan harvest festivals are Mabon and Samhain. Mabon is celebrated in honor of the Autumn Equinox, and Samhain is celebrated at the close of the harvest season at the end of October.

According to Gaelic mythology, the festival of Lughnasadh was commenced by the god Lugh in honor of his mother who perished of exhaustion after clearing all of the Irish plains in preparation for the planting season. Lughnasadh was considered to be one of the most auspicious times of the year for entering into a handfasting arrangement with one's beloved. A handfasting is a marriage that one enters into for a year and a day. Traditionally, the hands of the beloveds are woven together with golden thread as they are showered with flowers by their loved ones. After a year and a day has expired, the couple is free to part and go their separate ways or renew their vows for another year and a day. Lughnasadh is still celebrated by the Irish as well as groups practicing Wicca and Paganism throughout the world.

Wicca grew out of the work of Gerald Gardner in the 1950s and 60s. Gardner systematized the beliefs of modern day Wiccans pertaining to magic, mortality and the afterlife. He also codified a series of seasonal celebrations known as the Eight Sabbats based on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Although Wicca is based on pagan traditions, it does not attempt to closely follow or replicate ancient rituals and celebrations. In many ways, Wicca practitioners use pagan festivals and celebrations as an inspiration for the enhancement of their own celebrations that honor of the earth and seasonal festivals such as Lughnasadh that honor the changing of the yearly seasons.

ULC ministers interested in learning more about Wicca should visit our Wiccan Rites page.