Lammas: As The Deities Mate and Harvest

by Melanie Fire Salamander

editorial

We come now to Lammas: the time of first harvest, when berries and some grains come in. The ancient Irish celebrated this holiday as Lughnasadh, dedicated to Lugh of the many talents, a god of light identified with the sun. On this cross-quarter day, Lugh most likely wed the goddess of the land in a sacred marriage. The pairing of the two fertilized the earth for the coming year.

To keep Lugh's festival, we give you articles on the practice of sacred marriage -- one from a historical point of view, one examining the Christian sacred marriage of priest to God for ideas pagans can use. We also provide some thoughts on creating human-to-human handfastings.

With fall in sight and the grass yellowing under the sun, pagans begin to think of our personal harvests, and thus I hope of stewardship of the earth and our Native heritage. On these topics, check out our follow-up on the International Whaling Commission's opinion of the Makah whale hunt, an article on why the United States must defend the Makah's right to whale and our "Great Write" letters section.

To round out our Sabbat gleanings, we give you a cornucopia of reviews, poetry and an article on how the pagan Greeks worshipped their gods.

So, faithful readers: Harvest well, step lightly on the earth, and remember to honor the deities with sacred sex!

Copyright © 2006 by the article's author

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