The Wheel of the Year goes back to a time when life was celebrated as a multidimensional interconnected web.  The Earth was respected and seen as a fertile life-force.

The Wheel of the Year begins and ends at Samhain (31st October- 1st November).

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The wheel continues to turn and we move away from the longest days of the year.

 

The first of the Autumn/Harvest festivals is almost upon us.

 

Lammas (Anglo Saxon) or Lughnasadh (Gaelic) takes place on the 1st August.  Although the date for this festival wasn’t fixed.  The celebration of the first harvest would have been dependent on when the first crops were gathered.  It falls between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox.

 

The fields are full of golden grains ready to harvest,  the fruit trees heavy with crops.

 

The word Lammas comes from an Old English phrase ‘Loaf Mass’.  The first grains and food harvested would have been a significant moment in the calendar.  The beginning of the harvest season.  A celebration of all the work put into growing the crops, fruit and vegetables beginning to pay off.

 

Lammas would also have recognised the hard work still to come gathering and storing food ready to take our ancestors though the Winter.

 

It was celebrated with feasting, games, making corn dollies, and special breads.

 

The Wheel of the Year follows the flow of the seasons.  How are the seasons changing where you live?

 

What have you seen on your walks in your area?  What will you sketch for #seasonsketchers?

 

Can you find something that honours the last days of Summer?

 

Cornfields, fruit laden trees?  Maybe you’ve been sketching the same tree since Samhain and are now seeing your tree’s bounty come to fruition.  What a wonderful way to say thank you.

 

Is there a specific crop in your area that’s harvested this time of year?

 

Take note of the waning sun and sunset.

 

Use your creativity and make a dip pen from a fallen branch, and sketch the tree it fell from.

 

We benefit from this harvest bounty, but is there a way to give back at the same time? Maybe collect some litter at the same time from your patch.

 

Summer cannot last forever, and the wheel continues to turn.

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I’d love to know how you’re going to celebrate this important pause in the year.

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Would you like to know more about how you can use the Wheel of the Year and Nature Journaling to connect deeper with nature where you live?  Join my Patreon membership community, where I'll go deeper into using art and the wheel of the year as a way to connect with nature and the seasons.  I provide a new tutorial every month, on nature journaling, painting, drawing, bookbinding.  As well as extra behind the scenes posts, close ups of my current nature journal, and exclusive blog posts.

 

You can also join as a monthly supporter over on Patreon to help fund the #seasonsketchers project,  the content I provide here and on Instagram.  Or as a one off using Ko-Fi

 

Click on the link here or image below to find out more.

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