Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-nuh-sah) is the first of the celebrational harvest Sabbats, and named for the Irish God Lugh. Lugh, a diety of the sun and of agriculture was a defender of the Tuatha de Daanan.

This is the time in the Wheel of the Year when the Sun God is beginning to relinquish his reign and preparing for the darkness of the winter to come. In his last days he reveals the splendor of the harvests. The sky is bright with his light, the days warm, and we revel in this time before the coming darkness.

This Sabbat is reflective of the importance of grain to the ancient Celts. It is a celebration of the abundance of the earth. Altars are usually highly decorated with grains, fruits and vegetables. In ritual we give thanks for all that the Lord and Lady provide us. We feast on produce that we have grown ourselves.

Often we dress in bright whites or yellows, adorn our hair with flowers, and paint our faces and bodies with symbols of the harvest.

Lughnasadh is a time when many Wiccans gather herbs for spell work. Spells used at this time usually have to do with connection to the earth and to others, financial gain and career, and in health in later years.