Lammas Reflections

Last updated on: July 29, 2016 at 7:45 pm by Tom Swiss

Lammas Reflections 2016-07-29T19:45:31-04:00 Tom Swiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s a little past 8pm and already the sun is down (below the effective horizon of buildings and trees, if not the geographic one). A bit more than a month past the solstice, I can see the days are already getting shorter. Sure, it’s still plenty hot (hotter than June) and a bit of daylight at 8 is still pretty good. But we’re turning the energy here. We’ve gone past the peak of yang, as the Taoists would put it, and now into the time of yin within yang; or in some interpretations of the wu xing, the “Five Elements”, moving from the yang of Fire to the balance of Earth. Either way there’s a bit of a contraction now, as natural as inhaling after exhaling.

aug-2-2016 August 2 was the date for Lammas on that “Wheel of the Year” poster I had back around 1990 (just as Imbolc was February 2). And it’s also my mother’s birthday. So I’m not going to argue the date with you — as far as I’m concerned it’s the 2nd, though other sources say July 31 or August 1 and the actual mid-point between the soltice and the equinox will fall on different dates. Nor will I argue the name; in my little circle of Pagan friends we called it Lammas and so it will always be to me, no offense to those who call it Lughnasadh.

It is a bit of an orphan holiday. Yule, of course, has a big celebration in Western cultures, and Samhain filters into Halloween a little. Litha, the great solar day, is near Father’s Day and the last day of school. Beltane gets some love in folk culture (“Hooray, hooray, the first of May…”), and even Imbolc gets Groundhog Day. The equinoxes at least get a mention by TV meteorologists and science popularizes. But Lammas kind of stands alone.

Maybe that’s why I’ve found myself drawn to consider it more carefully the past few years.

It’s time to start gathering in, to prepare for the fall. (Back-to-school sales! Trips to the college bookstore. I kind of miss them.) It’s time to enjoy the bounty of the garden. (I was just gifted with a cucumber large enough to knock someone out with, from a friend’s rooftop garden.)

It’s a time when the energy is still high but past its peak, no longer frantic; a good time for a vacation or a stay-cation, to pause and consider. (I may try to make a day trip to the beach next week as I have the past two years around this time, it seems to work well.) If, perhaps, there’s been a summer romance, it’s time to start thinking about whether it’s going to be something you want to continue in the dark cold of the year. (Nothing to report there…though some magic has been worked.)

So even if you’re not attending a formal celebration of the day, I recommend that take a moment some time over the next few days to consider this. Listen to the lazy drone of the cicadas in the summer heat. Have a beer or a lemonade outside.

I’ll be presenting at the Lovelight Yoga+Arts Festival August 26-28 in Darlington, Maryland.

I’ve got a new book! What Does It Mean For The Gods To Exist? and other essays collects my run on the Patheos Agora blog plus a few bonus pieces. Great beach reading, if you’re the sort of person who reads philosophy, spirituality, and religion on the beach. (C’mon, I can’t be the only one!)

You can keep up with “The Zen Pagan” by subscribing via RSS or e-mail.

If you do Facebook, you might choose to join a group on “Zen Paganism” I’ve set up there. And don’t forget to “like” Patheos Pagan and/or The Zen Pagan over there, too.

Previous Post

July 28, 2016

In Democratic Baltimore, Black Lives Don't Matter

Next Post

August 2, 2016 Ellicott City: Climate Change, Land Development, and Angry Land Wights

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2017 52 Makeup 2020 52 Makeup Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart Art Because I Could Not Stop For Death Caught On Video COVID-19 Culture Discordianism Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living History Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism My Blogging Life and Times Philosophy Podcast Poetry Random Wednesdays Religion & Politics Seasonal Musings Techno-Pagan Theology Uncategorized Warrior Path Zen

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 June 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: James says that if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is blessed in what he does.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE