Lammas Break: First Fruits

The agricultural “first fruits” holiday, Lammas, is traditionally celebrated on August 1 and is astrologically exact on August 6/7 (when the Sun reaches 15 degrees Leo, just after this New Moon).   It is energetically exact whenever you become aware of the spiritual truth that you are an expression of the Sun.

To evaluate your current “sunniness” and creative harvest, check into the condition of your solar plexus. Are you feeling strong or weak there? A vital Sun feels confident and potent; a tired Sun feels inadequate and powerless. On the scale between feeling “special” and “lackluster or ordinary,” where do you fall this year? Every year’s harvest is different. Wise farmers don’t beat themselves up for poor harvests; they learn from them. Whether you’re in the midst of a creative high or  low, Lammas is an auspicious time to evaluate your own laboring.  How is this your harvest?  Honor this cross-quarter moment with a small ceremony, nothing  fancy, just something sincere. But do give it a little time and attention: take a Lammas break!

If you have an altar, light a candle; observe its flame for a few minutes. Beside the candle place the “first fruits” of whatever work it is you have been involved in over the past year: the page of a book, an article of clothing representing a child, a flower from a garden, a business ledger, musical instrument, or even a tool representing a computer. Think back over the last year. Where and on what have  you labored? What stormy weather in the form of dark days of doubt or disbelief did you suffer through? As you contemplate your heroic labors, you may begin to see the ways in which your efforts are beginning to bear fruit. If you are a parent, you may see a subtle maturing in your child; as a writer, you may see how an abstract idea took root to become a fully-formed project; or, if you are a businessperson you may notice how your company is beginning to prosper.